WCW's Forgotten Racial Discrimination Lawsuit, Explained

Highlights

• Sonny Onoo and Rick Reeves led lawsuits against WCW, alleging racial discrimination and offensive remarks made by higher-ups, revealing a bias against African-American wrestlers.
• WCW's training facility, The WCW Power Plant, was accused of discriminatory practices, giving Caucasian trainees more opportunities and labeling African-American wrestlers negatively.
• Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo, influential figures in WCW, were accused of using racial slurs and making prejudiced statements, perpetuating a biased environment. Terry Taylor was also accused of making racist comments to Black wrestler Ernest Miller.

Sonny Onoo, a Japanese-American who worked as a manager for WCW, was the lead plaintiff of one prominent lawsuit against WCW. He alleged that he faced mockery and discrimination backstage due to his race. However, what a lot of wrestling fans don’t know is that there were actually several lawsuits filed against WCW due to racial discrimination.

The lawsuit that this article will mainly focus on was led by a Black wrestler named Rick Reeves. It claims that WCW higher-ups “routinely used racial slurs such as n*gger" and made many racially offensive remarks, revealing a blatant racial bias against African-American wrestlers.”

RELATED: The Most Shocking WCW Moment Every Year Of The 1990sWCW fans may not recognize the name Rick Reeves. This is because he never officially worked for the company or made televised appearances. Rather, he was trained by WCW in the hopes of getting a job, but things ultimately fell through for reasons to be discussed.

Much of the lawsuit described the alleged actions of Eric Bischoff, Vince Russo, and Terry Taylor. The lawsuit also brought up statistical evidence that WCW discriminated against Black performers through wages, in addition to refusing to make merchandise for them which consequently affected their pay, as well.

The Lawsuit Went After WCW's Power Plant

One aspect of the lawsuit discusses WCW’s training facility, The WCW Power Plant. The facility was meant to be a place to prepare wrestlers for careers on television, though it didn’t live up to all it was promised to be.

The lawsuit includes a comment from an unnamed WCW Power Plant trainer who said, “Whenever a Caucasian trainee made a mistake, the Caucasian was given another opportunity. In contrast, when African-American wrestlers faltered, WCW officials concluded that he ‘didn’t want to be there’ or ‘had a bad attitude.”

RELATED: 16 Things Fans Forgot About WWE's Purchase Of WCWThe manager of the training facility, Jody Hamilton, was of particular interest. His assistant, Brenda Smith, “Concluded that Hamilton was participating in race-based decision-making when he spoke on the phone to the Bookers, using code words “jiggerboggie and lackey to designate African-American wrestlers.”

The Lawsuit Accused Eric Bischoff Of Being A Racist

Eric Bischoff continues to be an influential figure in wrestling today. His involvement might come as a shock to many fans as Bischoff has more or less managed to separate his reputation from these allegations since he departed from WCW in 1999.

The lawsuit claims that Bischoff used the word “n*gger” on several occasions when referencing Black wrestlers. According to the lawsuit, Bischoff also stated that the reason why WCW didn’t have many Black wrestlers was that wrestling was “a white man’s sport.”

Vince Russo Was Called Out In The Lawsuit As Well

Vince Russo was Bischoff’s successor as WCW’s Head Writer. Many fans hold Vince Russo largely accountable for the sharp decrease in WCW’s quality, as his booking tended to be convoluted at best and disastrous at worst.

According to the lawsuit, Russo displayed much of the same prejudice as Bischoff did during his tenure with the company. He, like Bischoff, also allegedly used the n-word on multiple occasions. He would also make outrageous statements, including that “whites rule wrestling” and “black folks don’t buy wrestling tickets, wrestling fans are white.”

Terry Taylor Was Accused Of Making Racist Comments To Ernest Miller

The last prominent figure named in the lawsuit is former professional wrestler Terry Taylor (also known as the Red Rooster, for fans of the Golden Era). Taylor bounced between WCW and WWE for much of his career before eventually signing with TNA.

RELATED: Jerry Lawler's Lawsuit Against The WWE, ExplainedAccording to the lawsuit, Terry Taylor told a Black wrestler named Ernest Miller that even though Miller was a good athlete, "the only reason you got a job is because you're black" and that "this company don't market toward blacks; we only have white fans, and [they're only going to] look at you as a n*gger." Taylor also allegedly stated that Black wrestlers “shouldn’t be in our sport, they should be in basketball.”

Taylor was involved in several of the discrimination lawsuits against WCW. Despite all his past controversy and reputation as a bigot, Taylor currently works as a trainer/coach for WWE.

The Lawsuit Against WCW Was Settled

Like most of the other lawsuits against WCW, Reeves' lawsuit was settled with the company for an undisclosed amount, likely within the low end of the seven-figure range. The lawsuit serves as an unsettling reminder of all the bigotry that lurks in the corners of the wrestling business.

Though we as fans can hope that racism in wrestling is on its way out, most fans of the sport today can point to several instances of bigotry that occurred even within the last few years. Earlier in 2023, for instance, a former WWE writer filed a lawsuit with the company alleging racial discrimination in both the on-screen product and in backstage business practices. Clearly, the wrestling business still has a long ways to go.