Celebrating Black History Month: Favorite Black Wrestlers

First off, I want to thank all the readers for making my last column a source of good conversation. Feedback is always welcome not to pander too much. That is what makes the IWC so cool, because this is one of the few places where we can discuss wrestling without ridicule for the most part. Regardless, I’m going to focus on positives this week. Last week I discussed a lot of negatives, but February is a month of celebration. This week I want to bring up an issue that goes beyond pro wrestling. February is Black History Month.

Racism is still a real issue in this world. I want to relate a few real life examples with that of professional wrestling. I remember a nickname I got despite being white. I got along with everyone in school, and some people would call me the n word lover due to that. I’ll let the blanks fill themselves in, since I do not feel comfortable writing the word. I have been on dates with black women before and some people gave me really dirty looks. On the other hand, there are places in the United States where I can go on a date with my girlfriend (who is biracial) without getting a dirty look. My point is any progress should be celebrated and the same goes for pro wrestling. Pro Wrestling has come far since the days of Bobo Brazil’s NWA title reign not being recognized. Pro Wrestling had its own share of racism, but now we do not even think about the ethnicity of a wrestler.

I’m far too young to delve into all of the trailblazers that cleared the path for today’s black and biracial wrestlers. I’m only 25, so I do not want to try to discuss a lot of history that I did not witness. I want to focus on the contributions and the careers of some of my favorites and my favorite moments involving them. I’m not going discuss some of the bad stereotypical gimmicks; instead, I want to focus on the positives.

Ron Simmons/Faarooq
The first to come to my mind is Ron Simmons. A man that remains relevant no matter the decade. He started as a part of Doom who defeated the Steiner Brothers for the NWA World Tag Team Championship in a match I always enjoyed. From there, Simmons only got better. Ron Simmons became a trailblazer himself when he became the first black wrestler to win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship (Bobo Brazil notwithstanding). The crowd loved Ron Simmons and everyone no matter what color they were popped big for his victory over the unstoppable Vader. Simmons only got a 4 month reign with the WCW World Championship; he made the best of what he could. He actually got a decent match out of The Barbarian, but I always thought he deserved a better opponent. Nonetheless, WCW didn’t use him properly afterwards and he took his talents elsewhere.

Nation of Domination
In the WWF, he hit his stride as the leader of the Nation of Domination. I always loved the Nation and Faarooq always garnered great heel heat as the leader. The Nation of Domination was certainly a ballsy story-line. I might be in the minority, but I loved his promos as the leader of NOD. Much like Muhammad Hassan in the 00’s, he would speak of real issues and problems. Hassan got unfairly booed at times and so did Faarooq. Faarooq really knew how to get heat on himself. If you watch an episode of Raw from that time, listen to the boos the NOD gets. Faarooq took this gimmick based off the Black Panther Party and Nation of Islam and ran with it. The NOD only succeeded because of Ron Simmons. This story-line was intelligent enough to play on history. The NOD gave other black wrestlers a chance to shine too. D’lo Brown became a very popular midcard act. Mark Henry got his start in the NOD. Kama Mustafa showed a little bit more personality and broke out on his own afterwards as The Godfather. Can we forget Rocky Maivia? Where would The Rock be without the NOD. Eventually they kicked out Faarooq (which I hated) and made him face. Still, Ron Simmons would make an impact again.

I first got into wrestling in the late 90’s and one of the teams I enjoyed was the APA. I did not care about workrate or anything like that when I first got into wrestling. The APA was entertaining. Faarooq and Bradshaw kicking people’s asses for money, that is gold. They were basically a hitman service. They still get a good pop to this day anytime they reform. Anytime you see the APA, a pool table, a bar, or a cardgame…you know it will be a good time. Lastly, Ron Simmons got the word Damn over. Few wrestlers can get one word over like that. Both Steve Austin and Daniel Bryan did it (with What and Yes), so that is great company. Ron Simmons was a fantastic wrestler that knew how to get the fans invested. He might be a little underrated in that sense. I hated that JBL didn’t feud with Ron Simmons before reaching main event status (it would have been a nice feud to propel JBL into singles competition). It would have written itself, and I think the fans would have bought it. Ron Simmons was underrated and always a wrestler I respected.

