WWE Needs Ethnic Champions

[NegativeFeedback]

A lot of us have been wondering why exactly Kofi Kingston, a guy who was going nowhere really fast, won the United States Championship last night. I thought that he might get pushed, turn heel, etc. And although most of that may happen, maybe it's more than meets the eye.

It finally occurred to me that WWE didn't have an ethnic champion for a whole week. Both Rock and Del Rio dropped their World titles and WWE was left without some diversity in their championship ranks. At first, I didn't think it was that big a deal. Having all white champions must have happened a bunch of times. But then I started looking at the stats and I was shocked (and glad) to see that WWE ALWAYS tries to have an ethnic champion at all times. In fact, if we go back three years, we'll only find one other period where we were left without an ethnic champion (19-Sep-10 to 24-Oct-10 ). Ever since, there has always been at least 1 champ of color. Here are the stats:

12-Apr-10 - 23-May-10 (Eve Torres)
23-May-10 - 24-May-10 (Kofi Kingston and Eve Torres)
24-May-10 - 14-Jun-10 (Kofi Kingston, R-Truth and Eve Torres)
14-Jun-10 - 20-Jun-10 (Kofi Kingston and Eve Torres)
20-Jun-10 - 06-Aug-10 (Rey Mysterio, Kofi Kingston and Alicia Fox)
06-Aug-10 - 18-Jul-10 (Rey Mysterio and Alicia Fox)
18-Jul-10 - 15-Aug-10 (Alicia Fox)
15-Aug-10 - 19-Sep-10 (Melina)
19-Sep-10 - 24-Oct-10 (No ethnic champs)
24-Oct-10 - 25-Oct-10 (David Otunga)
25-Oct-10 - 06-Dec-10 (Justin Gabriel)
06-Dec-10 - 07-Jan-11 (Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov)
07-Jan-11 - 30-Jan-11 (Kofi Kingston, Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov)
30-Jan-11 - 20-Feb-11 (Kofi Kingston, Eve, Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov)
20-Feb-11 - 25-Mar-11 (Kofi Kingston, Eve and Justin Gabriel)
25-Mar-11 - 11-Apr-11 (Eve and Justin Gabriel)
11-Apr-11 - 19-Apr-11 (Brie Bella and Justin Gabriel)
19-Apr-11 - 01-May-11 (Brie Bella)
01-May-11 - 23-May-11 (Kofi Kingston and Brie Bella)
23-May-11 - 19-Jun-11 (Kofi Kingston, David Otunga and Brie Bella)
19-Jun-11 - 20-Jun-11 (Ezekiel Jackson, David Otunga and Brie Bella)
20-Jun-11 - 25-Jul-11 (Ezekiel Jackson and David Otunga)
25-Jul-11 - 25-Jul-11 (Rey Mysterio, Ezekiel Jackson and David Otunga)
25-Jul-11 - 12-Aug-11 (Ezekiel Jackson and David Otunga)
12-Aug-11 - 14-Aug-11 (David Otunga)
14-Aug-11 - 22-Aug-11 (Alberto Del Rio and David Otunga)
22-Aug-11 - 18-Sep-11 (Alberto Del Rio and Kofi Kingston)
18-Sep-11 - 02-Oct-11 (Mark Henry and Kofi Kingston)
02-Oct-11 - 20-Nov-11 (Alberto Del Rio, Mark Henry and Kofi Kingston)
20-Nov-11 - 18-Dec-11 (Mark Henry and Kofi Kingston)
18-Dec-11 - 15-Jan-12 (Kofi Kingston)
15-Jan-12 - 05-Mar-12 (Primo and Epico)
05-Mar-12 - 23-Apr-12 (Santino Marella, Primo and Epico)
23-Apr-12 - 29-Apr-12 (Santino Marella, Nikki Bella, Primo and Epico)
29-Apr-12 - 30-Apr-12 (Santino Marella, Primo and Epico)
30-Apr-12 - 19-Aug-12 (Santino Marella, Kofi Kingston and R-Truth)
19-Aug-12 - 16-Sep-12 (Kofi Kingston and R-Truth)
16-Sep-12 - 17-Oct-12 (Eve Torres)
17-Oct-12 - 29-Dec-12 (Kofi Kingston and Eve Torres)
29-Dec-12 - 08-Jan-13 (Eve Torres)
08-Jan-13 - 14-Jan-13 (Alberto Del Rio and Eve Torres)
14-Jan-13 - 27-Jan-13 (Alberto Del Rio)
27-Jan-13 - 7-Apr-13 (The Rock and Alberto Del Rio)
7-Apr-13 - 8-Apr-13 (Alberto Del Rio)
8-Apr-13 - 15-Apr-13 (No ethnic champs)
15-Apr-13 - Present (Kofi Kingston)

