During a recent edition of his Hall of Fame podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Booker T shared his picks for the Mount Rushmore of black wrestlers. Below are some highlights (via WrestlingInc.com):
Booker T on his picks for a Mt. Rushmore of Black wrestlers: “Probably No. 1 would be Bobo Brazil, just because he was a trailblazer. I’m sure Bobo had to go through all kind of crap, dealing with them folks back in the day trying to just get a break. So I give Bobo big props for paving the way for me.”
On his other picks: “No. 2 would be JYD, the Junkyard Dog. They don’t come no bigger than Junkyard Dog. This dude was a trailblazer and he was a major star — on cartoons and stuff back in the day. Ernie Big Cat Ladd definitely would be a guy who was a monster in the business. Monster! Tony Atlas would be No. 4. Tony Atlas — man that dude was a brick house. A brickhouse! And the one Black guy who [doesn’t] get a lot of praise, just because his mouth got him in a lot of trouble. Because he wasn’t afraid to just tell you like it was because like Mama says, ‘It be’s that way sometime. Have mercy on his soul.’ ‘The Iceman’ King Parsons. Yeah, that’s my list.”
Booker T on his picks for a Mt. Rushmore of Black wrestlers: “Probably No. 1 would be Bobo Brazil, just because he was a trailblazer. I’m sure Bobo had to go through all kind of crap, dealing with them folks back in the day trying to just get a break. So I give Bobo big props for paving the way for me.”
On his other picks: “No. 2 would be JYD, the Junkyard Dog. They don’t come no bigger than Junkyard Dog. This dude was a trailblazer and he was a major star — on cartoons and stuff back in the day. Ernie Big Cat Ladd definitely would be a guy who was a monster in the business. Monster! Tony Atlas would be No. 4. Tony Atlas — man that dude was a brick house. A brickhouse! And the one Black guy who [doesn’t] get a lot of praise, just because his mouth got him in a lot of trouble. Because he wasn’t afraid to just tell you like it was because like Mama says, ‘It be’s that way sometime. Have mercy on his soul.’ ‘The Iceman’ King Parsons. Yeah, that’s my list.”
bruhs, the character/archetype of Coco Savage in a lot of the 80s wresting games is based on him doing this gimmick.
