In 1999, Big Pun and Fat Joe attended WrestleMania 15 in Philadelphia — a night that flipped the First Union Center into a battleground for some of wrestling’s most brutal showdowns. Stone Cold and The Rock clashed in a no-disqualification classic. The Undertaker and Big Boss Man brutalized each other in a Hell in a Cell match.
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Pun, an avid wrestling fanatic, reveled in the chaos. And when the camera panned to him during commercial breaks, the husky locomotive struck a mean flex for the fans — the kind of pose that would’ve made Lex Luger beam with pride. Fast forward twenty-six years to SummerSlam at MetLife Stadium this past Saturday (Aug. 2), and Fat Joe found himself in a similar position. With the camera squarely on him, he delivered that very same pose, a tribute to his late brother-in-bars.
“When they put the camera on me [and I started flexing], that was a tribute to Pun,” Joe tells Billboard on Zoom Monday morning. “In that WrestleMania that we went to in Philly, when they put the camera on Pun, he [flexed]. He had the muscles. I did the Ozempic Joe.”
As the WWE continues tightening its grip on hip-hop — especially its legacy acts — the synergy is too hard to ignore. This past Monday Night Raw in Brooklyn, Netflix hosted Method Man, Joe Budden, and Havoc, cementing the bond and how deep the cultural crossover runs.
“It was an incredible vibe, incredible time. I mean, so much fun,” Joe says of his SummerSlam experience. “It’s crazy to see so many guys from my era still support and fill up stadiums. I’m walking through and I’m like, ‘This is my era.’ It was a great time.”
For 009 of Mic Drops and Elbow Drops, Fat Joe reflects on the golden memory of WrestleMania 15, breaks down Jelly Roll’s in-ring debut and recounts the time Hulk Hogan bodyslammed a studio engineer mid-session.
Your first real wrestling moment came at WrestleMania 15 in Philly, when you pulled up with Big Pun. How would you compare that experience to SummerSlam this year?
Everything that I do with Pun is priceless — we ain’t got him here no more. It’s always that. As a wrestling fan since a little kid, you couldn’t have had a better seat. Jelly Roll’s my guy. I was suckered back in. [WWE] got me. I was like, “Come on, Jelly Roll!” He’s family, bro. To see him on the floor getting beat up, I was like, “Aww, man.” I was all back in.
Like you said, you paid tribute to Pun with your pose at SummerSlam. How deep did his love for wrestling run? Was he just as obsessed with it as he was with music?
He loved wrestling. Me as well growing up. I’ll never forget my first WrestleMania. My uncle took me to see it in a tent. They had a tent in Queens. It wasn’t a stadium — it was a tent. My Uncle Willy. We went to watch WrestleMania on a movie screen — like a satellite. It was amazing. Hulk Hogan passed away. Rest in peace Hulkster. My Uncle hit me up like, “Remember I took you the first time to go see Hulk Hogan?” I was like, “Yeah, Unc.” We were definitely big, big wrestling fans growing up. Like practicing the moves, wrestling in the cribs, all that type of stuff.
Is it true Bob Backlund actually put you in a crossface chicken wing back in the day? What’s the backstory there?
Yes! I thought I was gonna actually die. You know, Bob Backlund growing up, he was the first real champion. Bruno Sammartino I think was before him, but Bob Backlund had it for like five years. I’d see Bob Backlund and he was already old. I was like, “Bob Backlund! What up?” I don’t even think he knew I was Fat Joe. He threw me in the joint, where I felt like he could crack my spine. That s–t was crazy, bro.
You had front-row seats to Jelly Roll’s debut match at SummerSlam. From your view, how’d he hold up in the ring and is there any chance we ever see Fat Joe crack someone with a steel chair?
Bro, I can do that, but I can’t do what Jelly did. I was watching. They were both body-slamming him. I’d be down for six months. The check won’t be big enough. I can’t work. I’m worried about Jelly’s being today — today!
You were right there when he went through that table.
I’m standing here. I’m worried about Jelly Roll. The kind of ass-whipping…Man, I’m a big boy. So I know every nook and cranny I was like, “Oh. There goes the elbow. There goes the tendonitis. There goes the knee.” Jelly Roll… look, I’m not trying to hype it, but out of all celebrities — even though Logan Paul is an amazing athlete — the Bad Bunnys, everybody that tried to ever get in the ring, I don’t think nobody has done a better job than Jelly Roll. Jelly Roll being a big boy, the type of s–t they were doing to him, I was like, “Awww.” They kept fighting and he came back. It was amazing and fun.
We’ve seen hip-hop fully collide with WWE this year, with Travis Scott, Cardi B and Metro Boomin all stepping into the spotlight. Why do you think the bond between rap and wrestling is stronger than ever right now?
Everybody’s having fun. Cardi came out when the girls [Tiffany Stratton and Jade Cargill] was fighting. She was like, “Get up. Get up.” I’m looking at Cardi and she was all in. I don’t know. I think when you go to a wrestling match, you just get suckered in. Everybody loves wrestling, man.
I got a quick Hulk Hogan story. Rest in peace to Hulkster. Hulk Hogan used to be in the studio because his daughter [Brooke] was recording an album. One day, Timbaland’s engineer was talking about wrestling and calling it fake. Hulk Hogan used to hang out in the studio all the time with us. He got familiar with him to where he thought he could talk to him like that. Hulk Hogan happened to be in the studio and body slams the kid on top of the mixing board and called him a Jabroni. We was like, “Yooo.” The kid was a good sport. [Hogan] was like, “Is that fake?” The kid was a good sport. He didn’t sue him or nothing like that. That s–t happened. Hulk Hogan body slammed him.
If you could walk out at WrestleMania with one song from your catalog blaring through the speakers, which track are you choosing and why?
I always pick the obvious: Me and Big Pun, “Twinz (Deep Cover).” That gets me the most hype. I don’t think “My Lifestyle” is PG-13 enough. Some boxers would want me to walk them to “My Lifestyle,” but the boxing [commission] would be like, “It’s too hardcore. It’s too real.” I know wrestling would probably be like, “It’s too real. We can’t do that one.” They’d obviously want me to do “Lean Back” for sure.
Steel Cage match. You and one WWE Superstar — past or present — are going to war as tag-team partners. Who’s rolling with you?
Man, I’d go with the past. I’d go with Andre the Giant. I’d take Andre the Giant with me, because he’s the biggest. You seen your man’s? Jelly Roll’s partner [Randy Orton]? That guy is cocked-diesel. He’s a different type [of dude]. I used to be a fan of Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart, Macho Man Randy Savage and you know, that whole era. That reminds me of hip-hop. That reminds me of Big Daddy Kane, LL Cool J, Salt-N-Pepa and Heavy D — that golden era.
From a rap perspective, who do you think has the charisma, mic skills, and star power to actually make it as a WWE Superstar?
You need somebody like a Tyler, The Creator or a Busta Rhymes. Somebody that’s just a walking movie, ’cause even the managers be over there beefing. The managers be beefing with the commentators and all that. You would need somebody animated, like a Busta Rhymes or Tyler, The Creator. You know Bad Bunny, he’s already shown us how much he loves wrestling.