Of all the guys there, Del Rio, Rock and Henry are the only ones who were actually pushed. Melina and Kozlov are gone. Ezekiel, Otunga, Primo, Epico, Santino Gabriel and Fox are Superstars talent, never given significant screen time after their short title runs. Kofi and Truth are stuck in the midcard and keep flowing up and down without any sort of development. And The Bellas are just there. Not much to say about them.

I for one am Puerto Rican and applaud WWE on having diversity among their champions. However, I do believe that they should actually invest in these guys instead of just giving them titles. Sure, it looks great to put the titles on a few ethnic guys, but wouldn't it be best if they actually pushed them? That's why I'm skeptical to see Kofi win the US title. Are they actually investing in him or are they having him hold the title until the next ethnic superstar gets his chance?

It's kinda like The Walking Dead. It's great to always have a black character on the team, but if they're each going to get unceremoniously killed off and replaced with another one, is it really that great?

 

[Code_Master]

Actually when you say ethnic you mean non white wrestlers because we got Wade Barret he's british and Antonio Cesaro was swiss to my knowledge so technically it has a good diversity of ethnics in the champion circle.

 

[Zeven_Zion]

A lot of us have been wondering why exactly Kofi Kingston, a guy who was going nowhere really fast, won the United States Championship last night. I thought that he might get pushed, turn heel, etc. And although most of that may happen, maybe it's more than meets the eye.

It finally occurred to me that WWE didn't have an ethnic champion for a whole week. Both Rock and Del Rio dropped their World titles and WWE was left without some diversity in their championship ranks. At first, I didn't think it was that big a deal. Having all white champions must have happened a bunch of times. But then I started looking at the stats and I was shocked (and glad) to see that WWE ALWAYS tries to have an ethnic champion at all times. In fact, if we go back three years, we'll only find one other period where we were left without an ethnic champion (19-Sep-10 to 24-Oct-10 ). Ever since, there has always been at least 1 champ of color. Here are the stats:

12-Apr-10 - 23-May-10 (Eve Torres)
23-May-10 - 24-May-10 (Kofi Kingston and Eve Torres)
24-May-10 - 14-Jun-10 (Kofi Kingston, R-Truth and Eve Torres)
14-Jun-10 - 20-Jun-10 (Kofi Kingston and Eve Torres)
20-Jun-10 - 06-Aug-10 (Rey Mysterio, Kofi Kingston and Alicia Fox)
06-Aug-10 - 18-Jul-10 (Rey Mysterio and Alicia Fox)
18-Jul-10 - 15-Aug-10 (Alicia Fox)
15-Aug-10 - 19-Sep-10 (Melina)
19-Sep-10 - 24-Oct-10 (No ethnic champs)
24-Oct-10 - 25-Oct-10 (David Otunga)
25-Oct-10 - 06-Dec-10 (Justin Gabriel)
06-Dec-10 - 07-Jan-11 (Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov)
07-Jan-11 - 30-Jan-11 (Kofi Kingston, Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov)
30-Jan-11 - 20-Feb-11 (Kofi Kingston, Eve, Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov)
20-Feb-11 - 25-Mar-11 (Kofi Kingston, Eve and Justin Gabriel)
25-Mar-11 - 11-Apr-11 (Eve and Justin Gabriel)
11-Apr-11 - 19-Apr-11 (Brie Bella and Justin Gabriel)
19-Apr-11 - 01-May-11 (Brie Bella)
01-May-11 - 23-May-11 (Kofi Kingston and Brie Bella)
23-May-11 - 19-Jun-11 (Kofi Kingston, David Otunga and Brie Bella)
19-Jun-11 - 20-Jun-11 (Ezekiel Jackson, David Otunga and Brie Bella)
20-Jun-11 - 25-Jul-11 (Ezekiel Jackson and David Otunga)
25-Jul-11 - 25-Jul-11 (Rey Mysterio, Ezekiel Jackson and David Otunga)
25-Jul-11 - 12-Aug-11 (Ezekiel Jackson and David Otunga)
12-Aug-11 - 14-Aug-11 (David Otunga)
14-Aug-11 - 22-Aug-11 (Alberto Del Rio and David Otunga)
22-Aug-11 - 18-Sep-11 (Alberto Del Rio and Kofi Kingston)
18-Sep-11 - 02-Oct-11 (Mark Henry and Kofi Kingston)
02-Oct-11 - 20-Nov-11 (Alberto Del Rio, Mark Henry and Kofi Kingston)
20-Nov-11 - 18-Dec-11 (Mark Henry and Kofi Kingston)
18-Dec-11 - 15-Jan-12 (Kofi Kingston)
15-Jan-12 - 05-Mar-12 (Primo and Epico)
05-Mar-12 - 23-Apr-12 (Santino Marella, Primo and Epico)
23-Apr-12 - 29-Apr-12 (Santino Marella, Nikki Bella, Primo and Epico)
29-Apr-12 - 30-Apr-12 (Santino Marella, Primo and Epico)
30-Apr-12 - 19-Aug-12 (Santino Marella, Kofi Kingston and R-Truth)
19-Aug-12 - 16-Sep-12 (Kofi Kingston and R-Truth)
16-Sep-12 - 17-Oct-12 (Eve Torres)
17-Oct-12 - 29-Dec-12 (Kofi Kingston and Eve Torres)
29-Dec-12 - 08-Jan-13 (Eve Torres)
08-Jan-13 - 14-Jan-13 (Alberto Del Rio and Eve Torres)
14-Jan-13 - 27-Jan-13 (Alberto Del Rio)
27-Jan-13 - 7-Apr-13 (The Rock and Alberto Del Rio)
7-Apr-13 - 8-Apr-13 (Alberto Del Rio)
8-Apr-13 - 15-Apr-13 (No ethnic champs)
15-Apr-13 - Present (Kofi Kingston)

