Friday, March 29, 2024

Titus O’Neil’s Motivation: Being the Next WWE Champion (Not Next Black Champion)

titus oneil

*WWE Superstar “Big Deal” Titus O’Neil smiles and laughs a lot, whether he’s portrayed as the good guy or the villain. The chiseled 6’6” 270-pound mountain of a man injects a sense of humor into his charismatic character’s storyline feuds, which often leads to side-splitting instances.

When it comes to his future in WWE, O’Neil’s company goal has no punchline. He was fully aware of his intentions the instant he arrived.

“I’m very serious about being WWE Champion,” he says. “I came to this company to be the champion, not just to have a job. If I just wanted a job I’d go to the University of Florida and coach football. I could do that.”

Born Thaddeus Bullard, O’Neil played under the national championship guidance of Gators’ coach Steve Spurrier. A top prospect defensive end, O’Neil brought his gridiron grit to WWE’s rings. As tough as he is, the grueling globe-trotting schedule of a fulltime professional wrestler takes its toll. Being awarded the top prize in their industry would be worth its hefty physical price.

“I could use my two college degrees to do something where I’m not beating my body up each and every night, four to five nights a week while being away from my family,” says O’Neil, a father of two. “One would have to be stupid to think I didn’t have a goal for coming to the WWE. I know in my heart I can represent this company.

“My goal is be WWE Champion,” O’Neil reiterates, “and there’s no question in my mind I can be WWE Champion. And I feel I will be when the time is right.”

The WWE Championship was introduced in 1963, awarded to Buddy Rogers at the conclusion of a championship tournament. During its more than 5 decades of existence, only 1 Black male has held the title – Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Many who follow sports entertainment feel the time is right for a 2nd.

O’Neil says people ask him all the time, “How would you feel to be the next Black WWE Champion?” His response is simple.

“Well,” O’Neil begins, “I’d be honored just to be WWE Champion.” He does understand he’d be a symbol of opportunity for all minorities. “It would be cool for those kids growing up in this generation to say, ‘Football and basketball are not the only things I do. I can play baseball, I can golf, and I can become a WWE Champion. Titus O’Neil did it. I can do it.’”

titus oneil - suit

WWE Hall of Fame legend Ron Simmons was the first Black professional wrestler to hold a recognized world title. Ron Killings, Mark Henry and Hall of Famer Booker T. Huffman were also world champions. For spectators considered old school wrestling fans, those who engaged from the late 60s through the early 90s, many of them hoped late WWE Hall of Famer Junk Yard Dog (Sylvester Ritter) would have been that WWE title-holding symbol of opportunity. It never happened. Yet for his era, Dog’s following was hugely diverse.

O’Neil recalls watching an early 80s match of Junk Yard Dog versus Black Jack Mulligan, which took place in Green Bay Wisconsin.

“The crowd, all these White people, were ready to beat the hell out of Mulligan because he cheated to beat Junk Yard Dog. That to me is the ultimate level of respect because it had nothing to do with color, it had more to do with character and what type of man he was.

“People cheered Ali for the man he was, and some didn’t,” O’Neil says “He took a stance against going into the military; some of his reasons were valid, some weren’t. But to his core he stuck to who he was. That’s the message I want to send to anybody in any arena.”

Should the day come that WWE awards O’Neil the most prestigious professional wrestling prize in the world, he realizes his skin color makes it a socially significant achievement. And he knows just how he’d handle it.

“I would handle the social significance of being WWE Champion the same as if I was Caucasian,” he says. “A lot of times people ask me if I feel more responsibility being a Black WWE Superstar. They ask if I feel more pressure.”

O’Neil’s answer?

“No,” he says. “Being a WWE Superstar is a responsibility of its own. My race, in my opinion, shouldn’t dictate how far I can go or what I can do, or what type of social impact I can have.”

Raised around Whites, O’Neil sees no race, color, or sexual orientation, he says. He simply sees people.

“Some people will make things about race,” O’Neil says. “It would be an honor for me to join the ranks of Mark Henry, The Rock, Ron Simmons and Booker T as world champions. Growing up those were the guys I saw on television. And Junk Yard Dog, he was one of my favorites!

“My number one goal was to be the best I possibly can be,” O’Neil adds, “which is a goal I’ve followed my entire life. I work hard. Hard works pays off. I earn everything that I get. When I get the WWE title it will be because I earned it.”

mr joe walker
Mr. Joe Walker

Known as “The Word Heavyweight Champion”, Mr. Joe Walker has been a biographer, entertainment journalist, and columnist for 18 years; his acclaimed, award-winning work has been published thousands of times regionally, nationally, internationally, and online for numerous publications including SoulTrain.com, Kalamazoo Gazette, WrestlingInc.com and Notion Magazine. Walker’s currently writing for EURweb, Concrete Magazine’s Concrete615.com, RealMenReport.com, and Hood Illustrated Magazine. Like him on Facebook, follow on Twitter @mrjoewalker, and visit his official website.

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