On the progress of Black representation in wrestling: “A lot of people always seem to want my opinion on stuff like this. And I can honestly give my really true, honest opinion on subjects like this. Am I glad about it, am I happy about it? Of course I am, man. It’s awesome. And I think about when I was coming up as well, watching professional wrestling. I remember this one wrestler, his name was Mr. Ebony. He wore a mask, Black man, he wore a mask. First black wrestler I ever knew to wear a mask. I don’t know why he wore one. He was jacked, he looked good, but he never won a match. I don’t remember seeing Mr. Ebony win one match. And I used to be like, ‘God man, I mean what’s up with the brothers? And then Tony Atlas came came along of course. Tony Atlas, he would get a win here, there. But you know, you never saw Tony Atlas in a championship position until he was with Rocky Johnson in the WWF as Tag Team Champions. First Black Tag Team Champions in WWE history. And then Junkyard Dog on the other hand, ooh. That was that boy, man. He was he was a bad, bad man. The former North American Heavyweight Champion! He made me go, ‘Wow man, this dude here is doing it!’ But he had a gimmick, you know what I mean? And I was like, “Man…’ You know, that was the one thing about JYD. Even though he was not like a ‘gimmick’ gimmick, he still was kind of like on that gimmick level.”
On how things have changed from that era : “One thing about wrestling I think back then, the reason why we did not gravitate to it was because we didn’t see anyone like us that looked like us that was working at the top level. You know what I mean? So it’s like, ‘Man, that’s not gonna be way out, I’m not gonna go try that.’ So, now, hopefully, I gave a little bit of an inspiration to young people, Blacks, people of color, who want to try to get into wrestling. Of course New Day, Kofi Kingston, Bianca Belair, you know. And the list goes on now. Yeah man, representation is very, very important for us. To believe that we could be a part of what was going on there. We could be champions in that game. But there again, it’s going to take you know your talent. It’s the only thing that you’re gonna have to bank on. And that’s why I look at someone like Bianca Belair and I say, ‘Man, she’s money. She’s money all day.’ When I look at Carmelo Hayes, I say, ‘Let’s put the rocket on this boy, man,’ because he could be looking down saying, ‘Look, I’m on top of the world, mom. All I need is a chance and an opportunity,’ but more importantly, he’s got the talent to be able to do it.”
On how things have changed from that era : “One thing about wrestling I think back then, the reason why we did not gravitate to it was because we didn’t see anyone like us that looked like us that was working at the top level. You know what I mean? So it’s like, ‘Man, that’s not gonna be way out, I’m not gonna go try that.’ So, now, hopefully, I gave a little bit of an inspiration to young people, Blacks, people of color, who want to try to get into wrestling. Of course New Day, Kofi Kingston, Bianca Belair, you know. And the list goes on now. Yeah man, representation is very, very important for us. To believe that we could be a part of what was going on there. We could be champions in that game. But there again, it’s going to take you know your talent. It’s the only thing that you’re gonna have to bank on. And that’s why I look at someone like Bianca Belair and I say, ‘Man, she’s money. She’s money all day.’ When I look at Carmelo Hayes, I say, ‘Let’s put the rocket on this boy, man,’ because he could be looking down saying, ‘Look, I’m on top of the world, mom. All I need is a chance and an opportunity,’ but more importantly, he’s got the talent to be able to do it.”