Of all the guys there, Del Rio, Rock and Henry are the only ones who were actually pushed. Melina and Kozlov are gone. Ezekiel, Otunga, Primo, Epico, Santino Gabriel and Fox are Superstars talent, never given significant screen time after their short title runs. Kofi and Truth are stuck in the midcard and keep flowing up and down without any sort of development. And The Bellas are just there. Not much to say about them.

I for one am Puerto Rican and applaud WWE on having diversity among their champions. However, I do believe that they should actually invest in these guys instead of just giving them titles. Sure, it looks great to put the titles on a few ethnic guys, but wouldn't it be best if they actually pushed them? That's why I'm skeptical to see Kofi win the US title. Are they actually investing in him or are they having him hold the title until the next ethnic superstar gets his chance?

It's kinda like The Walking Dead. It's great to always have a black character on the team, but if they're each going to get unceremoniously killed off and replaced with another one, is it really that great?

.. okay. Your point is?

What's this differentiation you have here. Ethnic or not. Everyone belongs to an ethnicity, even though I know what you mean.

According to your homework, WWE's had plenty of ethnic Champions so why is the title "WWE needs more ethnic Champions". Did you mean more who actually succeed?

In such a case, if you expect WWE to push a guy just because he's black then that's quite weird. Call it racist if you will, because it is, despite the negative connotation of the word.

Facts are that in pro wrestling as in general there are more white guys than black or asian or whatever, therefore the plethora of the truly talented ones are white. Less racial variety, the smaller the chance of someone in that group being a great wrestler. As we can see, very few "ethnic" dudes actually made it to a legendary or famous level and that's a reflection of what I just said.

Either way, I don't really give a damn about racial ethnicity in wrestling. It's irrelevant. They could be all black or all white for all I care.

Why is this important? To whom? How does racial variety or the success of a non-white wrestler improve anything.

It's 2013 man, USA has a black president and racial inequality is not as big of an issue as it used to be. It's common for people of other racial backgrounds to hold high positions and there's nothing fancy if they do it because it's become normal by now.

So ... what's the point of this?

 

[shitsngiggles]

Depends what you would define "ethnic" as. The Rock isn't excactly "ethnic" (he's an American).

Should really be a non-issue anyway

 

[Headman]

I'm pretty sure Kofi is going to have the record for both US and IC title reigns before it's all said and done. I don't think his ethnicity has anything to do with it though. He's pretty popular. People do respond to him. The poor guy just can't seem to pick up any steam. I'd like to see the WWE throw him a bone and put him in a program with Punk and do what should have been done with his brief program with Orton.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Your lengthy lists of stats invalidates the entire argument (or arguments?) you're trying to make. Vince isn't pushing enough black or Spanish people for your liking? I honestly can't understand where you're coming from, or what point you're trying to make.

