baron black

Baron Black Promises To Make Lil Scrappy Pay, ‘The TakeOver’ Will Be Something To Behold

By Colin Tessier

Baron Black is going to make Lil Scrappy pay for crossing him.

Battle Slam returns to Atlanta with The Takeover on August 7 and the event is highlighted by a bout between Baron Black and Atlanta-based rapper Lil Scrappy. The match has been in the works ever since Lil Scrappy showed up at Battle Slam’s June event and hit Black with a Rock Bottom in the ring.

The trash talk has continued since then, with Black promising repercussions for the rapper, but he also recognizes how Lil Scrappy’s inclusion has put a spotlight on Battle Slam and Atlanta in a positive way.

“Like I said, there is gonna be consequences and repercussions for his actions. Now that he has accepted the challenge, we will definitely be facing each other at Battle Slam: The Takeover. So this means a lot. This means a lot for the pro wrestling scene, and it means definitely a lot for the hip-hop culture scene as well. Bringing these two entities together as one, when these two worlds collide, when Lil’ Scrappy, representing hip-hop and of course me, myself, Baron Black, representing pro wrestling, and we’re finally gonna square off,” Black explained, “it’s gonna be definitely a huge moment for both scenes and definitely a huge moment for the city of Atlanta.

“A lot of people have been talking about this, there’s been quite a bit of buzz about it and I guarantee you, this match is gonna be something to behold because I don’t know if he’s ready,” Black pointed out, “but I’m gonna do this for every single wrestling fans that’s been wanting to see if Lil’ Scrappy is really a head-buster about what he say. We gonna find out at Battle Slam: The Takeover. We definitely gonna find out.”

Black spoke about Atlanta emerging as a hotbed for wrestling in recent years, noting that the region wasn’t in a good spot a few years ago.

“Even per-pandemic, it was, Atlanta was in a real not-so-great state, just being straight honest and transparent with that. The independent scene was just not in a great state. There was just really no predominant independent promotion really pushing the area forward, pushing the city forward, or even pushing the region forward in the independent scene. So this is why all this talent is now starting to surface because people didn’t get to see it because most of these talents weren’t able to be showcased in the Atlanta local area due to the scene being a little bit stagnant.

“So this is what really started the whole idea of bringing TERMINUS and Battle Slam to life. These were ideas that were always planned, but it came at the right time. Now that you see TERMINUS and Battle Slam really leading the charge and revitalizing Atlanta and the whole independent scene of Atlanta and the whole state of Georgia,” Black explained, “now you’re starting to see all the great talent that were basically suppressed or basically was not being showcased. Now you see great a lot of people are from this city. I’m happy and I’m proud that TERMINUS and Battle Slam is definitely holding the reigns in Atlanta now and pushing things forward and leading the way.”

The name of Battle Slam’s first two events, Vendetta and Battle For ATL, paid tribute to the Def Jam fighting games of the past and that trend continues with The Takeover. Fans speculated that the next one might follow a trend and be called “ICON” after the third console game, but Black confirmed that he actually used the name of the oft-forgotten Playstation Portable game.

“You know what’s funny, a lot of people don’t know about that version of Def Jam: Fight For NY. A lot of people missed that, and everybody was like oh man, they’re gonna make the next show ‘Icon’, and I’m like, y’all forgetting one game, and I think it’s because not a lot of people played the PSP. So when I named it the Takeover, it was very minimal people got it. I’m so happy that you got it, like oh, that was the PSP version.”

Black spoke about how the Def Jam games inspired Battle Slam by uniting pro wrestling and hip-hop, explaining the bigger vision for the promotion.

“We’re bringing the pro wrestling and the world of hip hop together, colliding, bringing them together, collaborating for a showcase event that’s basically nothing you can ever experience in wrestling period as a whole, on the independent level, on the major level. So it’s something that I really liked as a child, growing up playing those games, and it just fits well together. It goes so well together. I think watching AEW this week, Rampage and Dynamite, you can see how well they can go together, so it’s something I’ve been wanting to do ever since I was a kid, playing those games, coming up with a GameCube and PlayStation 2 and the Xbox and those generations of consoles. It’s something I always wanted to do after I became a wrestler, and the time just came right at the right moment, and I was able to do it, and so far it has been a tremendous success.

Battle Slam: The Takeover takes place on Sunday, August 7; tickets are still available. Check out the full interview with Baron Black at the top of this page where he also talks about his first AEW win, Terminus’ future, career highlights and more.

Read More: Baron Black Reacts To First AEW Win: It Was Very Euphoric

Colin Tessier
Colin Tessier

Colin Tessier is a lifelong fan of all things Marvel and DC, and he has used this passion to write about them for several years. Likewise, having been a fan of wrestling since he was a kid, he also covers professional wrestling. You can find him on Twitter at @ct_2110.

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