It’s another battle of the athletes as high-flying NBA superstar Michael Jordan (Keegan-Michael Key) and boxing champ Muhammad Ali (Jordan Peele) duke it out to see who’s the better athlete.
TROPES
- Adaptational Nice Guy: This Ali's trash-talk is a lot cleaner and more politically correct than the kind he famously got up to in real life, notable considering that usually contestants in ERB are made more vulgar and crude rather than the opposite.
- Afro Asskicker: Ali sports a relatively subdued 'fro, but it still counts because he is still an asskicker in boxing and rapping.
- Badass Boast: Ali gets the awesome ”I’ll leave you like Liston, flat on your ass!"
- Berserk Button:
- Jordan does not take kindly to being accused of selling out.
- Ali gets noticeably more aggressive after Jordan calls him "Cassius". This actually was an easy way to set him off.
- Boisterous Bruiser: Ali’s a boxer and is very aggressive in his raps.
- Category Traitor: Ali accuses Jordan of selling out to white people.
- Character Tic: Jordan is seen sticking his tongue out, just like in real life. Ali says it makes him look like a big dumb goblin.
- Circling Monologue: Jordan’s last verse is a textbook example; walking around Ali while proving his hypocrisy about "selling out".
- Dirty Coward: Jordon accuses Ali of being a coward for being a draft dodger as mentioned below.Why don't you dodge this battle like you did Vietnam?
- Draft Dodging: Ali was a conscientious objector who said that The Vietnam War, among other things, went against his Islamic beliefs, though Jordan claims he was just a coward.
- Extremity Extremist: Ali’s fists and dope rhymes are the only weapons he needs.
- The Gambling Addict: Jordan’s betting woes are referenced by Ali.Muhammad Ali: Messing with me is gambling; you got a problem!
- Handicapped Badass: Jordan says he could school Ali even if he had the flu. note
- Hypocrite: Ali ends one of his verses by accusing Jordan of selling out. Michael turns it right around listing off his own endorsement deals.
- In a Single Bound: Jordan boasts his jumping ability as true flight.
- It's All About Me: Ali brings up Jordan’s infamous ball-hogging by saying he should switch to professional golf so he can keep the ball all to himself. Then during his second verse, the music shouts "SWITCH!" and he refuses to hand the mic to an off-screen Pippen.
- Jerkass: Jordan initiates the personal attacks between himself and Ali by mocking the latter's Parkinson's Disease. Ali proves he can go for even lower blows.
- Kick the Dog:
- The Parkinson's thing was a low blow on MJ’s part.
- Ali brings up the death of Jordan's father just so he could say his baseball career was a bigger tragedy.
- Lightning Bruiser: Michael Jordan is a flying machine who drives through whole teams.
- One-Man Army: Jordan claims that he can drive through a whole team while Ali fights one guy, .
- Sell-Out: Jordan and Ali call each other out for selling their images to commercial enterprises.Muhammad Ali: McDonald's and underpants as corporate backers?
You stay at the Ritz 'cuz you sold out to crackers!
Michael Jordan: Oh, so Cassius wants to talk about cashing checks?
I'll school you through your bug spray, off your Broadway play,
Over the Japanese dude sitting on your face! - Special Guest: Key & Peele make their triumphant return to ERB as Jordan and Ali, respectively.
- Walking Shirtless Scene: Justified in that it's basically standard boxing protocol.
- Your Mom: Ali brings up Michael Jordan’s father to set up a diss.Muhammad Ali: Now, your daddy got killed and I feel for your family
But your baseball career? Now that was a tragedy!
