Beastie Boys Were Inspired by Pro Wrestling

Rick Rubin, the founder of Def Jam Records and the man who helped Beastie Boys get off the ground, has admittedly been a giant fan of professional wrestling for decades.

In fact, Rubin has such an admiration for the outlandish storylines, interviews and controversies that this form of sports entertainment brings with it, he exposed Beastie Boys to it and credits it as a major, early influence on the band.

“Early on, Beastie Boys were very influenced by pro wrestling. One-hundred percent,” explained Rubin in an interview with Rolling Stone. “The idea of being bad-guy rappers, saying really outlandish things in interviews, that all came from a love of pro wrestling. We didn’t say it because it was true – we said it because it was entertaining.

He continued: “To me, it was performance art; we were as inspired by pro wrestling and Monty Python as we were music. I remember showing them videotapes of old matches, because I was the fan, and we’d laugh about the stuff on there. And at that time, there was a wrestling hotline, and we’d call and listen to prerecorded messages from Roddy Piper and get inspired by the crazy things he’d say.”

This explains so much.