WWE doesn't have an ethnic champion problem. If you can get over, you're pushed. If you have talent, and the people care about you, you receive a push. It's not complicated. Simply pushing someone and throwing a title on them because of the color of their skin, or ethnic background to fill your imaginary quota doesn't make sense. In fact, it's a boneheaded way of thinking. I'm guessing that's what you want, because again, I honestly can't understand where you're coming from.

 

[Saeros]

The day someone gets pushed because of the colour of their skin or theit ethnic background is a day i stop watching wrestling. I want someone to be pushed because they deserve it and have the talent to justify it.

Kofi Kingston is one of those but his lack of Main event push has nothing to do with his ethnic background IMO. Its all about his size, or lack of it. Yes others around his size get bigger pushes like Daniel Bryan and such but Kofi looks far leaner and generally smaller than most others.

I also take issue with some of the people you list as ethnic. How comes Santino, Kozlov and Gabriel are from an "ethnic" background and Barrett, Mcintyre, Sheamus and Cesaro arent? I Understand the first three speak english like americans do, but so does Gabriel as his first language. So what is your definition of an ethnic background?

Of all the guys there, Del Rio, Rock and Henry are the only ones who were actually pushed. Melina and Kozlov are gone. Ezekiel, Otunga, Primo, Epico, Santino Gabriel and Fox are Superstars talent, never given significant screen time after their short title runs. Kofi and Truth are stuck in the midcard and keep flowing up and down without any sort of development. And The Bellas are just there. Not much to say about them.

And the people you list here shows whats wrong with this argument. Why anyone would think Zeke, Otunga, Primo, Epico, Santino, Gabriel or Alicia Fox deserve anything more than they have atm i will never know. Zeke has menace but the personality of a tin of salmon, Otunga moves around the ring like hes got a lobster up his arse, Primo and Epico whilest good wrestlers are bland on the mic, Santino is a comedy character, Gabriel is wooden on the mic and Alicia Fox is just terrible...

What have anyone you mentioned actually done to get themselves over? Other talent take the inititive, There was Mcintyre, Hawkins, Reks and a few others starting that "Midcard Mafia" thing before that got shafted, and Zack Ryder has gone out of his way to get himself noticed before WWE decided to destroy any momentum he was building. And btw...i strongly dislike Ryder, but i still respect the hell out of what hes done to try and build himself.

 

[NegativeFeedback]

I guess I wasn't clear enough. I'm not saying that WWE should have more ethnic champions, I'm saying that it's apparent that WWE feels they need to have at least one ethnic champion at any given time. I'm not saying WWE needs to have more. My other point was that although they feel they need to have ethnic champions, they don't feel like they need to push them.

Also, I know foreign superstars could also be considered ethnic, but at least for the purposes of this thread, I mean to say that WWE feels they always need non-white champions at any given moment. This is basically me explaining why I think Kofi Kingston was given the US title. It was just so they could have an ethnic champion.

 

[asiatic7]

. This is basically me explaining why I think Kofi Kingston was given the US title. It was just so they could have an ethnic champion.

This might be a little off topic, but I don't think they put the title on Kofi for reasons of diversity. I think they put it on him so he can drop it to either Fandango, who is wildy popular right now (WWE is going to milk this until it becomes lame), or Jack Swagger "The Real American", once he's totally taken out of the World title picture.

They could'nt take it off Antonio Cesaro because he's heel, so they are going to use Kofi as the job guy.... I could be wrong, but that's how it looks to me.


Good post anyways...

 

[#MrScissorsKick]

A race thread? Really?

Let's look at the champs from July 2012 to today.

Kofi (African-American) - IC Champ, Tag Champ, US Champ

Eve (Latina) - Divas Champ

Layla (British) - Divas Champ

Cesaro (Swiss) - Long US Champ

Kane (Born in Spain) - Current Tag Champ

R-Truth (African-American) - Tag-Team Champ

Del Rio (Hispanic) - WHC

Barrett (British) - IC Champ

Sheamus (Irish) - WHC

The Rock (Bi-Racial) - WWE Champion

Ethnic meaning non-white American right? Let's not get into a political debate on what the definition is on ethnicity. You can make a case for the WWE "needing" ethnic champions which would be down right ignorant or you can make a case for there are, and have been plenty of diversity among the past WWE champions. The OP fails to include that the WWE isn't going to push a non-white american just to get a non-white American a championship. Get the race menatlity off everyones mind and enjoy wrestling. Bottom line?: Talent and skill makes the champions, which leads to drawing ability. Who cares about race? Because being able to draw is the bottom line, not the color of skin, or what language you speak.

