Every Black World Champion in WWE history

Wrestling fans have had a lot of discourse over the years when it comes to Black Wow Champions. This is because the number throughout history is quite small, despite the company being around for decades. To date, only six black men and six black women have held world singles championships in WWE. Many others have held titles and midcard titles, which makes the lack of world champions even more shocking. It’s a controversial topic for many longtime fans.

WWE isn’t even the first wrestling company to have a Black World Champion as their old rival WCW did it first when Ron Simmons captured the top prize in 1992. Thankfully, There were eventually several Black WWE ChampionsAnd the number has increased significantly in recent years. Some of their top stars today, viz WWE 2K24 Cover girl Bianca Belair, are black. This should mean that the list of Black WWE Champions will only grow in the years to come.

The stone

10-time WWE World Champion

It makes sense that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson became WWE’s first-ever black world championLike his father, Rocky Johnson was one half of WWE’s first Black Tag Team Champions in the 1980s. The Rock held 10 world championships during his WWE career, two of them being the WCW World Title reigns when WWE briefly recognized the belt after buying the company. In his final World Title reign, The Rock beat CM Punk for his 10th WWE World Title in 2013.

He then lost the title to fellow wrestler-turned-actor John Cena in WrestleMania 29. The Rock remains a prominent part of WWE, even after recently joining the company as a member of the board of directors. He even made a return to the ring in 2024. He was supposed to get another world title shot at WrestleMania that year, but gave up the shot so Cody Rhodes could “finish his story” against The Rock’s cousin, Roman Reigns . The Rock is still wrestling on a limited basis to this day.

Booker T

2-time WWE World Champion

One of the most decorated black wrestlers ever, Booker T is a two-time WWE Hall of Fame inductee, entering on his own and as part of the Harlem Heat tag team alongside his brother, Stevie Ray. Before joining WWE, Booker T was already wildly successful, winning the WCW World Championship four times. He added a fifth and final WCW title reign under the WWE banner in 2001. He also won a record-setting 11 WCW World Tag Team Championships during his career there.

The most successful WWE wrestler to come over in 2001 after WCW closed, Booker T rebounded nicely from a rough start. In 2003, he lost a World Title match to Triple H in controversial fashion, as HHH spent weeks saying “people like Booker” couldn’t be a top champion. He Eventually won the world heavyweight title In 2006 while wrestling as his King Boxer persona. It was his only world title with the WWE name attached to it.

Mark Henry

1-time WWE World Champion

Another WWE Hall of Famer, “The World’s Strongest Man” Mark Henry was an Olympic weightlifter before joining WWE in 1996. Henry struggled to find his footing in WWE for a long time. He signed a monster rookie contract with the company and then had to prove that he deserved the money. He began as a member of the Rock’s Nation of Domination and then began working as a powerhouse wrestler, but it seemed that a world title would never come in his future.

That all changed in 2011. This year he Won the World Heavyweight Championship as part of his legendary “Hall of Pain” heel run. Henry had previously won the WWE version of the ECW championship, but WWE did not recognize it as a world title. Henry has since become one of several WWE greats to jump ship to AEW, although his contract there expired in 2024, and he is now a free agent. His world title days are behind him, but it was enough to justify his Hall of Fame credentials.

Kofi Kingston

1-time WWE World Champion

Kofi Kingston’s story is one of perseverance. After debuting in early 2008, Kingston was pegged as a man with a lot of talent and a bright future but his run to the top in late 2009 was thwarted by backstage politics. Kingston spent the next few years as a midcarder although many believed his opportunity to be a top guy had passed him by. That all changed when KofiMania became a thing in 2019.

He replaced an injured superstar at the Elimination Chamber and was so close to winning the big one that fans started pushing hard for him to finally have his moment. He rode the wave of momentum at WrestleMania, where he dethroned Daniel Bryan for the WWE title in one of the company’s most emotional moments. Kingston reigned as champion for just under five months until he controversially lost to Brock Lesnar in just nine seconds. However, his win was a huge moment for WWE’s Black community.

Bobby Lashley

2-time WWE World Champion

During Bobby Lashley’s initial WWE run in the mid-2000s, he never really hit the heights most predicted, only managing two reigns with the ECW Championship, which, again, was not considered a world title. Lashley main evented a WrestleMania in a controversial match where he backed Donald Trump against Vince McMahon’s chosen wrestler, the late Umaga. Lashley won, and Trump beheaded McMahon after the match. Lashley left and fought in MMA for a while.

