Wrestling is in a huge boom period right now thanks mostly to the success of WWE under the direction of Endeavor and the creative vision of Triple H. The company is bringing in record revenue and most things on screen are going well, but there is one glaring issue. WWE’s monthly PLEs usually contain just five matches, and month after month it’s hard for Black wrestlers to get on the card. This is not an accusation of racism, but it’s an omission which has become so prominent that even WWE is aware of it. The promotion is doing so much right the past few years, but they badly need to push their Black superstars. There are a few in particular who are on the verge of megastardom if given the right opportunity.

WWE Lacks Black Male Wrestlers At The Top Of The Card

Male WWE Superstars Rarely Make It To WWE PLEs

On Saturday, October 5, WWE presents their latest PLE, Bad Blood. It looks to have some great matches, like Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns teaming up to take on Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu, and Drew McIntyre and CM Punk battling it out in Hell in a Cell, but for the third PLE in a row, there is not a single Black male wrestler on the card. In fact, Bobby Lashley is the last Black man to win a WWE PLE match, once at SummerSlam 2022, and then at Elimination Chamber 2023. This issue was brought up to Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp on the Fightful Select Weekly Pod. Sapp said:

“WWE has been made aware of it. It’s a thing that I don’t think that like came to mind necessarily. I’ve never heard anyone say, ‘Yes this was intentional’ or anything like that. I did hear people saying, ‘Well that’s obviously something that will be addressed now.’ But we’ll see how it’s addressed. It’s more about black male single talent getting featured.” (h/t Cultaholic )

Wrestling Has A Long History Of Not Building Up Black Stars

The Rock Was WWE’s First Black World Champion

Wrestling has a long, shameful history of how they’ve treated Black wrestlers. It took until 1992, when Ron Simmons beat Vader, for WCW to have a Black world champion. WWE didn’t have one until The Rock won the WWE Championship from Mankind at Survivor Series 1998. Between and after these moments, WWE and wrestling in general have messed up badly in how they’ve treated Black wrestlers. Bill Watts was fired from WCW for racist comments. WWE in the 90s and 2000s had so many Black stereotyped characters in everyone from Kamala, to The Godfather, and Cryme Tyme, and then there was how Triple H’s character treated Booker T ahead of their WrestleMania match.

WWE has had some better moments in recent years. Kofimania swept wrestling, leading to Kingston becoming the WWE Champion at WrestleMania 35. His New Day faction member Big E cashed in his Money in the Bank contract a few years after that, and Bobby Lashley held the top gold a few times, but none of those men were treated like the faces of WWE, even though they were more than capable of it. WWE hasn’t been alone in this issue. AEW struggled to build Black wrestlers as well, but that challenge led to the emergence of Swerve Strickland, who became a popular AEW World Champion. Strickland still carries the hurt of not being utilized in WWE when he was part of NXT, as shown by comments he made responding to talk that WWE thought his AEW deal was above market value. Swerve told The Breakfast Club:

“They only complain when a Black person gets paid, I will say that. We shake the foundation of things like that. ‘Oh snap, wait. That’s not what we would pay.’ Then why are you calling me? Why are you asking me? If I’m not your concern then don’t worry about it. Don’t worry about my pockets and our money. We’re good. You have your talent. You made your decision with me two years ago. No hard feelings from me. I keep it moving and I’m going to figure my way out and I’m going to build myself up.” (h/t Cultaholic )

There Are Many Black Superstars Ready For A Push In WWE

NXT Is Showing The Path Forward For WWE

Booker T stuck up for WWE, replying to what Swerve Strickland said, remarking on his Hall of Fame podcast:

“Look at the black talent in WWE right now, like Bianca Belair, Oba Femi, you know, uh, The New Day. The New Day have won more Tag Team Championships than anybody. Bianca Belair she’s headlined at WrestleMania. Oba Femi’s a young guy, uh, out of college that’s doing big things in NXT. I’m just trying to figure out what he’s talking about.” (h/t Sports Illustrated )

Booker T has a point that WWE does have successful Black superstars, but at the moment they have a ceiling. The New Day are one of the all-time greats, and they’re in the middle of an intriguing storyline, but they’re not on PLEs. Neither is Carmelo Hayes, who’s killing it on SmackDown. WWE has dropped the ball on many Black stars as well, with none more obvious than Montez Ford. He has been great as part of the Street Profits, but with his look, mic skills, and charisma, he has it all to be a main event singles star, but for whatever reason, WWE won’t do it.

There is hope, though, in NXT. Oba Femi is dominating and leaving fans in awe as the North American Champion. Carmelo Hayes was the face of the brand for a long time, and now it’s Trick Williams’ turn at the very top. The talent is there, ready and able, and now it’s on WWE to challenge themselves and put some male Black superstars on a PLE.