 

[enviousdominous]

I think that there is some evidence of an effort to seem more politically correct, which is fine in theory. I believe that if this wasn't practiced, due to only deserving individuals being granted a title reign, we would have had more champions of non-white origin.

I remember a monster heel by the name of Bad News Brown, one of the most gifted performers in the business during his time. He wasn't granted a title in the WWF and for that matter had to sell to Hulk Hogan's war bonnet. His only real chance probably would have been the supposed political climate that granted Kofi his most recent run with the US belt.

Racism is a tricky topic when one can become racist for utilizing tactics based on assumptions of race to prove a lack of racism. Earning a lucrative sponsorship or luring a select fanbase usually requires recognizing a random minority only on the basis of their ethnicity.

I personally love Kofi and am happy as long as he's allowed on tv. Giving him a nothing championship shouldn't change someone's opinion of him. It would just be nice to see a fraction of the effort that goes into making John Cena look special go into giving Kofi a thought provoking chapter in his pro-wrestling career.


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[thomasgj]

Kailyn is half-Mexican, so wouldn't she count as an ethnic champ too?

 

[NegativeFeedback]

Ethnic meaning non-white American right? Let's not get into a political debate on what the definition is on ethnicity. You can make a case for the WWE "needing" ethnic champions which would be down right ignorant or you can make a case for there are, and have been plenty of diversity among the past WWE champions.

Again, I'm not saying they need MORE ethnic champions, I'm saying that I think the reason they put the title on Kofi is because WWE feels that they NEED ethnic champions at all times. Some people are reading the title of this thread and just skimming the rest. Like I said in the OP, WWE has done a great job with diversity. I'm just pointing out that they might have put the title on Kofi just to maintain that diversity.

And I know ethnic can mean "foreign", but it can also mean "non-white". Depends on the context. For the purposes of this thread, it means non-white. I'm Puerto Rican and I'm glad that WWE is being diverse with their champions. But I for one don't agree with the practice that they need diverse champions at all times. I would prefer it if it made sense story-wise. This Kofi win definitely doesn't, at least if you consider the fact that Kofi lost every single match he's had in the past few months. I believe that Kofi won the title just because they wanted an ethnic champion, but I don't agree with that practice.

 

[MillionDollarMan]

I think that there is some evidence of an effort to seem more politically correct, which is fine in theory. I believe that if this wasn't practiced, due to only deserving individuals being granted a title reign, we would have had more champions of non-white origin.

I remember a monster heel by the name of Bad News Brown, one of the most gifted performers in the business during his time. He wasn't granted a title in the WWF and for that matter had to sell to Hulk Hogan's war bonnet. His only real chance probably would have been the supposed political climate that granted Kofi his most recent run with the US belt.

Racism is a tricky topic when one can become racist for utilizing tactics based on assumptions of race to prove a lack of racism. Earning a lucrative sponsorship or luring a select fanbase usually requires recognizing a random minority only on the basis of their ethnicity.

I personally love Kofi and am happy as long as he's allowed on tv. Giving him a nothing championship shouldn't change someone's opinion of him. It would just be nice to see a fraction of the effort that goes into making John Cena look special go into giving Kofi a thought provoking chapter in his pro-wrestling career.


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And Million Dollar Man was more over and a better wrestler than Bad News yet never won a singles title. So what.

It's up to Kofi to create his own identity and get that pushed. Cena came up with his rapper. Austin came up with his anti-authority figure. Rock just became himself. So on and so on.

 

[Honkey_Kong]

Again, I'm not saying they need MORE ethnic champions, I'm saying that I think the reason they put the title on Kofi is because WWE feels that they NEED ethnic champions at all times. Some people are reading the title of this thread and just skimming the rest. Like I said in the OP, WWE has done a great job with diversity. I'm just pointing out that they might have put the title on Kofi just to maintain that diversity.

