The Best Black Wrestlers on the British Scene
Celebrating Black History Month UK with the best black British wretlers
October marks Black History Month UK and to celebrate we’re using the entire month the shine a light on some of the best black wrestlers these shores have to offer.
We’ve also got an entire month of podcasts with black wrestlers planned, with the likes of Warren Banks, Leon Slater, Mercedez Blaze, Roy Johnson and Livvii Grace joining us to talk about representation in wrestling.
But to kick off the month we’ve written this article on some of the black wrestlers YOU should be keeping an eye on in British wrestling
The Best of the Best
Michael Oku, The O.J.M.O
Credit: @theojmo/@y2jimbob
Oku is someone who has been having epic matches on the British scene for years! But it was his incredible match with Will Ospreay at RevPro High Stakes which made the world sit up and take notice.
Oku has been on an absolute tear, not just in the UK but around the world, he’s an absolute superstar and rightly belongs at the very top.
Leon Slater
Credit: @official0.01
We’re genuinely not sure if it’s possible for this man to have a bad match. Leon has gone from strength to strength in the last 12 months. He’s had some incredible matches, worked with GCW and at the end of the month will be making his IMPACT debut.
He’s also picked up the NORTH title as well. What a talent this guy is, we’d be shocked if he’s not signed by a major promotion in the next year or two.
Man Like Dereiss
Credit: @dereiss_/@wrestlecarnival
When we wrote last year’s article Dereiss had just picked up the Wrestle Carnival title - and still holds it at the time of writing. He’s been on fire this year and has cemented himself as one of the best wrestlers in the country.
The Rising Stars
Rhio
Credit: @rhio_wrestler
Since wrestling returned Rhio has been on an absolute tear! She’s now a member of North West Strong, she’s been shining at promotions up and down the country and even got the chance to go to Japan to wrestle for TJPW.
We’d be shocked if she’s not got some gold round her waist at some point in the next six months.
Roy Johnson & Alexander Roth
Credit: @royjohnsonyeah
To save space we’ve put the two 87 members together but that is not to detract for how great they both are individually!
Big Wavy is not only one of the best wrestlers in the country, and a mainstay on the scene for many years, but also has a fantastic career in bodybuilding as well.
Meanwhile Roth is not only a brilliant member of the 87 but a fantastic singles competitor in his own right. Both men deserve more opportunities.
Levi Muir
Credit: @levimuir
He calls himself the ‘best athlete in the game’ and there’s a reason for that, he’s lightning quick, loves to throw himself about and has energy for days!
Smashing Mike
Credit: @y2grae
Mike is slowly but surely making a nme for himself on the scene, especially in and around London. He’s put in some great performances and looks to be on the road to even more success.
The British Wrestling Mainstays
Warren Banks
Credit: @manlikebanks/@tonyknox99
The Nigerian Kaiju was undoubtedly in the middle of one of his greatest pushes of his career before he decided to take a break due to injury. But he returned with some brilliant matches in the last 12 months as proved why he’s still one of the best in the country at what he does.
Jody Fleisch
Credit: @kingofengland2002
In terms of mainstays they don’t come with much more longevity than Jody Fleisch! For more than 20 years Fleisch has been a feature on the scene and doing us proud.
He’s inspired so many to enter the ring, I think it’s fair to say the British wrestling scene wouldn’t be where it is today without him.
Mercedez Blaze
Credit: @mercedezblaze/@tonyknox99
One of the best women’s wrestlers in the country at the moment, Blaze is the Baddest Bitch for a reason - she is hard hitting in the ring and takes no prisoners!
She’s got plenty of muscle and a look in her eyes that strikes fear into all her opponents.
Big T
Credit: @bigtjustice1
One of the biggest big men in wrestling, Big T is almost always the tallest guy in the ring and backs up his height with unrivalled power. A very vocal defender of equality in wrestling, whether it’s in the ring or out of it Big T is always fighting the good fight.
Taonga
Credit: @itstaonga/@clickclickbangphotography
One of the staples of the scene in the north of England, Taonga has been slowly making a name for herself with a string of impressive matches. We highly recommend checking out her epic BWR feud with Gia Adams as an introduction to what she can do.
Omari
Credit: @omarim4x2
Unless you’ve been living under a rock you’ll know that Omari is perhaps one of the most underrated wrestlers on the scene. He’s had an amazing career and we’re frankly shocked he’s not an even bigger name than he already is!
Livvii Grace
Credit: @dalebrodiecreative
Livvii is one of the hardest hitting wrestlers on the British scene and has been a mainstay of the scene for so long. She’s come on leaps and bounds in the last year or two and can always be relied upon to deliver.
The Newcomers To Check Out
KM Lane
Credit: @kml_wrestling/@simonmartin.ph
Another wrestler of the same style as Levi, Leon Slater and Dereiss, someone who has tonnes of energy, loves to fly high and takes crap from nobody.
Remi Adetunji
Credit: @tunji_go/@alexhaskett
In a very different style, Adetunji is more of the muscle-clad style of wrestler, think Roy Johnson, and is an absolute monster to come up against once the bell rings.
Of course there are many more wrestlers we haven’t named on this list, the likes of Bruno Brown, Nsekero, Ronnie Knocks and loads more are also deserving of their place on this list.
We urge you to make the extra effort to shine a light on your favourite black wrestlers, make sure promotions know about them and get more of them featured on show posters.
