JED WALLACE’S pre-match playlist has led Millwall to wrestle their way back into the play-off picture.
The Lions winger has taken his role as squad DJ seriously by swapping generic pop tunes for WWE walkout music to get his team-mates fired up.
Jed Wallace copies John Cena celebration after scoring against BirminghamCredit: Rex Features
After going ten games without a win between October and December, the South Londoners’ aim of bettering last season’s eighth-place finish looked slim.
But with the side now on an eight-game unbeaten run, Wallace’s tactics have got Millwall making their own ring-walk back towards the top six spots.
Wallace, 26, joked: “I won’t take all the credit for it but I will definitely have some!
“You have to play to your crowd. If I played ‘Fields of Gold’ by Sting or something like that, we certainly wouldn’t go out the way we would want to.
“But I can’t pick stuff like The Prodigy because someone would get a red card in the first minute of the game because they are too fired up!
“Usually it is anything from Drake to Kings of Leon to mix it up and keep people happy.
“But Smudge [Matt Smith] asked for a few wrestler tunes.
“We had The Rock, Stone Cold and then John Cena. We also like the Shawn Michaels one, ‘I’m A Sexy Boy’, and The Big Show one is a classic.
NEW CUSTOMER OFFER: GET £20 IN FREE BETS WITH BETFAIR
Wrestling legned Cena has become an inspiration to MillwallCredit: WWE
“Everyone our age used to watch wrestling on Saturday mornings, with Raw and Smackdown.
“After games now I watch a few old videos on YouTube of what the greats used to do.
“I have two kids and I can spend a lot of my time practicing my wrestling moves on them. They absolutely love it!”
After scoring two minutes into their home match against Birmingham earlier this month, Wallace followed through on a bet with Smith to re- create the ‘You Can’t See Me’ celebration of Cena.
But the former Wolves man is now plotting revenge by trying to convince him to go one better next time Smith gets on the scoresheet.
He added: “I have been on to him about doing the Booker T spinaroonie — it could be interesting seeing his 6ft 6in frame try that!
Here’s our WWE XI, Hell-in-a-Celtic
SummerSlam Johnstone
RussellMania Martin
Kurt Angel Rangel
Neil ‘Razor Ramon’ Ruddock
Andre the Giant Wisdom
Macho Man Robbie Savage
Ceyhun Under-Taker
Brett Pitman Hart
Stone Cold Charlie Austin
Scott Hulk Hogan
Harry Kane
Manager: Joe Royle Rumble
⚽ Read our Football live blog for the very latest news from around the grounds
“It is not the same when you don’t score without the fans, so it just keeps us entertained. And when you do score, you’re happy to make a bit of an idiot of yourself.”
Reading-born Wallace has been with Millwall for most of the past five years, the first two spells on loan from Wolves before the move was made permanent in the summer of 2017.
And with 16 draws already this season, Gary Rowett’s side are renowned for suplexing their opponents into some tight affairs.
Now, after George Evans’ 95th-minute equaliser against Luton on Tuesday kept their unbeaten run intact, Millwall head to fellow overachievers Barnsley today.
But after watching the likes of Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Triple H and many more top wrestling stars, Wallace is confident his team’s choke-hold approach to football will pay dividends in the final 15 games.
He added: “It can be frustrating when you look at Bristol City, who have lost nearly double the amount of games we have but are only one point behind us.
“The fans may think it can be boring watching us because it is so tight. We aren’t a team to draw 3-3, win 5-3 and then lose 2-0 — but I don’t know any Millwall fans who are disappointed when we win 1-0. It’s about results.
“My message to the lads before the games is, how long can we go unbeaten for?
“Another four or five games and let’s see where it takes us.”
Britain’s greenest football club Forest Green Rovers create eco-friendly kit made from coffee beans
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
