WWE: Celebrating African-American Wrestlers Who Impacted Us

Naomi

Jeter- You could basically take everything I said about Shelton Benjamin and apply it to Naomi. The two-time SmackDown Women’s Champion often carries the “best athlete in the women’s division” tagline with her. Of course, that sort of connotation — identifying Naomi as a great “athlete” without saying much about her actual wrestling ability — permeates almost every sport in terms of how people describe white athletes (gritty, scrappy, high-IQ) as opposed to their more melanin-enveloped counterparts.

Of course, Naomi is more than just someone who can break out the occasional high spot to pop the crowd. She’s a very good promo, has proven her versatility as a babyface and as a heel, and she has become one of the most reliable workers in the women’s division.

Her neon entrances are one of the highlights of any SmackDown broadcast she appears on, as it allows her to stand out in a way that doesn’t come across as tacky or contrived. Also, that light-up title she had toward the end of her second reign as SmackDown Women’s Champion is still one of the coolest things I’ve seen anyone do with a belt in quite some time.

Naomi has evolved past the lazy framing of her character, which has made her one of the more under-appreciated workers in WWE’s distaff ranks.