EDITORIAL: While the lack of Black male wrestlers on PLEs appears to more coincidence than anything, Levesque’s statement about it lacked in several areas

By now I’m sure you’ve heard or read that when asked about Black representation on WWE PLEs, Paul Levesque’s answer was to say he doesn’t see color or nationality, he just sees talent. While that answer sounds good in theory, it is not just a cop out, it is quite frankly insulting to every Black wrestler past and present and every Black wrestling fan.

(Note: I have a PhD in history with a particular emphasis on 20th century Black history so my following analysis is as a trained historian, not necessarily as a wrestling fan.)

The genesis of the entire controversy was a tweet a week or so ago which pointed out the lack of Black male representation on WWE PLEs over the last year. For Paul Levesque to respond to T.J. Legacy’s question on the subject the way he did shows a distinct lack of understanding on his part. “I don’t see color” sounds like a virtuous statement of color blindness, but in reality and historically, it’s something white people say that’s actually wholly dismissive of the experience of Black people.

In a recent article published in the Brolly Journal of Sciences, Dr. Austin Belanger-Iott of Eastern Michigan University argues that someone can’t be colorblind and empathetic. He further states that someone who says they don’t see color is “not seeing shared trauma, social environment, or acts of racism and prejudice perpetrated towards people…”

This, I believe, is the central problem with Levesque’s answer. He’s now the head of creative of a company with a long-problematic history of stereotypical and downright racist treatment of its Black performers. Tony Atlas was turned into Saba Simba. The Nation of Domination were portrayed as militant heels. Mark Henry was billed as the “self-proclaimed Silverback.” Cryme Tyme’s gimmick in its entirety. R-Truth spent years being used as Vince McMahon’s personal amusement. The original intent of the New Day came off as a mockery of the Black church experience.

I intentionally left out of that list the two most nakedly racist moments in WWE history of which involved Levesque himself.

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First, there was the infamous segment where DX appeared in blackface to parody the NOD. Fast-forward to 2003 and during a feud with Booker T, Levesque cut a promo in which he said “people like you don’t become champion.” In a feud that had racist overtones throughout, that was a moment whose shocking brazenness was eclipsed only by the fact that Booker T lost to Levesque in the end.

Sean Waltman has expressed regret for the blackface segment and admitted he was pressured into it. Levesque has never expressed regret for either. Perhaps it’s his proximity to these two most horrendous offenses that prevents him from seeing the trauma inflicted on the Black performers forced to partake in these humiliating moments for a paycheck. If he did, he’d have to own and reconcile his own role in them and he seems unwilling or unable to do so. He seems more interested in relegating them to the past and pretending that everything was magically solved by Vince McMahon being gone instead of dealing with them.

Levesque’s top babyface Cody Rhodes discussed how a conversation with his wife years ago changed his perspective on this issue. Perhaps Levesque could take a cue from him and have a conversation with some of his Black performers and get their perspective. You cannot begin to understand someone’s experiences without having the uncomfortable conversation. Pushing forward with the “new era” without addressing the sins of the past is akin to burying one’s head in the sand.

I don’t think that the statistic pointed was the result of anything deliberate. I think it’s a wild coincidence. However, given WWE’s past, it’s incumbent on Paul Levesque to be vigilant. Wrestling is a sport where someone directly controls who gets pushed. Levesque won’t have this benefit of the doubt forever. He needs to start making some progress on the representation front but first he has to acknowledge the mistakes of the past in order not to make new ones of his own.

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(You can always reach PWTorch editor Wade Keller at kellerwade@gmail.com)