WWE personality Dave LaGreca has reversed his stance on Jelly Roll’s upcoming match at SummerSlam, citing the musician’s genuine passion for professional wrestling and the direct involvement of The Undertaker in his training. Speaking on Busted Open Radio with Nic Nemeth, LaGreca admitted he was initially skeptical, believing the decision was based more on Jelly Roll’s fame than his ability.
However, his perspective shifted after hearing Jelly Roll discuss his preparation during a recent interview with Pat McAfee. The fact that a figure like The Undertaker would personally invest time in coaching the singer was a decisive factor for LaGreca.
“He loves professional wrestling. And then he talked about like getting in shape and it’s amazing…He grew up wanting to be a professional wrestler. He said that he was training at the PC and The Undertaker came to watch… for three hours, him and Michelle stood outside the ring and were yelling out advice and then they talked to him afterwards. Like first of all, how great is that of The Undertaker to take his time out to help train him and give him advice. But the way he talked about The Undertaker and how his face lit up, dude, I, now I can’t wait to see Jelly Roll at SummerSlam,” Dave LaGreca said.
Jelly Roll’s commitment to his in-ring debut includes secretly relocating to Orlando for the past three to four weeks to train daily at the WWE Performance Center. Under the guidance of coach Matt Bloom, he has also been actively training in the ring with Kevin Owens and Jacob Fatu. The Undertaker and his wife, Michelle McCool, personally observed one of his sessions for three hours, providing pointers from ringside.
The buildup for the SummerSlam match has been intense, escalating this past Wednesday, July 17, when Jelly Roll guest-hosted “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”. During the show, he was confronted first by Drew McIntyre and then by his future opponent, Logan Paul. After Paul called him a “greasy, redneck, prison rat” and slapped him, Jelly Roll retaliated by executing a chokeslam, sending Paul through the host’s desk.
The storyline began on the July 11 episode of SmackDown and now moves toward its conclusion at SummerSlam on August 2-3. To further the angle, WWE has scheduled Jelly Roll for appearances on the July 25 SmackDown in Cleveland and the August 1 go-home show in Newark before he teams with Randy Orton to face McIntyre and Paul.