However, Lashley returned to the company in 2018 and fulfilled his potential. He saw his crowning moment Defeat The Miz in March 2021 for his first WWE title reign. He eventually lost the title to another black star in Big E, before winning a second world title against Brock Lesnar with help from Roman Reigns at the 2022 Royal Rumble. Lashley remains one of WWE’s top stars and may yet win another world title in the future, although his time may be drawing to a close.

large e

1-time WWE World Champion

Big E became the second member of the New Day trio to star in WWE’s interactive movie Escape the Undertaker – To win the WWE’s top prize in September 2021, taking the WWE title from Bobby Lashley on Roy. It was Another crowning moment for a deserving and popular Black wrestler. Unfortunately, like his partner Kingston, Big E saw his reign topped by Brock Lesnar at WWE Day 1 Pay-per-view that kicked off 2022.

It remains to be seen if or when Xavier Woods will join his New Day brothers as a world champion. It is also unlikely that Big E will ever win another world title. In 2022, just three months after losing his world title to Brock Lesnar, Big E broke his neck in a match with Ridge Holland, where Big E ended up falling on his head on the floor during the match. He suffered fractures to his C1 and C6 vertebrae and was told he could never wrestle again.

Jacqueline

2-time WWE World Champion

A fixture during WWE’s Attitude Era, Jacqueline won WWE’s Women’s Champion twice. The first was a rather historic win as not only did it make you The company’s first Black Women’s Champion, But she was also the first champion since the title was brought back after being defunct for several years. Jacqueline also won the belt in 2000 when she beat a man who held it – a former manager named Harvey Wiffleman, who dressed as a woman and called himself Hervina.

Notably, Jacqueline also won the Cruiserweight Championship, a title usually held by male wrestlers, when she beat Chavo Guerrero Jr. In 2016, Jacqueline received the honor of being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. Before joining WWE, she also held women’s world titles in minor promotions – the USWA and the UWF.

Jazz

2-time WWE World Champion

Jazz entered WWE after a well-received tenure in the original ECW, and her WWE run Saw two women’s championship reigns. She won the title from Trish Stratus in 2002, whom Jazz then dropped back to her a few months later. Jazz again won the title from Stratus in 2003, and the matches between the two generally attracted positive notices. The second reign of jazz was completed by Gail Kim.

Like Jacqueline though, Jazz’s time as a champion came when the women’s division wasn’t a featured part of the company. WWE often treated these matches, even when they were good, as filler, making it hard to fully consider it a world title at the time. Still, Jazz was ahead of her time with her skills and would likely fit in any era of women’s wrestling. She was easily one of the best and toughest women’s wrestlers of her era and was still competing recently in the NWA.

Alicia Fox

1-time WWE World Champion

Alicia Fox, one of WWE’s longest continuously tenured female performers, spent so much of her career doing comedic storylines that Many forget that she is a former champion. Fox won the WWE Divas Championship in 2010, reigning for almost two months before losing to Melina Bay summerslam. Fox is also one of several women to hold the WWE 24/7 Championship. Again, this is not the best time for women’s wrestling in the company.

Naomi

2-time WWE World Champion

One of WWE’s most athletic and popular female performers in recent memory, Naomi became WWE’s third Smackdown Women’s Champion By defeating Alexa Bliss in 2017. Like many other black wrestlers, Naomi had to overcome some early struggles as she was relegated to being a backup dancer for Brodus Clay for years before getting her chance to actually compete consistently.

Naomi’s first reign only lasted a few days before injury cut it short, but she bounced back soon after and reclaimed the title WrestleMania 33. After a few years with the company, Naomi left WWE and had a strong run with Impact Wrestlers. However, she made her official comeback with an impressive showing in the 2024 Women’s Royal Rumble match.

Sasha Banks

6-time WWE World Champion

One of WWE’s most celebrated female competitors ever, The Mandalorian Actor Sasha Banks has been at the forefront of WWE’s women’s evolution period. “The boss” held the Roy Women’s Championship five times, and the Smackdown Women’s Championship once. That’s not to mention her reigns with the NXT Women’s Title and multiple stints as Women’s Tag Team Champion.

Evidenced by her role in the mandalorian, Banks, who now goes by Mercedes Moné, is a Huge star that goes beyond the wrestling ring. She is no longer with WWE but continues to make waves everywhere she goes, including becoming the second IWGP Women’s Champion in New Japan Pro Wrestling and winning the AEW TBS Championship. The former Sasha Banks also made history through headlines WrestleMania 37 Along with another black woman in Bianca Belair.

