Your Favorite Black Wrestler

[The Butcher]

About a year ago, in honor of Black History Month, Mack_Swagger made a thread to discuss who we thought was the greatest wrestler of African descent.

http://forums.wrestlezone.com/showthread.php?t=249789&highlight=black+history+month

This year, I'd like to do something similar. Rather than trying to hash out who's the greatest, however, this thread is simply for us to talk about our own personal favorite black wrestler. I'll politely ask that we avoid any contention over the definition of "black" and just be inclusive of all wrestlers of African descent. So even if the individual isn't African-American or even if he/she 100% black (as far as we know), feel free to talk about them if they're your favorite.

My favorite black wrestler of all-time is Allen "Bad News Brown" Coage. That's right youngsters, the "Bad News" moniker belonged to someone else before Wade Barrett started banging a gavel 20 feet in the air. I started watching wrestling in early 1988, and like most fans of the time, I rooted for the good guys. Even as a young mark, however, I always took notice of unique, charismatic bad guys like Rick Rude and Demolition. One of the most unique, especially for that era, was Bad News Brown. It could be argued that he was the prototype for Stone Cold Steve Austin, and it wasn't just the bald head and black trunks. Like Stone Cold, Bad News was a single minded ass-kicker who didn't mince words. Bad News wasn't a cartoon character like the vast majority of WWF Superstars. He was quite the opposite- a tough, no-nonsense lone wolf from Harlem. It was easy to buy that this guy came from a tough block and lived for a good brawl. His promos were intimidating in a way that most other wrestling villains' weren't. Bad News Brown didn't just want to pin his opponent; he wanted to beat the breaks off of whoever was across the ring from him. Bad News backed up the look and attitude with actions that were pretty unheard of in the WWF-- specifically double crossing Bret Hart in the WrestleMania IV battle royal and walking out on his Survivor Series teams in '88 and '89 (swearing at fan during the latter). And I'd be remiss to not mention his feud with Roddy Piper, which led to Hot Rod controversially painting half of himself black for their match at WrestleMania VI. His WWF career was short, but during his time there Bad News did and was involved in stuff that no one else was doing during that day and age. Plus the Ghetto Blaster was a cool finisher, both in name and execution.

I wouldn't have named Bad News Brown as my favorite black wrestler years ago. Like I said, he stood out to me back then, but I didn't properly appreciate him or realize how much I liked him. As time has gone on, though, I've acquired that appreciation and look fondly on his character. I've seen and learned stuff that I missed or didn't know about back then: his work as Bad News Allen, his Arsenio Hall Show appearance, his accomplished judo career, and perhaps most impressively, him challenging Andre the Giant to a fight after Andre made a racial comment. Between what I saw back in the day and have learned hence, I can't help but say that Allen "Bad News Brown" Coage is my all-time favorite black wrestler.

Who's yours?

 

[Messiah]

Junkyard Dog. He's got to be one of the most charismatic wrestlers of all time, he was so entertaining to watch. He was in his prime before my time, he passed away when i was like 4 year's old, but watching his matches in recent year's, he entertained me more than any other black wrestler i can think of.

 

[wrestler36]

Gotta go with the Rock. If you want to be technical with race, he's half African/American half Samoan, but regardless. He's untouchable. So many unbelievable matches and off the charts charisma. I was at the Allstate Arena when he had the staredown with Hogan and it was unbelievable. And to think, his full time career was only from the end of 96 to mid 2002, with him being gone a bit in 2001.

 

[itbewilly]

Tough to pick but if i had to pick one im going with KoKo B Ware. He may have never considered as big as others like Rock or JYD but damn he was always fun to watch.

 

[Duderino]

Just because I think he won't be properly represented in this thread, I'd like to enter D-Von Dudley. The Dudley Boyz will always be my favorite tag team. The chemistry D-Von and Bubba had, along with some of the insane spots taken and blood shed should earn D-Von some credit.

Hell, I even liked his failed minister gimmick (which also brought to the WWE Universe, the now maligned "Deacon" Batista), and his work in TNA (Including Aces and 8's). D-Von was certainly never a technician, nor a main event player, but his matches never failed to entertain me, and besides, somebody has to get the tables.

