Tribulation is nothing new in professional wrestling, with fans of both WWE and AEW frequently bashing each other online. There are many stars in both companies, but who support each otherand are even close friends. Former AEW TNT Champion Kevin Knight spoke about tribalism and black wrestlers supporting each other ahead of AEW All In London 2026. with “RESTENS”.
“I think because this is an art form, because we’re in the public eye, that tribalism and all that bigotry will come naturally,” he said. “I know you are like big football fans. This club will not like this club, they may be friends in real life, but they are going to support their club. I think it’s the same with wrestling. Trick (Williams) and I are related. Jevon Evans. So many different people like Swerve (Strickland), we all support each other.
Knight said in his experience, he’s going to back everyone because black talent has a lot going against them. He said that when they grew up watching wrestling, there was only a handful of black talent. She would shout out various other stars in AEW such as Willow Nightingale, Mercedes Mone, Maya World and Strickland.
“Now this is the standard,” he said. “That’s the goal we’re all trying to achieve. I think with that in mind, we act on it, and we’re no longer anomalies. We have the Hurt Syndicate doing their thing too. It’s hard to ignore us.”
He also gave records to black WWE stars such as Carmelo Hayes, E.K. Prosper and Oba Femi. He said there is so much talent in both the men’s and women’s divisions that he could “go on for days.”
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit “WRESTHINGS” and credit ah/t Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.