From Junkyard Dog body-slamming the 450-pound King Kong Bundy with shocking ease to The Rock defeating Mankind at Survivor Series '98 to become the first-ever Black WWE Champion, Black wrestlers have been revolutionizing the sport for the better part of a century. This countdown spotlights 15 Black superstars who didn't just compete, they redefined wrestling. Despite any number of cringe-to-flat out racist moments in wrestling’s long history, we’ve come a long way from Bearcat Wright and Bobo Brazil fighting for pro wrestling’s desegregation. From The World’s Strongest Man to New Day to Bianca Belair making history as the longest-reigning Black singles champion in WWE history (with her record 420-day reign as Raw Women's Champion), these 15 superstars overcame the industry's creative handcuffs to build legacies that transcended sports entertainment.

15) Jazz
Years Active: debuted in 1998
Titles Won: WWE Women’s Champ (2x)
Best Match: Trish Stratus vs. Jazz - Women's Championship | WWF RAW (2002)

The only wrestler I know to have dropped out of college because she was inspired by WWE Champ Jacqueline and the Attitude Era. She joined a wrestling school in her home of Louisiana and never looked back, being trained by WWE great Junkyard Dog in the process. In a short wrestling career, Jazz went on to be a two-time WWE champ and was one of the only Black female faces around the WWE in the early aughts. She won and defended her title against Trish Stratus and Lita in a Triple Threat match at Wrestlemania 18. 

14) Shelton Benjamin
Years Active: 2000- present
Titles Won: WWE Intercontinental Champ (3x), WWE Tag Team Champ (2x), WWE U.S. Champ (1x), WWE Raw Tag Team Champ (1x), AEW Tag Team Champ (1x)
Best Match: Chris Jericho vs Shelton Benjamin - Part 2 

Shelton Benjamin was one of the early Black wrestlers at the turn of the century that came from a similar skillset: superhuman athleticism that made your eyes drop and a sporting background that shifted from college and pro football to pristine folkstyle wrestling. When Benjamin debuted in the WWE in 2002, it seemed like he was destined for the top title. If not for some shaky decision making by management and some poor mic skills, Benjamin could’ve seen more glory. Luckily, he’s had his fair share of mix-ups with the best in the business, and a second career stint in the WWE plus air time in AEW has helped round out his career. 

13) Naomi
Years Active: debuted in 2009
Titles Won: WWE Smackdown Women’s Champ (2x), WWE Women’s Tag Team World Champ (1x), Wrestlemania Women’s Battle Royale Winner
Best Match: FULL MATCH - SmackDown Women's Title Six-Pack Challenge: WrestleMania 33 

Trinity Fatu used to be under a much different, multi-syllabic moniker than the simply stated “Naomi” she now goes by. The Funkadactlyls were valets alongside Brodus Clay, an attempt to get Naomi more air time on her debut on Raw. She cashed in on that potential even after some gruesome injuries early on and now she’s one of the most popular women on the roster. A decade later, Naomi has won plenty in the WWE and become top billing for her submissions and jaw-dropping acrobatics. 

12) Jacqueline
Years Active: debuted in 1989
Titles Won: WWF Women’s Champ (2x), WWE Cruiserweight Champ (1x), WWE Hall of Fame (2016)
Best Match: Chavo Guerrero vs Jacqueline: SmackDown, May 4, 2004 

For a lot of people watching Wrestling who’ve always been upset with how promotions treat Black women, Jacqueline became the gold standard for professionals and viewers in terms of what it takes to make it in the big leagues. She was the first Black woman to win a WWE championship of any kind and one of the toughest acts of the Attitude Era. She was a trailblazer in the ring and became a Hall of Famer based off of those in-ring performances more than her glass ceiling breaking. 

11)  Big E
Years Active: debuted in 2009
Titles Won: WWE Champ (1x), NXT Champ (1x), WWE Intercontinental Champ (1x), Raw Tag Team Champ (2x), Smackdown Tag Team Champ (6x), 2021 Men’s Money in the Bank winner 
Best Match: Big E cashes in his Money in the Bank contract on Bobby Lashley: Raw, Sept. 13, 2021 

Before he was a well-known, highly seen member of New Day, Big E was bad on the mic. By himself, he was a sleeper. But as part of New Day he became a top draw both for his in-ring stunts and his out of ring appearances. Winning the WWE title was one of the best feel-good moments for Black fans of this era who likened the group to the reason they got back into watching wrestling. A win for all of the acts who never got a chance. 

