WWE has relied on celebrity involvement to promote its product since the first WrestleMania in 1985, but it wasn’t until Saturday that the company found its lightning-in-a-bottle moment.
Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Antonio MartÃnez Ocasio, was the host of Backlash at Coliseo de Puerto Rico in San Juan on Saturday, and the Grammy Award winner easily stole the night in his home country. He took on Damian Priest in a “San Juan Street Fight” and did more than hold his own.
Far too often, WWE books celebrities to be equal to or superior than its talents, which serves more to hurt a full-time wrestler’s persona. The street fight was booked the way it should be done. Priest showed he was more skilled at every aspect of pro wrestling due to having more experience in the business. In order to gain an advantage in the match, Bad Bunny had to use his cart of weapons.
The match featured well-done spots and run-ins from The Judgment Day and LWO, along with surprise appearances from Carlito and Savio Vega. Bad Bunny had the crowd going from his great entrance — that might go down as one of the best in a premium live event — all the way to the finish of the match.
It was everything it needed to be, with the only flaw being that it wasn’t the main event of the premium live event. The Puerto Rico crowd had not seen a WWE show since New Year’s Revolution in 2005, so that was one reason why they delivered such hot reactions. But the match also showed Bad Bunny’s commitment to WWE.
The 29-year-old rapper took his fair share of bumps throughout the match, including a Falcon Arrow through a table when the match entered the crowd. He also did his part in promoting the match by appearing on weekly television, which likely is why WWE had faith in a one-on-one match rather than a tag match featuring the Mysterios.
It’s important to point out he doesn’t have to do any of this. Fans have seen celebrities come and go over the decades, with many of them clearly there for a quick payday, like when Jeremy Piven referred to “SummerSlam” as the “SummerFest.”
Cyndi Lauper and Mr. T helped kick off the boom in the ’80s, but the former didn’t compete often in the ring and the latter is more synonymous with the worst celebrity moments, like his boxing match against Roddy Piper.
Mike Tyson had his iconic moment at WrestleMania 14, and Floyd Mayweather’s WrestleMania 24 match against Big Show was fine for what it was. The past decade has given fans Ronda Rousey and Logan Paul, but the former seems to have peaked with her triple threat match at WrestleMania 35 and the latter appears to still carry baggage from his negative inspirations to influence culture.
Bad Bunny arguably is the biggest celebrity star WWE has had in a long time. He has shown commitment inside and outside the ring when, again, he doesn’t really have to. Bad Bunny could do whatever he wants to make a ton of money and earn the fame he desires.
However, he clearly loves pro wrestling and will even defend its authenticity to the likes of Jay-Z and LeBron James. The man is out living his dream and delivers every time he’s on screen.
Lawrence Taylor and Stephen Amell proved themselves capable in the ring, but, in kindness to them, Bad Bunny surpasses them in star power, and unlike Rousey, that isn’t going to wane anytime soon.
The mistake on WWE’s end would be to push him to win a title. He did win the gimmick 24/7 championship, but that should be as far as things go when it comes to titles. Paul Levesque, aka Triple H, and Vince McMahon need to be smart when it comes to choosing Bad Bunny’s opponents and not feel the urge to put him in a match against one of their mid-card champions or top star Roman Reigns.
Bad Bunny should be winning matches, not losing them. The point is to give someone the crowd can go crazy for, and that is exactly what Bad Bunny has done in his WWE tenure.
