From the perspective of Brian James, the subject of celebrities in wrestling comes with a mix of downsides and upsides. “Look, the negative immediately is it takes away from somebody that’s been working hard all year doing their things,” he said. “It’s a two-part question. Is it bad for the business or is it bad for business? Because is it bad for business? Hell no. It’s cross culturing, you know what I mean? It’s all of the above and good [for business]. Look, Jelly Roll is committed. He lives down there at the [WWE] PC working. So you kind of meet him and you go, ‘Oh, yeah, I don’t hate this guy doing what I do.’ And he’s probably better than I was anyway.”

In his in-ring career, James found success in WWE and TNA, with the former company recognizing him as a Hall of Famer (as a member of DX) in 2019. In both promotions, James notably enjoyed runs with tag team championship gold.

As James alluded to, Jelly Roll burst on the WWE scene with a serious drive to his sharpen in-ring training. This included an extended stay at the Performance Center, where the award-winning singer conditioned himself with the help of WWE coaches and talents. In August 2025, Jelly made his official in-ring debut in a tag bout alongside WWE veteran Randy Orton at SummerSlam. Seven months later, he scored his first singles win on “SmackDown.” Looking ahead, he’s now reportedly set for a tag bout opposite Orton at WWE Backlash 2026.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Signed By Superstars with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.