10) D’Von Dudley
Years Active: 1991 to 2020
Titles Won: 2005 All-Japan World’s Strongest Tag Team League Winner, ECW World Tag Team Champ (8x), NWA World Tag Team Champ (1x), TNA World Tag Team Champ (2x), TNA Tag Team of the Year, TNA Hall of Fame (2014), WCW Tag Team Champ (1x), WWE Tag Team Champ (1x), WWE World Tag Team Champ (8x)
Best Match: FULL MATCH: Hardy Boyz vs. Dudley Boyz vs. Edge & Christian – TLC Match: SummerSlam 2000 

Though he was never a world champ, D-Von Dudley was arguably the greatest Black tag team champion wrestling has ever produced. All apologies necessary to King Booker T and Stevie Ray. His rivalry with the Hardy Boyz and Edge & Christian made for some of the best moments of the Attitude Era in the WWE. 

9) Bianca Belair
Years Active: 2016 to present
Titles Won: WWE Raw Women’s Champ (2x), WWE Smackdown Women’s Champ (1x), WWE Tag Team Women’s Champ (2x), 2021 Women’s Royal Rumble Winner, Ninth women’s Triple Crown champ in history, 
Best Match: Becky Lynch vs. Bianca Belair: WWE WrestleMania 38 Saturday 

Though there’s plenty of argument for her resume being better than a certain “Boss” of the women’s roster, Bianca Belair is a legitimate star in her own right. No longer are Black women pigeonholed into being just eye-candy or secondary performers to men in the ring. And Belair has cashed in on that more than anyone of her era. She was the first Black woman to main event at Wrestlemania, a triple crown champ and the “EST of the WWE” has over 500 matches since 2016 to back it up. 

8) Bobby Lashley
Years Active: 2000 to present
Titles Won: AEW Tag Team Champ (1x), Impact Wrestling World Heavyweight Champ (4x), ECW World Champ (2x), WWE World Champ (2x), WWE Intercontinental Champ (2x), WWE United States Champ (3x)
Best Match: Big E vs. Roman Reigns vs. Bobby Lashley: Raw, Sept. 20, 2021 

One of the greatest athletic specimens ever recruited to the squared circle. It took him less than 18 months after debuting in the WWE in 2005 to get a strap. He was a main player in the WWE diet at the end of the aughts: shaving Mr. McMahon’s head with Donald Trump, going blow to blow with John Cena in main events, becoming the number one contender for a title in a Beat The Clock match. If not for injuries he could have ended up much higher on this list. 

7) Ron Simmons / Farooq
Years Active: 1986-2010
Titles Won: WCW World Heavyweight Champ (1x), WCW World Tag Team Champ (1x), WWF World Tag Team Champ (3x), WWE Hall of Fame (2012)
Best Match: Faarooq vs. Ahmed Johnson | WWF RAW (1997) 

Ron Simmons was the first Black man to win a WCW championship. He was an icon, a legend from the early nineties and one of the last waves of football talent that could make a real impact in pro wrestling. When he joined the WWE in 1996 he was billed as “Faarooq,” the Black leader of the militant Nation of Domination imprint in the WWE. Though it was thought to be a gimmick, many fans of the era likened Simmons’ character to gold. He became one of the most symbolic faces of the progress for Black men’s wrestlers at the turn of the 21st century—even if he never got a singles title. 

6) Junkyard Dog
Years Active: 1977-1993
Titles Won: WCW World Six-Man Tag Team Champ (1x), WWF Wrestling Classic Winner (1x), WWE Hall of Fame (2004), Mid-South Champ (8x), Mid-South Tag Team Champ (8x)
Best Match: Junkyard Dog vs. "Macho Man" Randy Savage: The Wrestling Classic - Tournament Final Match 

There is no Black wrestling history, in a lot of ways, without Big Daddy Ritter from Wadesboro, North Carolina. The Junkyard Dog was the face of Black wrestling in the eighties, a time period that wasn’t the kindest to us or our talent in the ring. After injuries cut his time short on the Green Bay Packers, Sylvester Ritter grew to prominence as the crown jewel of the Mid-South wrestling promotion. When he transitioned to the WWE in 1984, he was an instant success and fan favorite. His match at Wrestlemania 3 showcased the possibilities of Black performers in the squared circle. 

5) Sasha Banks / Mercedes Mone
Years Active: 2010 to present
Titles Won: AEW TBS Champ (1x), NXT Women’s Champ (1x), WWE Raw Women’s Champ (5x), WWE Smackdown Women’s Champ (1x), WWE Women’s Tag Team Champ (3x), Grand Slam Champion (2016, 2020)
Best Match: FULL MATCH - Charlotte Flair vs. Sasha Banks - Women's Title Match: Raw, July 25, 2016 

“The Boss” Sasha Banks is the face of Black female wrestling worldwide. The face of the revolution for the women’s side of the game. Her historic main event with Bianca Belair would be the only time two Black women faced off at Wrestlemania in the promotion’s history. And, it was also one of the most perfectly executed matches I’ve ever seen. She and Naomi walked away from the WWE due to creative differences in 2022, and even though the run ended a bit prematurely, her two grabs as a Grand Slam Champ should be enough for eventual Hall of Fame status. 

