Jelly Roll’s Incredible 12-month WWE SummerSlam Journey

Jelly Roll Slams Summer In 2024 

The country music star opened SummerSlam 2024 with his song Liar. Jelly Roll hit an incredible chokeslam on Austin Theory last summer. It was a typical celebrity interaction in which the heel duo of Theory and Grayson Waller provoked Jelly Roll. 

With the help of The Awesome Truth, Jelly Roll came out looking good. The truth behind this was that Jelly Roll had already had to work harder than most celebs to get this WWE moment.

He had made a brief appearance on a WWE Raw episode from Nashville in November 2023. After that appearance, where he shoved Dominik Mysterio, Jelly Roll was given an ultimatum. Lose 70 pounds and you can get more physical in the ring.

The list of celebrities gifted opportunities in the WWE is endless. But Jelly Roll – who once tipped the scales at 550 pounds – was encouraged to earn his WWE appearances by slimming down.

It took him eight months to shift the weight, and SummerSlam was his reward. But he didn’t want to stop there.

Jelly Roll Gets Ring Shape

After WWE SummerSlam, Jelly Roll was told that if he could lose another 100 pounds, he could compete in an actual match. This was a massive carrot for the lifelong WWE fan.

An obese child, he has battled with his weight his whole life. But his chance in the WWE came at a perfect time with Jelly Roll in the middle of a dramatic weight loss campaign.

By April, as WWE eyed WrestleMania 41, he had shed a further 75 pounds. The goal to cut the extra 25 pounds by August was set. Achieve it and he’d get his match at SummerSlam. 

Jelly Roll plans to be under 300 pounds for the first time since he was in middle school at WWE SummerSlam. Where Jelly Roll differs from all the other celebrities who have stepped into the ring is how unfit he is.

Roll said he’s had to show up every day and work slowly with WWE Performance Center Head Coach Matt Bloom. It has been an arduous task getting him ready for the ring. Building up muscle whilst trimming fat is no simple feat.

But he’s got himself into a better shape and is booked in one of the most anticipated matches at WWE SummerSlam. 

 He teams with “Mr SummerSlam” Randy Orton to tangle with social media megastar Logan Paul and Drew McIntyre.

Also at WWE SummerSlam, Gunther defends his World Heavyweight Championship against CM Punk, Becky Lynch and Lyra Valkyria meet in a no-DQ grudge match and Cody Rhodes gets a shot for redemption against WWE Champion John Cena. 

Jelly Roll’s Future In WWE Revealed 

Jelly Roll told Stephanie McMahon’s What’s Your Story podcast that he had been rewatching all the previous WWE celebrity matches to see where he could draw inspiration from.

Interestingly, he looked at Ronda Rousey’s first match as an example of a celebrity who competed in WWE for the first time before turning to WWE full-time. 

Jelly Roll has taken a month off his touring schedule to train and appear in WWE. Despite being a huge WWE fan, don’t expect Jelly Roll to transition to WWE full-time like Rousey or Logan Paul. He will be heading off on a European tour on August 16, 2025.  

But don’t expect him to stay away from WWE for very long. With all the effort he’s put in for his first match, Jelly Roll promises he’ll be back soon. His next goal? Lose enough weight to jump off the top rope.