It’s 2025 and more violence is being chosen. This time Kendrick Lamar’s longstanding feud with Drake made its way into the world of WWE, as wrestling duo Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods — who make up the tag team The New Day — threw some serious shade at the Compton rapper during a recent episode of WWE Raw.
If you think about it, rap is like wrestling these days so kind of fitting. Just saying.
What’s wild is this all took place in Los Angeles of all places, where the two wrestlers couldn’t resist using the spotlight to mock the Pulitzer Prize-winning rapper, who is no stranger to being the subject of diss tracks and feuds. During an interview segment, Xavier Woods was the first to get in a dig: “Think about it: for the last six months, y’all have been elevating this trash rapper Kendrick Lamar,” Woods declared, drawing loud boos from the crowd.
Get this, Kofi Kingston quickly followed up, adding, “Yeah, boo him! We think he sucks, too. Boo him! So you’re not mad at us, you’re mad at Kendrick Lamar because Drake won the beef,” which only intensified the boos from the audience. The playful yet pointed jabs caught the attention of fans, as they not only mocked Lamar but also reignited the simmering rivalry between him and Drake, which has become a cultural talking point in music and entertainment circles.
Now this isn’t the first time that the rivalry between Lamar and Drake has crossed into the wrestling world. Last year, WWE legend Shawn Michaels invited both rap stars to resolve their beef in the ring. Michaels tweeted on X (formerly Twitter), “A little Sweet Chin Music goes a long way. @kendricklamar, you and @Drake are formally invited to #WWENXT to settle this thing. I’m even offering my services to mediate.”
Michaels made the offer after Kendrick Lamar referenced his iconic finishing move, Sweet Chin Music, in his diss track “Not Like Us,” where Lamar rapped: “Sweet Chin Music and I won’t pass the aux, aye.”
Anywho, despite the playful banter and challenges, the numbers behind the beef between Lamar and Drake paint a clear picture of who has dominated the feud. According to data from Luminate and Billboard, the two rappers’ diss tracks have collectively generated nearly $15.4 million in streaming, digital sales, and publishing revenue in the U.S. since their release. Kendrick Lamar emerges as the clear winner in terms of profit, with his tracks “Not Like Us,” “Like That,” “Meet the Grahams,” and “Euphoria” generating just over $13.4 million, or almost 87% of the total revenue.
“Not Like Us,” in particular, stands out, generating around $7.6 million in revenue, while Kendrick’s track “Like That” — a collaboration with Future and Metro Boomin — racked up $4.6 million. On the other hand, Drake’s two diss songs, “Family Matters” and “Push Ups,” earned just under $2 million combined.
While The New Day might have their own take on the battle, the numbers suggest Kendrick Lamar has largely come out on top in the rap rivalry. Whether or not the wrestling world continues to be a stage for this feud remains to be seen, but it’s clear that both artists’ legacies are intertwined with a battle that has captured both music fans and now, the wrestling community.
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