4) Mark Henry
Years Active: 1996 to 2018
Titles Won: WWE World Heavyweight Champ (1x), ECW Champ (1x), WWE European Champ (1x), WWE Hall of Fame (2018)
Best Match: FULL MATCH: Randy Orton vs. Mark Henry – World Heavyweight Title Match: WWE Night of Champions 2011 

Famously billed as “The World’s Strongest Man” there was a lot of hype for Mark Henry’s emergence in the WWE. When he came to the WWE in 1996, he was supposed to be the face of change in the organization. He was an olympian, after all, and with him the thought was more eyes would be on the promotion worldwide. It took a while for Henry to reap the investment that was paid to get him into wrestling. Though it took 15 years or so before Henry would clobber Randy Orton for a world heavyweight title, the run he went on for years following that 2011 coronation – the proverbial “Hall of Pain” run – landed him in the Hall of Fame. 

3) Kofi Kingston
Years Active: debuted in 2006
Titles Won: WWE champ (1x), WWE Intercontinental Champ (4x), WWE United States Champ (3x), Raw Tag Team Champ (6x), Smackdown Tag Team Champ (7x), World Tag Team Champ (1x), NXT Tag Team Champ (1x)
Best Match: FULL MATCH - Daniel Bryan vs. Kofi Kingston – WWE Title Match: WrestleMania 35 

His accolades are part of the reason he’s this high up the list, but his talent is undeniable. When Kingston debuted in 2006, the assumption was that the sky was the limit. Just like many superstar Black acts on this list, he was brimming with confidence and had the early wins and mid-level title fights to back his rise. It was hard to think of anything but WWE gold being in Kingston’s future by the end of the aughts with big wins over Chris Jericho and run ins with Randy Orton. But it wasn’t until “KofiMania” at the end of the 2010s when Kingston turned into a real star. Since his debut, he’s been in close to 2,000 matches in the ring. His win at Wrestlemania 35  was long overdue. 

2) The Rock
Years Active: debuted in 1995
Titles Won: WCW World Champ (2x), WWE Champ (8x), WWF International Champ (2x), WWF Tag Team Champ (5x), 2000 Royal Rumble Winner, Sixth Men’s Triple Crown Winner, Future Hall of Famer
Best Match: Stone Cold Vs The Rock WrestleMania 17 - WWF Championship Match Highlights. 

In terms of icon status: there’s an argument to be made that no one who’s stepped in the ring under the WWE banner has done more for the company than Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. He comes from wrestling royalty, his father Rocky “The Soulman” Johnson was a real fixture during his day under the lights. His grandfather was the “High Chief” Peter Mavia, one of the managing legends of the game. So, when The Rock debuted in the 90s, though there were some real questions about if he would stick in the WWE and what his gimmick would be, but once he found his momentum he never stopped. When he finally had a heel turn, the dollar signs were practically bouncing off his eyebrows. Now, thirty years later, The Rock is wrestling. He’s on magazine covers, the star of action movies, and has made plenty of returns to stimulate wrestling fans of any generation.

1) Booker T
Years Active: 1989 to 2012
Titles Won: TNA World Tag Team Champ (1x), WCW World Heavyweight Champ (5x), WCW World Tag Team Champ (10x), WCW World TV Champ (6x), WWF World Heavyweight Champ (1x), WWE World Heavyweight Champ (1x), WWE United States Champ (1x), WWE Intercontinental Champ (1x), WWE Hardcore Champ (2x), WWE World Tag Team Champ (3x), 2006 King of the Ring, 9th WWE Grand Slam Champ, 16th WWE Triple Crown Winner, Two-Time WWE Hall of Famer (2013 & 2019) 
Best Match: FULL MATCH: Booker T vs. The Rock – WCW Title Match: SummerSlam 2001 

In a lot of ways, Booker T has achieved more than any other Black wrestler to ever lace up their boots. A double hall of fame inductee both as a single act and as a tag team duo with Stevie Ray. A world champion and a valuable asset to the company who didn’t know they needed him so much when they took a dip in 2006. Booker T became so valuable for the WWE and wore so many hats when they needed him, that Kurt Angle once said that Book was one of the five greatest to ever do it. How many wrestlers you know popular enough to run for mayor of Houston?