And I know ethnic can mean "foreign", but it can also mean "non-white". Depends on the context. For the purposes of this thread, it means non-white. I'm Puerto Rican and I'm glad that WWE is being diverse with their champions. But I for one don't agree with the practice that they need diverse champions at all times. I would prefer it if it made sense story-wise. This Kofi win definitely doesn't, at least if you consider the fact that Kofi lost every single match he's had in the past few months. I believe that Kofi won the title just because they wanted an ethnic champion, but I don't agree with that practice.

Stop being racist, you pig! If a wrestler is over, they get pushed to titles. I don't think it's fair to push somebody because of their race or nationality instead of their ability. It's also not the best business idea. You want the best people in the most important spots.

Pandering to minorities while giving the finger to the majority isn't going to make you money. And that's what WWE's goal is. They honestly don't care about their product or being a mini-UN. All they want is to convince as many people as they can to watch their show and open their wallets to buy their PPVs, merchandise and live event tickets.

 

[WallsofZakku]

So we can all agree this thread is irrelevant? If you ask me i think its time to...Break The Thread DOOOOOOOWWWNN!
Really though if your good you get to the main event scene like Booker T, Mark Henry, Alberto Del Rio, Rey Mysterio, Eddie Gurrero, Bobby Lashley even. If you got what it takes to back it up you'll get your spot with the titles. Ethnicity has nothing to do with it

 

[CM Punk is a Jew]

OP is a non-white who clearly states his preference for non-whites to get pushed to the top at the expense of whites. OP shares no "ethnicity" with Kofi Kingston save being a non-white, yet OP supports his push.

I suspect that the OP is correct: WWE probably coordinates "affirmative action" pushes to make sure its non-white fans have a babyface to rally around and support through merchandise. Dirt sheets told us that Del Rio's face push was a direct response to Mysterio/Sin Cara's inability to stay healthy/drug-free. Every name on that list of champions (except for The Rock, of course), had a pretty soft reign. It makes sense that the WWE would keep a belt on one of them at all times though, since non-white fans can be quite ethnocentric (as OP shows).

Maybe The Rock is an anomaly and a significant outlier, and non-ethnic wrestlers generally are much more likely to possess the total package of size, physique, athleticism, charisma, and resilience that lends itself to American pro wrestling main eventers.

 

[CrunKSinatrA]

I think ethnicity is an important marketing tool for building a fan base.

In regular sports (ie basketball, football, etc) there is a home team for the fans to cheer and the away team are the heels.

But in fight sports (ie boxing, mma) and in pro wrestling, there is rarely a home team. Sometimes it times out w/ CM Punk in Chicago or Anderson Silva in Brazil, but that is rarely the case. Which is probably why promoters felt the need to create the face/heel dynamic in the beginning of pro wrestling.

Without a hometown crowd, the fans support their ethnic brothers. In boxing, Filipinos support Pacquiao, Mexicans support Cain Velazquez, and so on.

So having an ethnic champion is important for the WWE. Pro wrestling is a rarity in the media b/c of it support for minorities. Some characters have been embarrassing stereotypes but the Kofi Kingston and Alberto Del Rio don't play drug dealing characters or as menial laborers/cleaning crew. But if they were TV/Movie actors those would be the only roles available to them.

Keep in mind that Al Madrigal of the Daily Show and Louis CK are the only Mexicans on TV that aren't pro wrestlers. (Louis CK was born in Mexico)

 

[KoC417]

I guess I wasn't clear enough. I'm not saying that WWE should have more ethnic champions, I'm saying that it's apparent that WWE feels they need to have at least one ethnic champion at any given time. I'm not saying WWE needs to have more. My other point was that although they feel they need to have ethnic champions, they don't feel like they need to push them.

Also, I know foreign superstars could also be considered ethnic, but at least for the purposes of this thread, I mean to say that WWE feels they always need non-white champions at any given moment. This is basically me explaining why I think Kofi Kingston was given the US title. It was just so they could have an ethnic champion.

FLAME ON!!!

You think Kofi Kingston was given the title why? Because he's ethnic? Because WWE wants to what exactly? Maybe after a 12pack of beer and several shots you should stay away from a computer. That is NOT the time to make a thread.

