Black American Wrestlers
Lio Rush, 5'6", 161# (Maryland)
ACH, 5'9", 190# (Texas)
AR Fox, 6', 185# (Connecticut)
Brandon Watts, ??, 174# (New York)
Sonny Kiss, ??, ?? (New Jersey)
Jay Lethal, 5'10", 215# (New Jersey)
Cedric Alexander, 5'11", 209# (North Carolina)
King Cobra The Muay Thai Warrior, 6'1", 185# (Illinois)
Shelton Benjamin, 6'2", 248# (South Carolina)
Kenny King, 6', 230# (Nevada)
David Otunga, 6', 229# (Illinois)
Uhaa Nation, 6'1", 240# (Georgia)
Darren Young, 6'1", 239# (Florida)
Titus O'Neil, 6'6", 270# (Florida)
Bobby Lashley, 6'3", 276# (Colorado)
Though trading in stereotypes, American pro wrestling has had Black wrestlers throughout its history, going as far back as Viro Small, born into slavery but a key figure in the early professional wrestling shows of the 1880s. The African-American presence has never been as strongly felt in pro wrestling as now, thanks largely to the astounding success of The Rock (Dwayne Johnson) in the late 1990s and early 2000s (and now, of course, in films and television). Still, the visibility of Black athletes is far less in wrestling than in other (legitimate) professional sports like boxing, football, and basketball. Race-flavored insults were common in the rants and color commentary of heels until very recently, and witchdoctor and ghetto gimmicks are still around, though not quite as prevalent or patently insulting as they were 20 years ago or so. Though no one has yet stepped into The Rock's shoes, in 2016 we have a wider variety of hot African-American babyfaces who pop with racially diverse audiences than we had even at The Rock's peak in WWF/WWE.
First of all Joe, welcome back. Missed your blogging. Lots of other good blogs, but only one Ringside at Skull Island.
ReplyDeleteOn the topic at hand, I am glad there are so many black wrestlers now. Although I can have fun with the occasional stereotype (of any category of people), what is most refreshing about the latest crop of black wrestlers (other than the fact that many are super hot) is that they are by and large not playing the "black wrestler" role. Gone are the Bobo Brazils and Koko B-wares of the old days. I hope many have wonderful, long careers. Most especially Shelton Benjamin who has been my dream husband for going on ten years now.
Great post, and I like Caprice Coleman and Jonathan Gresham too.
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