How the rap icon entered the squared circle — sombrero, lucha mask, and all
In 2021, amidst the usual flurry of product endorsements, musical releases, and occasional surprise television appearances, Snoop Dogg quietly added another unlikely credential to his résumé: luchador.
Yes, Snoop Dogg, the same man who once collaborated with Martha Stewart on a cooking show and rebranded briefly as a Rastafarian in the early 2010s, stepped into the world of Mexican professional wrestling — masked, caped, and character-developed. This happened as part of a promotional event partnered with the popular lucha libre organization AAA (Asistencia Asesoría y Administración), which is essentially Mexico’s WWE, but with more flips and fewer rules against pyrotechnic offense.
Snoop didn’t merely wave from the sidelines or perform a walk-on cameo. He entered the ring (sort of), accompanied by a small entourage and a mariachi band, while dressed in a sparkling robe trimmed with faux fur and wearing a custom lucha mask that featured his signature braids stitched into the design. His official luchador name for the evening? “El Perro Fumado” — which needs no translation.
Though he refrained from executing any top-rope maneuvers, his in-ring presence included playful taunting, a slowed-down crip walk atop the turnbuckle, and what can only be described as a very cautious elbow drop from a modest standing position. The crowd, an even split between baffled and euphoric, chanted some variation of “¡Dogg! ¡Dogg! ¡Dogg!” as if this was a thing they were totally familiar with.
Snoop’s opponent in the exhibition match was a lesser-known heel named El Mal Hálito (Bad Breath), whose gimmick revolved around halitosis-related psychological warfare. The match lasted approximately five minutes and concluded with Snoop pinning El Mal Hálito using what can only be described as an enthusiastic hug.
Nobody was harmed. Everybody was confused. And somewhere, somehow, professional wrestling added another surreal chapter to its ever-growing anthology of celebrity crossovers. Snoop Dogg, for his part, concluded the event by offering commentary at the taco stand outside the venue while still wearing his mask, declaring lucha libre the “most exhilarating cardio session” he’d had since he tried goat yoga with Wiz Khalifa.
This performance, while technically athletic, was neither sanctioned nor ranked — though it did make local TV news in Guadalajara and briefly trended on Luchador Twitter, where responses ranged from “Legend” to “¿Qué está pasando?”
In the end, Snoop Dogg returned to the States, the mask reportedly retired in a personal archive next to his fur coat collection and autographed copy of Tekken 4. El Perro Fumado hasn’t made another appearance
— yet. But the door appears open, should the world once again need an elder hip-hop statesman in sequins to step into battle against the forces of exaggerated villainy.