Lil Yachty has heard what some WWE fans have been saying about him.
And no, he says WWE isn’t cutting wrestlers to pay his salary.
The Grammy-nominated rapper has become a regular presence on WWE television this year, first appearing alongside Trick Williams before eventually stepping into the ring himself. But like most celebrities who cross over into professional wrestling, Yachty’s increased screen time hasn’t come without criticism.
During a new interview with Chris Van Vliet on Insight, Yachty revealed that he has seen fans suggest WWE is releasing talented wrestlers while spending money to keep him around.
“They also assume that wrestlers are getting cut to pay me,” Yachty said.
According to him, that’s simply not happening.
“They’re not cutting wrestlers to pay my bills. I promise. I’m not getting paid that much.”
Yachty even specifically mentioned seeing fans connect his presence to the departure of Ilja Dragunov, who left WWE after deciding not to renew his contract rather than being released.
“I have nothing to do with that,” Yachty said.
Lil Yachty Says He’s Actually Losing Money With WWE
The irony is that Yachty says the reality of his WWE run is almost the exact opposite of what some fans apparently believe.
He’s losing money.
“I don’t want anyone to think I’m getting some crazy check,” Yachty told Van Vliet. “I’m losing money. I’m losing money doing this.”
Yachty explained that his commitment to WWE has taken priority over time he could otherwise spend recording or touring. He also said he paid for his own flights during the first few months of his WWE run before the company began covering his travel.
Why do it, then?
He loves professional wrestling.
“This is everything to me,” Yachty said.
That passion has become increasingly difficult to question.
Yachty began appearing with WWE in March and became closely associated with Williams. What initially looked like another celebrity cameo turned into a recurring role, and earlier this month, Yachty went considerably further by making his in-ring debut against Baron Corbin at Sunday Night’s Main Event in Atlanta.
The stipulation required Yachty to survive five minutes against Corbin. He did, although his night ended with him going through a table.
The next morning, Yachty told Van Vliet he felt like someone had hit him “with a bag of bricks.” His knees, shins, shoulder and lower back were all hurting after the match.
Yet he still wants to be around WWE.
Yachty revealed that wrestling wasn’t even part of his original plan when he began working with the company. His ambition was to become a manager, joking that with all due respect to Paul Heyman, he wanted to become the “second-best manager ever.”
Instead, he has now wrestled a match, gone through a table and found himself defending his WWE paycheck to angry fans online.
Celebrity involvement in wrestling will probably always be divisive. Wrestling fans want television time to go to wrestlers, and that’s understandable.
But Yachty is beginning to feel different from the celebrity who shows up for a WrestleMania program, collects a check and disappears.
If he’s willing to leave money on the table just to be part of WWE, that at least tells us something important.
Lil Yachty really wants to be here.
