Sexxy Red Reveals She Was Almost a WWE Wrestler Before Choosing Rap
In a Feb. 12 interview with Dazed, the rapper, whose real name is Janae Wherry, revealed that she was once offered a full-time spot as a WWE wrestler. But while the opportunity was huge, she didn’t have the time to train properly for the high-energy world of professional wrestling. Instead, she made a cameo alongside wrestling legend Shawn Michaels.
For Sexxy Red, wrestling and rapping aren’t all that different.
“Rapping and wrestling are pretty much the same,” she told Dazed. “It’s not quite acting, but it’s kind of acting too, right? Because when we go home and take off all our jewels and gold and remove the costumes we wear, we then have to go right back to reality with our families.”
She got her first taste of the WWE stage in May 2024 when she made her NXT debut, according to Billboard. At the event, she revealed the brand-new NXT North American Women’s Championship belt and even escorted NXT champion Trick Williams and Je’Von Evans to the ring—where she turned up the energy with a twerk and a split in the middle of the ring.
Backstage, the St. Louis native had a full-circle moment with Michaels, singing along to his legendary theme song, “Sexy Boy.”
But despite her brief wrestling moment, music remains her main focus—something she never expected.
In a December 2024 interview with PEOPLE, Sexxy Red opened up about her surprising rise to fame.
“My life took a turn,” she admitted. “I ain’t saying for the worst, but it definitely took a turn. It took a turn, a crazy turn. Something I wasn’t expecting. When I was little, I never said, ‘I’m going to be a singer, I’m going to be a rapper.’”
She actually had completely different career dreams.
“I used to want to be a hairstylist. I used to want to work on cars. I used to want to work on houses. I thought I was going to open a salon. I didn’t think I knew how to rhyme and stuff, I didn’t think that it was going to be like what it is.”
So what’s the secret to her widespread appeal? She thinks it all comes down to being relatable.
“It is funny. It’s funny, but it not a shocker because I just relate to everybody. I relate to old people, white people, Black people, purple people, pink people, gay people, straight people. I just relate to everybody. God, I feel like I relate to everybody. I’m just like a free spirit. For real, for real. I don’t care about nothing,” she said.
