WWE Bash in Berlin second straight PLE without Black male talent

WWE Bash in Berlin is set. In less than 24 hours another big international PLE for WWE will go off and probably be met with cheers of success. The product is booming, both within WWE and in other ways throughout the business. Yet, something is still missing from yet another PLE. This is the second straight show that hasn’t featured a Black man on the card. It’s time to have a conversation about this.

There are some voices in the wrestling community talking about the lack of push for Black men within the WWE. This comes at a time in which Triple H continues to receive praise for the changes he’s made in the product since 2022. While those changes are great and should continue – two things can be true.

The departure of Bobby Lashley and MVP once again kicked off the discourse about WWE’s utilization of Black men. Main roster shows have seen a complete depletion of Black talent on the card, or near the top of shows. Our data collection showed that Black talent makes up 15 percent of the performers on WWE Raw and 20 percent of the performers on SmackDown. Those numbers take women into account, so the figures are even smaller when focusing specifically on Black men.

Triple H hasn’t been asked about this during any recent media events, but it’s time for that to change. WWE’s roster features several popular and capable Black performers. Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston, The Street Profits, and Carmelo Hayes are just a few to be named. Hayes was the last Black man on a WWE PLE when he took part in Money in the Bank. With all this great talent on the roster, the company can’t find anything to do with them on big events like SummerSlam or Bash in Berlin. That deserves wider discussion.

Professional wrestling and sports entertainment have wide fanbases that represent people from several different demographics. Promotions need to be aware of who their viewers, fans, and consumers are to make sure they are best served by the product. Right now, Black wrestling fans are questioning WWE’s utilization of the Black men on the roster. The data and past PLE cards aren’t helping the company’s defense.