Rapper Bad Bunny continues to train regularly at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando.
WWE assigned trainer and on-air talent Adam Pearce, and RAW Superstar Drew Gulak, with training the Grammy-winning rapper earlier this year when he first came to the company. Pearce recently spoke with Luis Gomez of Billboard and said Bunny first started training for in-ring action after the holidays. He usually gets in the ring a couple times each week, except for the few weeks he missed in March when he had to perform at the Grammys.
Pearce and Gulak both admitted that they had initial skepticism when they learned they would be preparing Bunny for a match.
“I think it was intimidating for him, like it would be for any new prospect walking into the WWE Performance Center,” Pearce said of Bunny’s first day at the WWE Performance Center. “I saw him looking around and marveling at the pictures and ring, like ‘Man, this is real.’”
Triple H recently revealed on Pardon My Take that Bunny rented a house in Orlando, moved his entire operation there, and has been at the WWE Performance Center as often as he can. Triple H praised Bunny and said he’s earned respect, and his spot.
“When I say he dedicated himself to the idea that he was going to do something with WWE, like, he picked himself up, rented a house in Orlando and moved to Orlando, and has been at the PC every day,” Triple H said. “I see people online going, ‘First time he takes a bump in the ring he’ll be done with.’ That was a long time ago. He is tearing it up in the ring every day. When people say, ‘He’s taken up a spot’… He’s earned my respect and the spot that he has.”
Pearce recalled when Bunny took his first bump at the Performance Center.
“I read somewhere that a backward fall onto a mat feels like a 30 mile-per-hour car crash. That first one, [Bunny’s] eyes got wide and his soul leaped out of his chest,” Pearce said.
It’s been reported how many within WWE have been impressed with Bunny’s attitude and how he wants to be a part of WWE. Pearce agreed and has been impressed with Bunny’s persistence, and how seriously he takes the sport.
“When you take your first steps in any journey, you’re going to goof up. And that happened,” Pearce said. “I wanted to look him in the eye and see how he was going to react to that kind of thing. He’s competitive with himself. But he never quits. He always says, ‘Let’s do it again.’ He’s all in. You can’t teach that.”
Bunny made his WWE debut at the Royal Rumble, when he performed his “Booker T” song for WWE Hall of Famer Booker T. He also performed a top rope move on The Miz and John Morrison later in the night. Pearce said Bunny practiced the move maybe one hundred times. Pearce acknowledged that Bunny’s left foot slipped when he first jumped, due to a sweaty top rope, but he was proud to see Bunny connect with his targets on the floor.
“I gave him a hug [afterward],” Pearce recalled. “He was smiling from ear to ear. He has told me personally this was a dream for him. And that was step one in making his dream a reality.”
Pearce is proud of Bunny and feels like his most famous student is going to “surprise the WWE Universe” at WrestleMania 37 this weekend, adding that fans haven’t seen anything yet. Regarding Bunny’s WWE future after WrestleMania, Pearce indicated that he may stick around.
“I don’t know,” Pearce said when asked if Bunny will continue to live out his pro wrestling dreams or go back to his full time day job as a world famous pop star. “I don’t think this guy has a pause button. If he’s interested in continuing in sports entertainment, I can’t see any reason why we wouldn’t want to have him.”
Bunny is set to team with Damian Priest to face Miz and Morrison during Night One of WrestleMania 37 on Saturday night.
Stay tuned for more.
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