Warning: SPOILERS for Cobra Kai Season 5Raymond "Stingray" Porter (Paul Walter Hauser) sings one of the most popular tunes from All Elite Wrestling in Cobra Kai season 5, and here's how Chris Jericho's theme, "Judas" by Fozzy, made it into Netflix's hit karate series. Stingray found himself under the thrall of Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith) in Cobra Kai season 5; Raymond blamed John Kreese (Martin Kove) for nearly beating him to death, and his testimony sent Kreese to prison for attempted murder, even though it was really Terry who brutalized Stingray. For his service to Sensei Silver, Stingray was rewarded with membership in Cobra Kai, a new apartment, and even Johnny Lawrence's (William Zabka) Cobra Kai-painted Dodge Charger.
When Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and Chozen Toguchi (Yuji Okumoto) were tipped off (by Kreese) about Stingray's deception, they tracked Raymond to his new pad. Naturally, Stingray was hardly inconspicuous. Along with driving Johnny's Cobra Kai mobile, Raymond was blasting "Judas," a tune beloved by AEW wrestling fans. Even after he left his car, Stingray kept on singing "Judas" until he was inside his swanky digs. Of course, "Judas" is arguably the most popular entrance theme in AEW. Composed and performed by Chris Jericho and his globally popular heavy metal band, Fozzy, "Judas" became a bona fide phenomenon in 2020 when AEW fans began singing the lyrics in the arena. Since then, every time "Judas" accompanies Chris Jericho and his various AEW allies to the ring, everyone in attendance serenades the ultimate sports entertainer with his own song. AEW even turns the track off to let the fans sing the lyrics "I'm become, I'm become, I'm becoming Judas in, Judas in my mind!" a capella.
Chris Jericho and Fozzy's "Judas" made it into Cobra Kai season 5, episode 5, "Extreme Measures," thanks to Paul Walter Hauser, who is a diehard wrestling fan. Hauser has been spotted at ringside at several AEW shows, and he's welcomed by the wrestling talent. According to Cobra Kai's executive producers Jon Hurwitz, Josh Heald, and Hayden Schlossberg, Paul was singing "Judas" on the Cobra Kai set. The producers immediately realized that they'd have to purchase the rights to use Fozzy's song. However, when they shot a version of Stingray's scene without "Judas," they saw that it worked much better with him belting out Jericho's theme. Hauser apparently even helped secure a lower fee for the rights to "Judas" thanks to his friendships with Jericho, Fozzy, and AEW.
Cobra Kai's AEW And WWE Connections In The Show & Real Life Explained
Cobra Kai's connections to AEW and professional wrestling have run deep since the series began. Chris (Khalil Everage) and Mitch AKA Penis Breath (Aedin Mincks) are big wrestling fans in Cobra Kai, and they are often spotted wearing WWE T-shirts. Cobra Kai season 4's climactic All Valley tournament was perfectly booked in the style of a WWE or AEW wrestling event, with drama, surprises, eliminations, and underhanded cheating. But the ultimate real-life AEW and Cobra Kai connection was forged in 2021 when Martin Kove met and befriended then-AEW Women's World Champion Dr. Britt Baker at a comic con. This led to Kove appearing on AEW Dynamite as Baker's sensei, who encouraged her from ringside to "finish" her enemy. Given Britt Baker's villainous role in AEW, she perfectly embodies Cobra Kai's "no mercy" philosophy. Baker also attended Cobra Kai's season 5 premiere in Los Angeles.
Not only is Stingray singing "Judas" an amazing shout-out to Chris Jericho and AEW, but the song also cleverly illuminates Raymond's crisis of conscience in Cobra Kai season 5. In spite of Terry Silver's gifts, Stingray knew that what he did to Sensei Kreese was wrong, and he was deeply troubled by his actions but also afraid of Sensei Silver. Stingray was a "Judas" in his mind to Kreese but by the end of Cobra Kai season 5, Raymond did the right thing and became a "Judas" to Terry Silver by helping Daniel and his friends take down the ponytailed supervillain. Good triumphed over evil in Cobra Kai season 5, just as it ultimately does in AEW as well.
Cobra Kai Season 5 is streaming on Netflix.