As a fan of great tag teams and a child of the 1990s, I'd be remiss if I didn't also mention Farooq, and of course Booker T when he was in WCW.

 

[CeramicDuck]

So many great ones...

I was a big fan of a young Too Cold Scorpio.. So innovative and exciting

 

[rocknrollchick5]

I have to go with Ron Simmons. He was always so awesome in the ring and didn't take crap from anyone. Loved him in the Nation of Domination and in the APA with JBL (aka: Bradshaw) He is truly one of the toughest legends in the entire WWE!

 

[Pedigree1]

So many to choose from! I liked Bad news Brown as well. Hell of a competitor,and always menacing looking. He always looked like he was in a bad mood,and was one of the few guys who would always put people in their spot. Looked like a guy that you would not wanna fight. While not the flashiest guy ever,his toughness could never be questioned!

 

[akathelaw]

Shelton Benjamin is my personal favorite. He was the star of the 'Mania Money in the Bank Ladder Match. The insane spots he pulled off would make me think I witnessed a horrible accident but somehow this guy kept getting back up. I was disappointed his Gold Standard gimmick never took off, but it was a little flat. His matches were what I tuned in for and they were regularly excellent. Right before he left WWE, Undertaker had a great little series of matches with Benjamin and it would have been amazing to see 'Taker vs Benjamin at Mania.

 

[hitmanhart]

I wouldn't say favorite all-time, but as a kid growing up in the 90s I loved watching Ahmed Johnson come out and just beat the crap out of everyone in his path. He was so jacked and aggressive, it was fun to watch. Too bad his opponents probably didn't enjoy it as much as the fans watching, haha.

 

[Soulblazed]

A few of my favorite black wrestlers-

Bad News Brown/Allen-I remember watching him in the WWF in the late 80s and always wondered why he never won the IC/WWF Titles. When he went against Hogan I really wanted Bad News to get a clean win over him. Besides his legit judo credentials, I liked his promos, since he came across as believable. I wished that he would've stayed in the WWF til at least the mid 90s. He had a great character, as others have said, he has some mannerisms which people compare to Stone Cold.

Bobo Brazil-Good worker, highly popular wrestler worldwide and yet he never won the WWWF Championship, though he did wrestle Bruno Sammartino for it..It's a damn shame, too, because I would've liked to have seen Bobo winning the WWWF Championship cleanly. One thing I find interesting is that he was supposedly "awarded" the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.

There's a link to Bobo Brazil's wiki page that discusses him being "awarded" the NWA World Heavyweight Championship even though it wasn't "officially recognized" by the NWA.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobo_Brazil

I also like Ron Simmons, Jazz and Ahmed Johnson as well. Jazz was a great wrestler even though she never had a long run in the WWE..Simmons was great in the Nation Of Domination and I loved the feud with between Simmons and Ahmed Johnson until Johnson turned heel and joined the Nation which made no sense.

 

[jameyt2003]

Gotta be Booker T. He is not only a favorite black wrestler, but a favorite in general. I grew up watching his rise through WCW and some of his intro into the WWF. When I came back to watching wrestling, he looked just as good as ever. I enjoyed his suplexing and high kick style in the ring.

I like Kofi Kingston a lot. He has been a solid mid carder like Booker was. Perhaps he will get an opportunity for a top spot on the card.

 

[John Cena's Sweatbands]

I thought D'Lo Brown was great, and was a big favourite of mine growing up. He had the look, the athleticism, he was charismatic and could talk on the mic. A shame how he never made it into the WWF title shuffle, highest he got to was the Intercontinental title.

That Sky High spinebuster/powerbomb thing and the Lo Down frog splash were amazing moves. And I loved the storyline with the chest protector.

His "Real Deal" theme song was superb!

 

[MrHashasheen]

Booker T. I got into wrestling during his King Booker days and hated him soundly for it, and when I got into WCW a few years later I really got to see him grow from the start and that just made him the guy for me.

 

[$uck my venis]

Booker T, his best of 7 with wrestler not named, made me a fan of his work. He could wrestle, brawl, street fight and entertaining on the mic.

