I think I've read enough of this thread to try to make a statement or point that hasn't been touched on enough.
The audience over the course of the many decades of wrestling has been predominantly middle to lower class white. It has been and still is designed to appeal to the common folk mass. This is going to lead to predominantly white champions over much of that history.
As WWE/F, ECW and WCW became more prominent, evidence of a wider demographic has been shown. I watched NWA more than the WWF when I was a kid and for a Ron Simmons and Great Muta to hold the NWA titles at that time goes a long way to make the point others have made about the right person for the spot in a given situation, as we are talking about a southern promotion in the NWA/WCW. But as I said, much of this is due to their being a wider demographic being shown.
As american wrestling is still in many ways still catering to the audience I mentioned minority stars are getting a lot more airtime and in ring work on a much larger scale than was the case than just a few decades ago. The integration in this case is a slow process and the awareness of a larger minority audience is just as slow. Mexico is much closer to us than Japan and we know wrestling is very well respected and represented as a sport in both countries, but the influx of Hispanic performers has overall far outshines the amount of Asian talent to hit american wrestling in any promotion. It's because Lucha Libre is a far greater direct influence here than the stiff Japanese pure wrestling in terms of Hispanic vs. Asian fans. That means it would take less time for there to be more Hispanic wrestlers than Japanese ones here in the states and certainly a quicker turnaround for Hispanic champions.
How does this relate to the topic you might ask?
We shouldn't be asking the question purely about just black champions. It is in and of itself polarizing, and it is equally inevitable, but it doesn't reflect the greater issue which is minority performers and consequently minority champions. You want unfair? Name 10 Japanese performers that have both performed in the WWE, ECW, WCW, or TNA that have had the opportunities that many other hispanic, or black performers have had in terms of airtime, titles much less world championships. And japan is both where many performers from the states go to hone their craft against very talented and tough competition and come back to further solidify their place in the business. And yet I can count on 1 hand the number of Japanese world champs in any american wrestling.
Race is too easy a card to throw in terms of wrestling because it's a white dominated sport in America, the same as Japanese and Mexican wrestling is dominated by their respective ethnic types. Yes America is different in that many different races live here but how long has it taken for integration to really take hold in this country? Think of the differences in the past 4 or 5 decades in terms of opportunity for minorities here. and things are much better than they were, and yes have room to improve but are a world different than they were. how many times have the likes of Shelton Benjamin, MVP, Booker T, Kofi Kingston and others held titles? Answer, a hell of a lot more than JYD, Bad News Brown, Tony Atlas, and Rocky Johnson ever did.
As for black viewers, I submit to you there are far more than a given WWE or TNA audience will show. Just because they're not in the audience doesn't mean they're not watching. We could argue all day on exact numbers but the focus should be on the talent and who's able to take the next step in on the card. If a champion is a minority it should have no impact other than he's ready to be Champion or in the main event picture. These 2 items by the way are very separate from each other.
I mentioned both Ron Simmons and Great Muta above because they represent a change in how we had to perceive race in this sport. Muta is still an anomaly because of the infrequency of Japanese world Champs in America. And after Simmons we've had proportionately more black world champions. Not very many but Booker T has helped in that regard in huge amounts for his in ring talent and 6 title reigns. The Rock (who by the way regardless of his Samoan heritage has a 100% black father in Rocky Johnson. He's black, live with it) Is still setting the bar for mic skills and set the bar for the ability to put competitors over in the ring. R Truth as Ron Killings was given the ball as NWA-TNA champion and we've had a bevy of Mid-card champions that just 2 decades before would not have happened in such large number.
Does this mean we shouldn't deal with the issue of race in wrestling? No, but in all things moderation. Look to where we are compared to where we were. Then tell me this is all about just holding a given race down. Prejudice is still alive and breeding but it doesn't mean it's all residing in Titan Towers or somewhere in Florida.
And like all things, it will take time.
For the record, I am a 42 yr old black man from DC who's family is from NC. So please people stop trying to make this just about race. It's sickening.
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