Kofi was given the title because of how athletically gifted he is. Antonio will be moved up into main event stature soon I believe and the WWE wants a talent with ABILITY to hold the US title for a while. Has nothing to do with race or anything. Kofi is a guy that can give a solid match, entertain the fans (As long as he isn't on a mic...) and tell a damn good story in the ring.
Kofi won the title because he had to break out a slump in a big way for him to ever be relevant again. Who could he defeat in a match besides a long reigning champion for him to make an impact? If it was a non title match people would whine about that too. Your thread clearly states AND I QUOTE:

"WWE NEEDS ETHNIC CHAMPIONS"

Mark Henry
Kofi
Wade
Half the freakin Divas.

Again, lay off the booze my friend. Austin made it look cool...You...not so much.

 

[Tor187]

What the hell do you mean by "ethnic" champions? Everyone has an ethnic background. There are some things you need to learn:

1) Ethnicity DOES NOT equal race.
2) Country of origin DEFINES ethnicity


The only non-Americans on your list are Santino, Kozlov, and Del Rio (I consider Kofi to be an American since he was only a year old when his family emigrated to the USA).

 

[ThePrawnCurry]

Kofi gets the titles Rey Rey would have gotten

its simply to drive merchandise sales among the kids/ teens

Kofi is a better champ than Vanilla Ice carrying the big belt imo

I hope they invest in a Barrett / Kofi feud for some length of time

both could do with weekly exposure and being given change to develop further.

 

[Azane]

Forced ethnicity is one of the worst racisms, because it's one that people don't even understand why.

When looking at who's champion, where they were born shouldn't be factored at all, even "well, are any of them not American?"

I personally think giving the strap to someone for "diversity" is a travesty to the business, and defames the title, no matter what it stands for, or it's level of prestige.

The diversity coming from their character and how they portray themselves is more important than where they were born.

Also, are (English)Canadians going to be considered a separate ethnicity from U.S. Americans? Saying Kofi doesnt count is a bit laughable, since it's mixing words even more, keep in mind the WWE has built Kofi on the entire gimmick of him being.... Jamaicafrican or w/e (I think he's African now, with the West Ghana and such), He's much more ethnic by definition than many of the people you've considered non-ethnic, and for the sake of commercialism and promoting, he's fully African now, because it's how he's portrayed, much like Glen Jacobs doesn't count, as his characters have all shown absolutely 0 ethnicity, with him being completely American in all of the roles I remember (Fake Diesal, Yankem, Masked Kane, and Kane) him playing. I'll honestly point out 3 big ethnicities that I've seen them exploit though, Rey Mysterio was definitely given the strap to promote a Mexican tour (Del Rio too if I'm not mistaken, mysteriously won the title just before a mexican tour). The Great Khali was quite obviously an attempt to grab some of the Indian and Southwest Asian market, and Justin Gabriel (although not world champion) was promoted and pushed quite heavily before a South African tour a couple years ago.

My honest opinion, you seem to care more about ethnic diversity than WWE does, it's just been coincidence that there was an "ethnic" champion at any given time, they exploit that market at certain times specifically.

 

[NegativeFeedback]

Stop being racist, you pig! If a wrestler is over, they get pushed to titles. I don't think it's fair to push somebody because of their race or nationality instead of their ability. It's also not the best business idea. You want the best people in the most important spots.

Pandering to minorities while giving the finger to the majority isn't going to make you money. And that's what WWE's goal is. They honestly don't care about their product or being a mini-UN. All they want is to convince as many people as they can to watch their show and open their wallets to buy their PPVs, merchandise and live event tickets.

FLAME ON!!!

You think Kofi Kingston was given the title why? Because he's ethnic? Because WWE wants to what exactly? Maybe after a 12pack of beer and several shots you should stay away from a computer. That is NOT the time to make a thread.

Kofi was given the title because of how athletically gifted he is. Antonio will be moved up into main event stature soon I believe and the WWE wants a talent with ABILITY to hold the US title for a while. Has nothing to do with race or anything. Kofi is a guy that can give a solid match, entertain the fans (As long as he isn't on a mic...) and tell a damn good story in the ring.
Kofi won the title because he had to break out a slump in a big way for him to ever be relevant again. Who could he defeat in a match besides a long reigning champion for him to make an impact? If it was a non title match people would whine about that too. Your thread clearly states AND I QUOTE:

"WWE NEEDS ETHNIC CHAMPIONS"

Mark Henry
Kofi
Wade
Half the freakin Divas.