My second would be Da Black Pope, I thought TNA was going to push him to the moon, when he first arrived he was interesting on the mic and and ring

 

[kumarjtk]

i like farooq aka ron simmons. He and bradshaw as APA is so much of fun to watch. DAMN!

 

[boozinjedi]

Gotta go with the Rock. If you want to be technical with race, he's half African/American half Samoan, but regardless. He's untouchable. So many unbelievable matches and off the charts charisma. I was at the Allstate Arena when he had the staredown with Hogan and it was unbelievable. And to think, his full time career was only from the end of 96 to mid 2002, with him being gone a bit in 2001.

How about the Rock's dad??..Rocky Johnson,

he was an amazing wrestler..had one of the sweetest dropkicks ever.
He and Tony Atlas were an awesome tag team.

 

[Slash-LN]

Overall it's Shelton Benjamin. He always put on entertaining matches and came to deliver. There was very little question about seeing something exciting when he was in the ring. He was a solid Intercontinental champion and had a pretty good run with Haas as the World's Greatest Tag Team. He could hit high spots but also wrestle a technical style. He could match up with pretty much anyone and still have a good match.

Booker T in WCW was pretty awesome. I thought Harlem Heat was a bad ass tag team and really enjoyed them back then. When they eventually split and did their own thing I was happy that Booker ended up having success. I guess I'd say he was a successful heel as King Booker in the WWE because he annoyed the hell out of me. He still put on quality matches though. In ring he'd probably be my second favorite and I feel he's worth mentioning.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Wow, never really thought about this so will have to go over some options then decide..

Honorable mentions:-

D. Lo Brown - Sadly the Droz incident ruined what was a very strong push for him, and he was worth it. Would have have gotten a World run? No... but he could have contended against a Kurt Angle or Chris Jericho very easily. Tragic that one idiot fan throwing a drink in the ring ruined two careers and lives.

JYD - My first knowledge of JYD was the cartoon back in 86 when it was on in the UK and he was cool cos of the "Another One Bites The Dust" riff whenever he talked... As a worker, not my favourite but definitely one of the most charismatic ever.

Ernie Ladd - The Big Cat, having looked at old footage was a very special talent indeed. To excel at football then come into wrestling as he did and be the first means he is an honorable mention for me.

The Contenders:-

The Rock - There is no question he has done more as a positive role model than anyone else. This is a kid who would have been called "mixed race", with all those attendant issues, who learned a work ethic, applied it and took it further than you could ever dream and then has continued to work, to be positive and grow. It is impossible not to like Dwayne Johnson on some level, be it as an actor, personality or wrestler. In terms of wrestling he isn't my favourite as I feel he did rest on his laurels a lot and could have pushed the envelope more than he did but it's impossible to slate him either.

Ron Simmons: The guy no one ever saw coming... back in the day I had a paper round, with my money I'd buy sweets and one of the Apter mags and go home in time for WCW on ITV... One day I am reading all about Ron Simmons, his career in College Football, that he was in Doom with Butch Reed (who I did know from Mania 3) and then lo and behold, they show the episode where he won the title... not only had he won it, but he'd beaten Vader who was unstoppable. In later years his Faarooq gimmick sucked, but then grew with the Nation - how many guys could get away with bringing the Black Power salute to the table, move on to a legendary tag team for the 2nd time and then reinvent himself in another way with a single word catchphrase? Just Ron... He loses out as he became somewhat of a caricature with the "Damn" stuff but I'll never forget marking out when he won that title...

Shelton Benjamin - It's so sad he could never get the mic work down because in the ring he is arguably the best there has been. Sadly he also lost out cos of Brock Lesnar... a WWE without Lesnar, Shelton shines...

Abdullah - While nowhere near the worker of many of the others, this was the first true guy to "make it happen", the longevity he enjoyed, always on top - no black wrestler had ever had that. His gimmick was immense... as a wrestler I always loved watching him...as a man, his latter behaviour with regards to his Hep C takes him out for me...

So who is the winner?