Bianca Bellir

3-time WWE World Champion

A standout in NXT before graduating to WWE’s main roster, the incredibly athletic Bianca Bellir made history alongside Sasha Banks, as the two battled for the Smackdown Women’s Championship in the main event of WrestleMania 37. Belair emerged victorious in a moment that was not only huge for her but for Black women in WWE history and those looking to have a future with the company.

Bianca Belair lost the title in less than a minute to Becky Lynch summerslam But rallied to earn another shot where she then defeated Lynch Bay WrestleMania 38. She ruled over a year And then won a third title before 2023 ended. In 2024, Belair remains a top star with WWE as she is one of the cover athletes for their latest video game and is the star of a new reality show, Love & WWE: Bianca & MontezWith her husband, Montez Ford.

Which black wrestlers are likely to become future world champions

While some huge names have won world championships in WWE, it took a long time to get there as black athletes. Thankfully that has changed and the sky is the limit now for Black Star in the company. WWE’s top rival, AEW, even got in on the act when Swerve Strickland (a former WWE NXT star) won their world title. With that said, the talent on WWE’s roster is huge when it comes to who could be the next person to step up and win a world title, both in the men’s and women’s divisions.

It’s also hard to talk about Carmelo without mentioning the man who beat him for the NXT title, Trick Williams.

On the people’s side of things is a young superstar named Carmelo Hayes. He had already won the WWE NXT Championship, and in his first match on the main roster, he fought WWE Champion Cody Rhodes, putting on a strong show. He is exciting and young and has a bright future ahead of him. It’s also hard to talk about Carmelo without mentioning his former partner and friend, Trick Williams. While Williams may struggle a bit more on the main roster, both men should be future stars.

Another male WWE Superstar that needs to be mentioned is Montez Ford. While he has spent his entire career in the tag team The Street Profits, many people feel that he will one day be a major singles star. The husband of Bianca Belair, Ford got a chance to show off his skills in an Elimination Chamber match and put on a great performance. He needs a chance, and he could end up as the next Kofi Kingston and make his name as a world champion.

On the women’s side, the main person to watch as a future WWE World Champion is Jade Cargill. She has a long way to go because she is still raw and has a lot to learn, but WWE Is playing it smart. Cargill is already a WWE World Tag Team ChampionJust a few months after making her debut (she came from AEW). However, pairing her with former world champion Bianca Bellir is a smart move, as Cargill has the looks and charisma to be a huge world champion, and that could happen very soon.

Other wrestling companies that have had Black World Champions

WWE is not the first major wrestling company to have a black world champion. WCW did it years before WWE finally awarded The Rock his first world title. The first black man to hold a world title in a major promotion was Ron Simmonswho went on to portray the character Farooq in WWE. Not surprisingly, his WCW World Championship reign came through bachelor cowboy Bill Watts. While running mid-south wrestling in the 1980s, Watts made Junkyard Dog his top champion despite other promoters telling him fans would never accept it.

WCW only had one other black world champion before he sold to WWE, and that was Booker T, who won the title four times and won the last titles in the last one. Nitro Before the company closed its doors.

In TNA the company had its first black world champion in 2014 with Bobby Lashley.

The biggest rival to WWE in the 2000s started business in 2002 with TNA Impact Wrestling. In TNA, the company had its first black world champion in 2014 with Bobby Lashley, who was working there between his two main stints in WWE. He was a four-time world champion before making his way back to WWE. In 2020, Rich Swann won the title and since then, Moose has become one of TNA’s top stars and is a two-time world champion.

Ring of Honor opened its doors in 2002 as an alternative to WWE. The company’s major titles’ status as “world championships” is often debated, but they list them as such. The company’s second champion in 2002 was a man named XavierThat puts them ahead of TNA by several years when it comes to crowning a Black World Champion. The iconic murder also held the ROH World Championship in 2006, and Jonathan Gresham won the belt in 2021.

Leta’s combined 707-day reign as champion is the longest in Ring of Honor history.

However, Ring of Honor also deserves recognition for the two title reigns of Jay Lethal, who won his first world title in 2015 and held it for an impressive 427 days. He then won it a second time in 2018 and held it for 280 days. Leta’s combined 707-day reign as champion is the longest in Ring of Honor history. Ring of Honor also has a long-reigning women’s champion in Athena (who worked as Ember Moon in WWE), who won the title in December 2022.

Since going out of business in 2019, AEW has become the biggest wrestling company since WCW went out of business to compete with Wow. However, in those five years, there was only one Black AEW World Champion. Swerve Strickland won the world title in 2024 from Samoa Joe and held it for 126 days before dropping it to Bryan Danielson. However, the future is bright for Sverve, and he should win more world titles in his future.