Bobby Lashley
Now I want to go to a more contemporary example in Bobby Lashley. Lashley has no stereotypical gimmick. Granted, not everyone has always been a fan of Lashley. He did have some decent matches with John Cena, Umaga, and Finlay in the WWE. Lashley played his part in the King Booker story-line too. However, he never really reached his potential until he went to TNA. His first run was forgettable, but in his second run he finally reached that potential. I remember vividly the groans and questions of why last year when it was announced. Most people were skeptical of Lashley. Honestly, I did not know what to expect because he had been out of wrestling so long. Lashley ended Eric Young’s TNA World Championship run. Since then, Lashley has put on good match after good match. Lashley returned rejuvenated and better than ever. It is rare that you see a wrestler vanish for years and come back twice as good. Lashley has quietly proved all of his critics wrong. Lashley is booked well as a fighting champion. I cannot speak for any other TNA fan, but for me Lashley is a revelation. Lashley accepts no one’s help. He’s all business as the TNA World Champion and he’ll take on anyone that wants his championship. Lashley keeps improving with every performance, and I look forward to seeing more Bobby Lashley this year.

Shelton Benjamin
Many are down on his NJPW performances and some even dislike his ROH performances. I think that is a little overstated personally. People forget that the culture is so different in Japan and it is difficult for some wrestlers to adjust to a new style. I’m not going to forget the past because the present might not be so rosy. How many times did Shelton make your jaw drop at the Money in the Bank matches? No one will forget the running diving clothesline, the diving senton from the ladder onto everyone, and the exploder off the ladder, among just a few of his highlights. Shelton Benjamin upsetting Triple H was an awesome moment. Especially, since Triple H did not get any revenge for a while as Shelton kept defeating and outsmarting him. At that time, barely anyone pinned Triple H and Shelton did it clean. Everyone remembers the Shawn Michaels vs. Shelton Benjamin match. Shelton always had a decent match if nothing else. Shelton would steal the show in Money in the Bank matches. His matches with Christian, Jericho, Flair, Carlito, and RVD were all good in my opinion. He was an entertaining IC Champion and one of the last to hold the title to a certain standard. Also, I loved all his tag team work with Charlie Haas. Some believe Shelton should have been a bigger star. He might not be blowing the world away in NJPW, but he’s had some good matches there with Shinsuke Nakamura. I am still a Shelton Benjamin fan. Shelton will always be remembered as one of the most athletic pro wrestlers and I will never forget the crazy things he did with a ladder.

Booker T.
I could probably write an entire column based on Booker T alone. He is probably one of the most successful wrestlers period. This man has held gold everywhere he went. Booker had quite the career spanning 30+ years. Not only is he a five time, five time, WCW World Champion; he’s held the World Heavyweight Championship in WWE as well. The craziest part of Booker’s career is that he probably should have been more successful. Most people think he deserved to win the title at Wrestlemania 19 (me included). That story-line was awful and Booker deserved a run after all that crappy booking WWE gave him. Nevertheless, he was successful in spite of all the bad booking he received. The kind of booking that kills characters left Booker unfazed. Booker was not given favors and he did not take political shortcuts. This man worked as hard as anyone for a top spot. He teamed with his brother Stevie Ray in WCW.

Honestly, the tag team ranks in WCW at that time were lacking. Harlem Heat was a mainstay that the crowd always connected with (except for the racist crowd at Sturgis, but the crowd was horrible anyway and booed Malenko/Benoit, so what do they know). I liked the Harlem Heat matches with Sting/Luger and The Steiner Brothers. I remember when I first started watching WCW, Harlem Heat was one of my favorite teams. Eventually, Booker overshadowed his brother. They gave Booker a chance to run with the Television Championship and he made it count. Booker made the Television Championship viable again. I loved his matches with Perry Saturn, Bret Hart, Chris Benoit, and Fit Finlay. Of course, WCW left him to toil for awhile. That is until Russo pushed him and gave him the WCW World Championship. He was one of the few bright spots near WCW’s end. Booker became the most decorated champion in WCW history with 23 championships. Booker ended Scott Steiner’s reign of terror after Steiner had beaten nearly every main eventer in WCW. Booker was the final WCW World Champion on the final Nitro. It doesn’t get much better than that.

