Caprice Coleman, alongside Ian Riccaboni, is one of the voices of Ring of Honor. Prior to the company’s hiatus, he commentated on every episode of ROH Wrestling and at every ROH event. Plus, as a veteran of over 25 years, he has enjoyed a lengthy in-ring career in ROH and beyond.
In honor of Black History Month, WrestleZone recently spoke with Coleman and looked back on his journey up to this point. Specifically, when reflecting on the struggles he and other Black wrestlers have faced, Coleman noted how the industry has changed a lot over the years. He described how, at the beginning of his career, it was easy to feel like he was competing with others for the limited number of spots that were available for Black wrestlers. The ROH commentator also pointed out how it was incredibly rare to see a Black champion in any promotion.
“I started wrestling in 1995, is when I started training for pro wrestling, from ’95-’97,” said Coleman. “And when I was training for pro wrestling, you know, you would go to these other indie cards and there’s probably one or two black guys there. You know, and there was also a point to where you would see another black guy at a company, and you would almost feel like that’s your competition. Because each company had like their athletes and their one black guy type thing. And it made you feel like you know you were very rare in this sport. And then even more rare to become a champion.”
ROH is proud to celebrate #BlackHistoryMonth ❤️ pic.twitter.com/rPYbGNkY0q
— ROH – Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) February 12, 2022
While there’s still plenty of progress to be made, Coleman stated that, by 2022, the wrestling world has evolved substantially, as Black wrestlers continue to excel throughout the industry. He pointed to one success in the way that performers have proven that they are distinct individuals rather than antiquated stereotypes. Coleman named stars like Jonathan Gresham, Jay Lethal, and Shane Taylor as a few examples in ROH before he broadened the scope to WWE, AEW, and IMPACT Wrestling. Coleman shared his belief that Black wrestlers are “represented well” in these promotions, and he called this change a “dream come true.”
“Fast forward to now, over 25 years later, we have been able to prove, not only that we can be part of this sport, not only that you can have multiple people on the same roster that look the same to others and be totally different athletes,” said Coleman. “And I think that’s what we’ve proven with the Jonathan Greshams, with the Jay Lethals, with the Shane Taylors, with the Kenny Kings, with the Cheeseburgers, with the Eli Isoms, with the Caprice Colemans, you know, each one of these guys are totally different entities, to prove that we are more than just stereotypes that might have been given to us years ago.
“And if you look at WWE now, you look at IMPACT now, you look at AEW now, we’re represented and we’re represented well. And it’s a dream come true because for years, my thing is being that, you know, I can be more than the little roles that you allow us to have.”
In a general sense, Coleman described how he’s been fighting to make positive change happen, and knowing that he’s not alone in this battle is a “win” because he is seeing the solution to a problem he has dealt with for decades unfold each and every day.
“…That’s been my fight, you know, in pro wrestling,” said Coleman. “And to know that I wasn’t the only one fighting that fight and to still be relevant in this sport enough to see the fight we had won and won well in being represented well, black history or not black history, man, it’s a win to know that you saw a problem and you lived in the problem, and then you saw the solution and you saw the solution lived through and continue to live. And it’s an honor to be able to witness something like that. It’s almost like a before and after but the after is still unfolding.”
Black wrestlers continue to shine in ROH and elsewhere; Jonathan Gresham currently holds the Original ROH World Championship, and he’s set to defend it at the promotion’s first event since Final Battle, Supercard of Honor On April 1.
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