Before the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff marching band takes to the West Coast, 50 of its members will perform for a big wrestling crowd in Atlanta.
The lucky members of the Marching Musical Machine of the Mid-South, commonly known as M4, accepted an invitation from World Wrestling Entertainment star Cody Rhodes to perform at its Bad Blood premium live event Oct. 5 at the State Farm Arena, home to the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks. The event will be broadcast on pay-per-view and on streaming service Peacock.
M4 caught the attention of Rhodes, who listened to a social media post of the band playing his theme song “Kingdom” during the Aug. 29 UAPB vs. University of Arkansas football game in Little Rock, according to UAPB spokesperson Stephanie Jackson. All expenses have been paid for the select members of the band by Rhodes’ promotional team, Jackson added.
UAPB first announced on X, formerly Twitter, Saturday evening it would perform at Bad Blood. The announcement came more than a week after the band was selected as one of six historically Black college bands for Honda Battle of the Bands on Feb. 1 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif. That stadium is home to the NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers and Rams.
Rhodes, the undisputed WWE champion, will team with Roman Reigns to take on Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu of The Bloodline at Bad Blood. It is believed that would be the main event of the card.
Other matches include Finn Balor vs. Damian Priest and CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre in Hell in a Cell. In women’s action, Liv Morgan will put her championship on the line against Rhea Ripley with “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio suspended above the ring in a shark cage, and defending champion Nia Jax will take on either Bayley or Naomi.