If WWE.com Was Being Honest: 5 Articles That Deserve New Titles
1. Jackie Robinson And WWE
What the article is called: "WWE Pays Tribute To Jackie Robinson In Celebration Of Black History Month"
What it should be called: "Please Forget About Our Blatant Past Racism"
Over the past few years WWE has been increasingly dedicated to taking up new causes on a monthly basis. Recently, in Feb. of every year they highlight Black History Month, which is a nice thing to celebrate. However, the company really doesn’t have any place to join in on the celebration due to how poorly they’ve portrayed black wrestlers in the past (and some still to this day).
If the company opened up the month with a 10 minute video where they apologized for their ignorance and racism in the past, then that would go a long way. But they pretend like they don't have an amazingly embarrassing past of pushing black wrestlers.
WWE.com showed off a Jackie Robinson video that they first aired on Raw. Various African American wrestlers in the company commented on him. It’s doubtful the company will soon air a dedication to Saba Simba, where the wrestlers talk glowingly about his contributions to the business. The same goes for Cryme Tyme, Papa Shango, Kamala, Slick and, most regrettably, Akeem. Vince McMahon largely has to look outside his own company to celebrate black accomplishments in sports and entertainment. He only has himself to blame.
It’s not just the past, though, look at the modern roster to see how far the company still has to go. R-Truth is portrayed as a dancing fool who can barely function as an adult. Titus O’Neil is the lowliest of jobbers who can’t get anyone to buy into his brand. Darren Young is a joke. Alicia Fox is crazy. Apollo Crews is bland. Cedric Alexander is bland, and almost as bland as Apollo, except that his defining characteristic is he dated a crazy woman. Mark Henry hasn’t meant anything in five years. New Day is pretty clever, except they too come dangerously close to WWE’s offensive history of pushing black wrestlers as nothing but dancing, joking acts who aren't meant to be taken seriously, which also pretty much sums up how they've portrayed Rich Swann. "He sure likes to have fun!" Michael Cole will constantly remind us. Jason Jordan has a title, but American Alpha still feels more like an afterthought than anything. Really, why aren't any black wrestlers pushed as seriously as a Cena, Styles, Reigns, Strowman, Orton or Wyatt?
Even if every current act isn’t offensive, there’s no one on the roster for a young black fan to really look up to, because WWE continues to not push their heroes in a meaningful way. The company should save the celebrations for when they actually have something to be proud of.