Bad Bunny may be the greatest professional wrestling fan of all time. I don’t say that to mean that the love in his heart for the one true sport surpasses that of any other devoted fan. I just mean that he is perhaps better at being a fan than anyone else.
Bad Bunny’s success as a recording artist cannot be overstated. For the past three years, Benito has claimed the spot as the most streamed artist on Spotify — racking up more than 18.5 billion streams in 2022. And how has he used this success? To get himself into the ring.
But here’s where we take things a step further. Bad Bunny hasn’t been lackadaisical in his preparations for the squared circle. He is one of a new crop of celebrities who have shown that they can hold their own. They show actual respect for a sport that people have sacrificed their lives for.
Bad Bunny is a big enough name that he could step through the ropes and let his opponent carry him through a match. Instead this man is out here taking Falcon Arrows through a table.
And because he’s a real fan, he knows that professional wrestling is largely about the fans. So when WWE announced that this year’s Backlash would be held in Bad Bunny’s homeland of Puerto Rico, everybody knew he was going to put on for his city. Or in this case, his unincorporated U.S. territory.
And as he made his way to the ring for a San Juan Street Fight, he was greeted like a hero. Just listen to this pop.
I am a fan of spectacle. And this is spectacle at its best. To put it simply, Bad Bunny just gets it.
So let’s wrap this up with Benito’s post-match celebration alongside the Latino World Order. A lot of things are bad. Especially in professional wrestling. And especially in the WWE. But this. This is good.