It’s always said that modern hip-hop is like wrestling – and Open Mike Eagle, who recently announced a new album entitled What Happens When I Try To Relax, is taking that adage one step past WCW, WWF, and the Urban Wrestling Federation’s usage of rappers for promo and actually having a match tonight.

Mike is known for introspective music projects like Brick Body Kids Still Daydream which show him wrestling with his thoughts, but tonight he’s literally wrestling Shiloh Jonze in Louisville tonight at Ohio Valley Wrestling’s (OVW) Heavyweight Championship Tournament. Mr. “No Selling” will have to actually sell the action tonight against Jonze, as he’s taking part in OVW’s 1000th episode which will be streaming live on FiteTV.com.

man…on behalf of rap and wrestling fans this is f*cking embarrassing https://t.co/kIAR1LBZam — Open Mike Eagle (@Mike_Eagle) September 13, 2018

he did not handle my appearance well. pic.twitter.com/ZBhx3dJw5q — Open Mike Eagle (@Mike_Eagle) September 20, 2018

Mike and Shiloh’s match is an intriguing conclusion to what started out as Shiloh’s open call for a rap battle on Twitter. After Shiloh dropped decidedly non-”Ether” quality “yo @Mike_Eagle I’ll tie you up like @RealKingRegal” bars, Mike spoke for many by groaning, ”man…on behalf of rap and wrestling fans this is f*cking embarrassing.” Their war of words escalated, then Mike replied to OVW’s tweet about Jonze’s callout by noting he’d be accepting the challenge. After Mike called Jonze “John Cena in cosplay” during their mini-battle, things almost got physical. But tonight they’re going all the way in the ring, marking one of the few times a prominent MC actually stepped in the squared circle. In the meantime, check out the new song off his upcoming albu, “Relatable,” above.