I am a Kofi Kingston fan. He is athletically gifted and I'm sure WWE trust him with carrying the midcard ball. That being said, every time he's ever had a title run, WWE has proven that they didn't care at all in pushing him. Each run ended with him putting over a heel and becoming a jobber for a few months before he's given the title again.

And as controversial as it may seem, I definitely believe WWE gave him the title because they wanted a black person with the championship. The Rock and Del Rio both lost their titles to white men last week and WWE is obviously not interested in having a whitewashed roster of champions.

Again, I said I didn't agree with the practice myself. I do believe WWE feels like they need to do it, but I never said I thought they did. The title of this thread doesn't reflect my own opinion, it's the answer to the question as to why Kofi won the US title. I obviously should have explained myself better.

OP is a non-white who clearly states his preference for non-whites to get pushed to the top at the expense of whites. OP shares no "ethnicity" with Kofi Kingston save being a non-white, yet OP supports his push.

I am a fan of diversity and I think it's great that WWE is too. But I'm not a fan of just putting a title on a non-white superstar and feeling that their job is done. Kofi is holding the US title, but he will lose it to someone else and then become a jobber just like every time. If WWE wants to have diversity, they should put the titles on guys they actually want to push. There is no value on putting the title on Kofi if they have no plans for him. They should have put the title on a guy who they see potential in. I might be wrong and this is KOFI's TIME, but I doubt it.

My honest opinion, you seem to care more about ethnic diversity than WWE does, it's just been coincidence that there was an "ethnic" champion at any given time, they exploit that market at certain times specifically.

Fair enough assumption. I obviously cared enough to make a list of how many non-white champions WWE has had. But that being said, I don't think it was a coincidence. WWE is too global a company to not be thinking about maintaining diversity. I knew they maintained diversity in their roster and on TV, but I hadn't noticed that they maintained such a level of diversity with their champions until now.

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

What John Cena and Dolph Ziggler aren't ethnic?

Cena's from Boston! Ziggler's German, or Norwegian or Swedish or whatever the heck the name Ziggler is!

How much more ethnic do you need to be?

 

[TheHitMark-SirJoseOle]

To be honest, OP your thread has really really pissed me off. As being someone of Latin European ancestry, my family's name descends from Spain and I have family that emigrated to Portugal. I've also got family that have settled in Latin America while I myself was born in the United States. Your whole use or shall I say misuse of the term ethnic really burns my ass to be honest. While I do agree that I enjoyed historical moments in WWE's history of seeing guys like Pedro Morales and Eddie Guerrero win the World Championships, and in more recent memory individuals like Alberto Del Rio get the same honor. Sometimes doing something for the sake of pandering is just outright nauseating, in fact one might even argue that Del Rio's recent World Title run is an example of that. Especially when you look at the angle that ensued thereafter with Jack Swagger and Zeb Coulter.

Click Here To Understand The Difference Between Race And Ethnicity

But regardless of all that, I take it that you are confusing the words race and ethnicity, and nothing pisses me off more than that. To use myself as an example, I'm of Latin stock, regardless of whether it was Spain, Portugal or Latin America that various members of my family settled in. My surname comes from a town in Spain and the part of Portugal my family emigrated to had close ties to Spain since it was a border town and in the frontier area of Portugal there is still a very apparent amount of Spanish influence since that particular area was united with Spain quite some time ago. I don't tie my nationality to either Spain or Portugal but since both those countries are Latin European nations, I'm Latin. Sometimes this country's definition of that term is skewed but make no mistake I'm of Latin ancestry and since I noticed you're based in Puerto Rico you and myself very likely share similar ethnic origin. With that said though I consider myself an American (although both North and South America's inhabitants can say the same thing since we are collectively known as the Americas) as far as national identity goes since I was born in the United States. My race, well since I am Latin European I would say I'm White, but White isn't my ethnicity.

Confusing both those terms is nauseating and the vitriol you're getting from posters on this board is more than warranted, and I hope this teaches you something before you go and unabashedly create a thread that's amounted to the idiocy that it has. Go to that site I posted a link about to better understand the gist of what you were trying to illustrate in this thread. Far smarter people than us brought up great points with that article. It would behoove you to read it.

I think you'll especially find the remark about one individual on that page saying that Jews, Italians and Slavs at one time weren't considered white in this country's younger years. Therefore proving that the term race is very subjective and that it's not a synonym for the term ethnicity.

Have a great day sir, and hopefully insight and enlightenment won't be oblivious to you the next time you want to create a discussion on this forum.