This man could have rested on his laurels, but he decided to accept a contract offer from the WWF. The WWF misused him for a few years. He basically got beat up by Stone Cold in the supermarket (Booker and Austin were awesome in that segment) and lost to every major WWF star. Booker was given the ridiculous story-line of feuding with Edge over a Japanese shampoo commercial. Then, he got paired up with Goldust in a tag team. The crowd already found Booker entertaining in those absurd story-lines, and Booker took the absurdity and ran with it. Booker singing Shawn Michaels’ theme was classic. Kevin Nash and X-Pac started corpsing the moment he went into it. At the movies with Goldust and Booker was memorable. Booker and Goldust replacing The Rock in the Scorpion King were awesome. Booker and Goldust played off each other perfectly; I also loved when they were in 7-11. Booker eventually reached a new level in WWE after the BookDust split. Unfortunately the booking was haphazard. It would have been great if WWE let Booker win the title. Instead, they used racist implications and Booker still lost (which was a huge mistake). Booker toiled again for years. Finally he reached the main event level on Smackdown after winning the King of the Ring. I loved the King Booker segments and it gave IWC favorites Finlay and Regal something to do. Booker’s take on a stereotypical King character was a whole lot of fun. I will not judge his TNA run though, since I did not see enough of it. On an ending note I must mention Stevie Ray. I know Stevie Ray is not quite as accomplished in singles matches as his brother Booker. Stevie Ray made late WCW Thunder worthwhile with his commentating. I’m sure Stevie would call Michael Cole a fruit booty sucka within the first hour of Raw today. His commentating was always a highlight of its own and really WWE should hire him right now.

Sasha Banks
I cannot forget the ladies either. Another of my current favorites is The Boss, Sasha Banks. Who doesn’t love Team B.A.E.? Honestly, I prefer her over Charlotte and I know I’m not the only one. She is a rising star and certainly someone who will be a force in the future. Unlike my other picks, Sasha is not getting up there in age. She’s a young lion making her mark. Sasha’s favorite wrestler growing up was Eddie Guerrero and that makes her even more amazing. I love the character she portrays in her promos and her mannerisms (are very underrated). She plays a bratty heel so well and keeps the crowd involved. Her finisher Bank Statement is fantastic. Sasha can put on a good match with about anyone. Everyone may not agree, but I think she is more consistent than Charlotte (Charlotte had a few bad matches with lesser opponents). Sasha uses one of my favorite submissions, the bow and arrow stretch as well. She may not have the longevity of everywhere else on my list, but she is probably my favorite diva currently. Sasha had good matches with Charlotte, Bayley, Paige, Natalya and Alexa Bliss to name a few. If you have not hopped on the Sasha Bandwagon…you need to now.

The Rock
The Rock was never one of my favorites I’ll admit it. However, The Rock always entertained me even if I loved to cheer against him. “Go back to Supercuts and get your 5 dollars back, Jabroni.” “And then, Big Show, you do something that is, without the shadow of a doubt, the most impressive thing the Rock’s seen, and that’s this (hand motions mocking Show), huuuagggh!!” The Rock is a quote machine that has every audience in the palm of his hands. The Rock whether you loved him or hated him is the most well-known pro wrestler of all-time. The Rock is the one wrestler to transcend wrestling and make it big in Hollywood. Most non wrestling fans have no idea who John Cena is. Some younger people do not know who Hulk Hogan is. Everyone knows The Rock. The Rock loves pro wrestling enough to return when he has no need to. So for your viewing pleasure I have left my favorite Rock segment below:

Alicia Fox
I might be the only one…but I enjoyed the crazy Alicia Fox character. I loved how she abused the staff and embraced it. If you rewatch that segment you can tell how much fun she is having with it. Few divas get a chance to stand out in WWE’s cookie-cutter Diva factory. Alicia Fox is one of the few who stands out. For awhile, she was one of the only divas with curly hair (which I love). Alicia Fox was awful in the ring when she first started wrestling. She has improved tremendously in the ring and does one of the best tilt-a-whirl backbreakers I have seen. She’s athletic and continues to improve. Naomi and her both are two of my favorites in the cookie-cutter Diva division.

I could keep going forever if I wanted. This week I just wanted to look at some positive things in pro wrestling and celebrate Black History Month by reviewing some of my favorite moments. There are plenty of black wrestlers I enjoy watching. I could go on forever listing wrestlers I like to watch. I did not get a chance to go into D-Von Dudley or Mark Henry. Some others I enjoy are Amazing Kong, Percy Watson (who sadly did not go far), Big E, and yes The Boogeyman. There is some great talent in the Indys like Slyck Wagner Brown, ACH, and Jay Lethal who I did not mention.

It is Black History Month, so think about some of your favorite wrestlers. I would love to hear who your favorites are and what your favorite moments involving them are. Some weeks we are negative as pro wrestling fans. Celebrate the month and remember the good in pro wrestling. Hopefully, all of us can appreciate Black History Month in our own way. Thanks for all the feedback, and whether you liked my article or not I hope it got you thinking. Thanks for reading.