In a recent appearance on the “Going Ringside” podcast, WWE Superstar Montez Ford discussed the significance of representation in professional wrestling.
Ford highlighted the recent success of several black champions across various promotions, including Swerve Strickland (AEW World Champion), Trick Williams (NXT Champion), R-Truth (WWE World Tag Team Champion), Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill (WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion), Oba Femi (NXT North American Champion), Athena (ROH Women’s World Champion), and Moose (TNA World Champion).
According to Ford, this recent wave of success for black wrestlers is a testament to the importance of diversity and inclusivity in professional wrestling. He said,
“I think is it’s amazing. In any aspect, any type of representation matters. Anytime you see — I’m living proof of that. I just spoke of how seeing Bobby Lashley do the things when I was growing up, and Booker T, and how it not only just made me love professional wrestling even more, but it made me even more motivated to know, like, ‘Hey, somebody like me is doing this at this high level, I can do the same thing.’ So I’m walking, living proof that, you know? It all matters and it’s a good time in the industry,” Ford continued. “It’s a good time to show what we can do. Our backgrounds, and they’re all different, they all have their own different stories. The thing that they share is the common hue, but besides that, they all have different stories, and I am very excited to see how everyone tells those different stories.”
