WWE reportedly wanted the Ball family to appear on “Monday Night RAW” and it got its wish — for better or worse.
Lonzo, LaVar and LaMelo Ball all appeared in a segment on the pro wrestling show Monday night at Staples Center in Los Angeles, an appearance that could be best described as cringeworthy.
The entire segment seemed awkward and rushed and appeared to come to an abrupt end. LaVar Ball and The Miz got into it in the ring, as the Ball family patriarch turned it up to 11, removing his shirt and going toe-to-toe with the WWE superstar.
As the music for another WWE wrestler, Dean Ambrose, hit, LaMelo Ball — the youngest of LaVar’s three sons — can be heard playfully encouraging his father to “beat that n—a ass” in regards to The Miz.
Ambrose then rushed through his promo as the segment came to a close, prompting some to wonder whether WWE pulled the plug on the segment sooner than originally planned.
It didn’t take long for WWE to respond.
“The inappropriate language used by a guest during the ‘Miz TV’ segment was not scripted nor reflects WWE’s values,” WWE said in a statement, per ESPN.com.
WWE obviously has to say as much, but it would be interesting to get its real take on the matter. Obviously, they can’t have on-screen characters — “real” or “fake” — using racial slurs. But there’s no denying the Ball family segment was the talk of the sports world for at least a short while Monday night.
The Ball crew did a much less scripted interview after their appearance, talking about how it all went down.
LaVar notes it was his “first time ever on ‘RAW,'” while Lonzo noted he’d love to do it again. Just a hunch, but it probably will be the family’s last appearance on the show.
