Rapper Westside Gunn says he’s done supporting WWE, cites poor treatment
Westside Gunn is not happy with WWE.
The longtime wrestling fan posted to social media this weekend, airing multiple grievances against the company. The rapper says he was kicked out of an episode of WWE Raw airing from his hometown in Buffalo on March 3 and includes video of security telling him to leave the venue. His statement also references being told by WWE to remove images of its wrestlers from his album covers and WWE samples from his music.
“I was threatened to take everything out of my music which I only did to pay homage or my whole catalog would be demolished,” Gunn wrote.
He continued to say he’s tried having discussions with WWE about the situation.
“I tried having conversations with 1 individual bc he’s causing all of these unnecessary cases and tbh he hates seeing a young black successful entrepreneur that could afford those seats and have to watch those chains dance across that screen to the point Monday night raw starts at 8pm I was kicked out by 803 after spending 5k for a seat plus travel, hotel etc…. in my own city for absolutely NOTHING!!!! No lie the kid in me heart broke that day.”
Gunn released Heels Have Eyes in April and Heels Have Eyes 2 in August. “Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase is featured on the cover of the first, and his former bodyguard Virgil on the second. Last month, a giant billboard promoting Heels Have Eyes 3 featuring both DiBiase and Virgil went up in Times Square.
Westside Gunn’s full post reads:
“For YEAAAAAARS I mean NOBODY w/ 2 feet has spent the amount of $ I have supporting and pushing a brand I’ve loved since I could remember, I sat front row at EVERY BIG SHOW literally, all the good times it brought to my life to the point when I started making music i incorporated in everything like WU TANG did karate, I made ppl who hated the product watch it again I made it look kool, when at the time ppl thought it was nerdy, I’ve watched that same company sit countless of ppl next to me who’s not even fans fr and act like I didn’t exist.”
“I was threatened to take everything out of my music which I only did to pay homage or my whole catalog would be demolished and everybody knows how hard I worked coming from Buffalo for me to get that threat for just supporting and being a real fan hurted me but I stayed quiet and still like a krazy man sat front row bc I loved the culture, I even just went viral for spending 50k on suites.. on my soul I’ve only been respectful”
“I tried having conversations with 1 individual bc he’s causing all of these unnecessary cases and tbh he hates seeing a young black successful entrepreneur that could afford those seats and have to watch those chains dance across that screen to the point Monday night raw starts at 8pm I was kicked out by 803 after spending 5k for a seat plus travel, hotel etc…. in my own city for absolutely NOTHING!!!! No lie the kid in me heart broke that day… I put the billboard up that MILLION DOLLAR MAN billboard up which he loves and I wanted to push him in the culture bc he deserves it and to shOW VIRGIL love for the culture I get a letter saying ………:”
“so I said u know what I’m a show love only to the ppl that show love to me from now on… so u don’t have to worry about me pushing that product over there again, and it’s sad bc i still love them but I have my own company 4THROPE and yea we’re the underdogs but we love this shit, it’s not about money, we’re gonna keep pushing culture and I’m honored to have @joshbishop187 on the trilogy cover bc he deserves it for believing in me from day one as my first official wrestler…”
Gunn is the owner of 4th Rope Wrestling, a promotion that has run events across the United States and also in France this summer for Paris Fashion Week. Zilla Fatu is the company’s heavyweight champion, Real1 (formerly known as Enzo Amore) holds the flyweight title, and Matt and Jeff Hardy are the 4th Rope Tag Team Champions.
As of this writing, Westside Gunn’s post has been viewed 1.3 million times. It is available below:
Ian Carey is a writer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, whose work has been featured in NOW Magazine, The Huffington Post, and more. A lifelong wrestling aficionado born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, he has covered the industry for a decade and a half. He joined the f4wonline.com team in 2019.