Ari Emanuel Accused of Using WWE to Promote Friends for Personal Gain

Travis Scott’s short-lived WWE run is being torched—and now the blame is pointing straight at TKO head Ari Emanuel.

On a recent episode of The Stevie Richards Show hosted by James Romero, Stevie didn’t hold back while tearing into the rapper’s bizarre stint in WWE, which included an awkward WrestleMania appearance and the infamous slap that injured Cody Rhodes. According to Stevie, this wasn’t just a bad celebrity cameo—it was a politically driven misfire from the top of the corporate ladder. Romero opened the discussion by pointing out how jarring it felt going from The Rock’s return to Travis Scott’s surprise involvement:

“And he—fine, it was kind of The Rock that ruined it, if you know what I mean. But then just having—just going from The Rock to just that… turning up and just ruining it.”

Stevie took it even further—accusing Ari Emanuel of forcing Scott into WWE programming as a favor to a friend, not because Scott earned it.

“Literally an indie promoter saying, ‘Put over one of my best friends on the show and make him a star because it’s I Emanuel.’ And I can’t believe—usually in wrestling when somebody like I Emanuel is in power and everybody’s kind of puckered up trying to just plate him and not get fired and not get heat with the company.”

Stevie also suggested that the only reason Scott isn’t still being pushed is because he self-destructed before WWE had to step in.

“This Travis Scott run, I think—because Travis Scott ended up, like they said, half in—and he just doesn’t care, and he’s kind of got ADD, scattered and all over the place. He kind of eliminated himself from the company.”

And if Scott had put in even a sliver of effort, Stevie believes no one backstage would’ve spoken up.

“If he put it all into it and been lazy and a slow learner at the same time, but wanted to wrestle full-time, he’d still be on SummerSlam because nobody would ever dare speak up and say, ‘Hey, your client is like ruining this whole thing.’ Nobody would have the balls to do that.”

The conversation on The Stevie Richards Show paints a brutal picture of how WWE’s internal decisions may be driven less by talent and more by power plays from the top. With Ari Emanuel’s name in the mix, fans are left wondering if wrestling’s creative direction is still in the hands of the wrestling minds—or if it’s all just corporate strings.

Do you think WWE went too far by bringing in Travis Scott, or is this just how business works now in the TKO era? Drop your thoughts in the comments—we want to hear what you think.

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