Booker T. - My first real moment with Booker was the immortal Shockmaster debut... I got it on tape and his reaction along with Davey's was priceless. While I never liked Harlem Heat, I always liked Booker and the measure was when a WCW game would come out for PS1 or N64 I'd usually play as him cos he had some sweet moves. Then when he went singles he exploded... the Best of 7 is arguably the finest series of matches WCW had in it's entire run... Sure Voldemort was involved but Booker more than carried his end... while DDP was winning titles, Scott Steiner etc the only one I was genuinely please to see was Booker get his due and to then come over to the WWF I was happy... now for a long time I then tuned out, mainly as how he was presented just didn't appeal and he was now competing with my other faves like Jericho, RVD and the like but when he became King Booker he had me in stitches every time... when he kicked the crap out of Batista backstage I loved him for it, when the tale of Jericho and Goldberg's brawl and Booker's reaction to Bill's comments on Jericho's mom it was a done deal... This guy can work, do humor and has a tale of redemption to boot... yes he did time, but he has more than made up for whatever he did and become the best and my fave black worker ever.

 

[lowandmighty]

"of African descent" I'm glad you cleared up that issue because that's every wrestler ever if you want to go back through human history far enough.
Not all black people come from Africa either at least in a more recent historical sense.

To answer the question, my favourite was Charles Wright as either Papa Shango or the Godfather. He was always entertaining. I wish he called himself "The Pimpfather" though.

Second would have to be Kamala, he was funny.

Honorable mention to Umaga, Superfly Snuka and Rikishi. Umaga (R.I.P) seemed like the most menacing wrestler for a long time. Rikishi was fucking brilliant especially with his risque "posterior". I almost wet myself with laughter when I saw him debut the "bootylicious" ring attire.

Best Black tag team ever was Harlem Heat, best theme music ever, Booker T even improved upon that whilst riding the rest of his career out solo.

 

[SSJPhenom]

It has to be the Ugandan Giant Kamala. Lol, I'm just kidding. Kamala was another one of those gimmick wrestlers that got lost with the rest in the mid 90's.

I think I have to go with Booker T. He was great in his tag team days as a member of Harlem Heat and he became a great singles guy as well. WCW tried so hard to make Booker T their Rock, however, it didn't work out that well. When Booker first came over in the WCW deal, I thought that Vince was going to bury him like he did the rest of the WCW roster, however, Booker T fought and clawed his way to the top and became one of the greatest WWE superstars of the past 15 years. I'll always have the up most respect for Booker T because of his background and where he came from to what he became. He has a great story to tell and he can be a great role model.

Now can you dig that????

 

[Crypt Keeper]

Gotta go with my big homie, Booker T!!! But seriously, he has to be my favorite. He's had so many memorable moments on RAW and SmackDown. Number 2 would be Shelton Benjamin. Talk about athleticism! I would love to see him make a return.

 

[NaptownMVP]

Shelton Benjamin without a doubt.

[YOUTUBE]watch?v=SMKxYoFzAjg[/YOUTUBE]

One of the best matches I've ever seen, with maybe THE best finish ever. I thought Shelton was in for big things after this, but instead of an amazing feud between HBK and Shelton, which would have been amazing and really catapulted Shelton up the card, we got Shelton's mom, which catapulted him out of a job.

 

[Da Solo]

Yeah, I'm going with The Rock on this one, easily. I think it's pretty astounding that Rocky Johnson was one half of the 1st black tag team champions, and his son would go on to be THE greatest superstar WWE has ever had up to this point. I mean think about it, he is quite possibly the best seller the 'E has ever had, is damn well the best mic worker, has tons of classic matches, got out of the industry clean and healthy, is now a household name and is practically a legend in the business.

Close second goes to Booker T, 6 time (6 time, 6 time, 6 time, 6 time, 6 time) world champion who was one of the last true stars of WCW and held down the Ruthless Aggression era both in the upper midcard and main event scene. While I do think WWE could have done a lot more with him, he still went on to have a HOF career, as proven with his induction later.

 

[MINISTRYrising]

My personal favorite, would have to be Charles Wright. The Guy has played so many great characters over the Years from Papa Shango to the Godfather and no matter what character he is playing, He never fails to entertain the fans. A close second would have to Bad News Brown. The guy was a heel of a tallent and came Very close to becoming the first ever Black WWF champion.