This is a raw, opinionated editorial regarding the issue of Racism in wrestling
Wrestling has serious social issues that it needs to address. Over the past couple of months, we as an industry have had to stand face to face with countless serious issues like suicide and depression suffered from wrestlers in the public eye and the rampant sexual abuse problems that were uncovered via the #SpeakingOut movement. Recently, the topic of racism within the wrestling world has been at the heart of the conversation, partially prompted by the upcoming return of ACH to the wrestling world, as well as an interview with AJ Gray that covered the subject of race. In the interview on the Wrestling Inc Daily Podcast, Gray referenced the lack of diversity in companies like All Elite Wrestling, despite their repeated claims of being a highly diverse roster.
AEW – 87 Performers: 72.4% White, 8% Black, 8% Hispanic, 8% Asian, 2.2% LGBTQ, 1.1% Native American
— Last Word on Pro Wrestling (@LWOProWrestling) July 20, 2020
This lack of diversity in AEW is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to racial problems in the industry. There is a widespread lack of representation of the black wrestling community that has been a problem for decades and is now being treated with the bare minimum amount of care from the “Elite” (pun intended) of the wrestling world. On top of this, wrestlers such as Lionel Green (fka Lio Rush) and the aforementioned ACH have been subjected to undeserved hate from both their peers and their fans for speaking up on racial issues within WWE. What I’m trying to say is, there is a serious racism problem within pro wrestling, so much so that it’s hard to even count the individual instances of it at this point.
With that being said, I don’t know how to fix those problems. I know we have to address those problems, we have to confront those problems and attempt to expel those problems, but as we’ve seen throughout the world, that is far easier said than done. I commend all the wrestlers who are trying to push for better both in public and behind the scenes, and I hope they continue to do so. As for me, I think the least I can do is remind you how incredibly important black wrestlers have been to the black community who consume professional wrestling and to the wrestling industry itself.
For me, the Nation of Domination and Ron Simmons himself are prime examples of both the power that black wrestlers have as well as the injustices they’ve faced in professional wrestling. Ron Simmons was the first black man to hold the WCW World Heavyweight Championship in 1992. This marked one in only a handful of times that a black man has won such a major championship in the wrestling world, and although he would lose the belt a few months later, his reign has gone down in history as a huge step for blacks in the business.
When Simmons went to the WWF, his creation of a Black Panthers inspired faction was something unheard of up to that point. The Nation of Domination’s philosophy was that of the empowerment of black men who were held down under a racist corporation. This was and still is a very profound concept for a wrestling group, and though I can only say this in hindsight, their message was something that is still relevant to the black struggles faced today. That’s why the fact that they were portrayed as the bad guys – and that Simmons never won the heavyweight title in the company – continues to frustrate me 24 years later.
Looking at recent times, New Day is yet another group that has been extremely impactful. Not only have Big E and Kofi Kingston been consistently wearing armbands in honor of victims of police brutality and hate crimes, but they have also talked at length about the influence their race has had on their lives and careers in their podcast. In New Day: Feel The Power, the trio has talked about their desires to not only represent the black community to the best of their abilities but to also push the boundaries of what people of color can “be” in professional wrestling. As an outspoken denouncer of the boxes that black wrestlers are often put into, Xavier Woods talked about it in the first episode:
“…There are three archetypes for black wrestlers, you’re either the big strong black guy, which was E, the foreign black guy, which was Kofi, or you’re the dancing black guy, which was me. Those are the three characters that black guys and girls have. We want to make sure we’re none of those because we want to make something new to make sure that kids understand that they can be whatever they want regardless of shape, color, gender, race, whatever.”
Although they were subsequently pushed into a preacher gimmick that totally disregarded the point they made, the New Day continues to hold that sentiment to this day. The generalization of POCs in wrestling has become a not so subtle red flag of the systemic racism that plagues major companies today. The New Day’s drive to be something unique and unstereotypical in an industry that is constantly generalizing its characters and succeeding is something that is remarkable, despite the fact that it should be commonplace.
Looking at the independent level today shows that there has never been a stronger collection of black talent in wrestling history. Black wrestlers like Lee Moriarty, Tre Lamar, Faye Jackson, Suge D, and AJ Gray have been some of the most noteworthy fixtures in US indie companies, but have still had to work infinitely harder to reach this level due to their race. Beyond this, there are non-wrestlers like J-Rose who are absolute masters in their fields – in his case ring announcing & video editing – and deserve more credit than they have previously received.
For me, the biggest travesty in pro wrestling has been against ACH over the past number of years. Over the past 11 years, ACH has proven to be one of the greatest juniors in history to come out of the United States, one of the most infectiously enjoyable wrestlers to grace the independent scene, and in my opinion the biggest missed opportunity by companies like WWE, New Japan Pro Wrestling and Ring of Honor. ACH has stated that there is no ill-will between him and New Japan, but his relationships with both ROH and WWE were both strained due to racism-related issues. In fact, his exit from WWE following a dispute over a racist T-shirt released by the company played a big part in his loss of passion for the industry entirely, something that also happened to Lionel Green, following his WWE departure.
https://twitter.com/MutantLava/status/1188425674735919104
While it is impossible to summarize the profound impact black wrestlers have had on the industry, I tried to bring up some examples of black wrestlers who have impacted my love for the business and have faced disgusting hardships due to their race. While brothers like the New Day and Ron Simmons were able to overcome racist hardships and reach the top of the industry, this isn’t regularly the case. From legends like MVP, Shelton Benjamin, 2 Cold Scorpio, and D’Lo Brown to modern-day stars like Scorpio Sky, Cedric Alexander, Big Swole, Isaiah “Swerve” Scott, and Sonny Kiss, the amount of black talent in pro wrestling who has been constantly underutilized by their companies more than enough is proof that this conversation has to be had, and there truly is no time like the present to do so.
