Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods referenced Kendrick Lamar’s rivalry with Drake during WWE Raw’s inaugural episode on Netflix — although it wasn’t in favor of the Compton rapper.
Kingston and Woods form the nefarious duo The New Day, and since the event is occurring in Kendrick’s hometown of Los Angeles, they chose to target the Pulitzer Prize recipient on his own ground.
In an interview segment, Woods remarked: “Consider this: for the past six months, you’ve been promoting this awful rapper Kendrick Lamar,” which elicited thunderous boos from the audience.
Kingston then interrupted and remarked: “Yeah, jeer at him! We believe he is terrible, as well. Jeer at him! “Therefore, you’re not upset with us; you’re upset with Kendrick Lamar since Drake triumphed in the conflict,” followed by additional boos.
This isn’t the first occasion that the rivalry between Drake and Kendrick has made its way into the wrestling scene.
Last year, wrestling icon Shawn Michaels invited the rap giants to resolve their conflicts in the ring.
“A small dose of Sweet Chin Music can have a big impact,” he posted on X (formerly Twitter). “@kendricklamar, you and @Drake are officially invited to #WWENXT to resolve this matter. “I’m also providing my assistance to facilitate communication.”
Michaels initiated the approach after Kendrick referenced his signature move, Sweet Chin Music, in his popular diss track “Not Like Us,” rapping: “Sweet Chin Music and I won’t pass the aux, aye.”
Although The New Day is trying to change the result of the match, which many considered Kendrick to have triumphed in, the statistics central to the intense rivalry are truthful.
Billboard recently calculated that diss tracks from both rappers have brought in nearly $15.4 million in streaming, digital sales, and publishing revenue in the U.S. since their debut last spring, using data from Luminate.
Statistically, Kendrick is the obvious victor between the two, with “Not Like Us,” “Like That,” “Meet the Grahams,” and “Euphoria” contributing to just over $13.4 million of that total (nearly 87%).
“Not Like Us” stands out as the highest earner of the four, bringing in approximately $7.6 million, while “Like That” — his hit partnership with Future and Metro Boomin that sparked the conflict — has accumulated $4.6 million.
In the meantime, Drake’s two diss tracks for sale, “Family Matters” and “Push Ups,” have earned $981,300 and $969,400 respectively — adding up to just over $1.9 million.
