PWInsider - WWE News, Wrestling News, WWE

MUSIC INDUSTRY LEGEND RICK RUBIN, WHO BACKED SMW, NAMED TO ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME

Rick Rubin, the legendary producer was named to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2026 Class tonight in their Musical Excellence Category.

Rubin, the founder of American Recordings and Def Jam Records, has been a lifelong professional wrestling fan who has been seen in recent years at both AEW and WWE events and in the early 1990s, was the financial backer of Jim Cornette's Smoky Mountain Wrestling, which ran from 1992 to 1995.

While appearing on Chris Jericho's podcast in 2021, Rubin discussed pro wrestling's influence on his work, commenting, "All of those stories just get in the way of what's possible, and I'm really into tapping into what's possible, which really, that's one of the beauties of pro wrestling. The pro wrestling mindset is - anything is possible.  Things happen in wrestling that could not happen otherwise. It's one of the reasons I love it so much. Suspend disbelief, that's what wrestling is. If you live your life in a world where everything is pro wrestling, anything's possible."

If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here!

• Tweet