Tribalism in professional wrestling is nothing new, with fans of both WWE and AEW often lashing out at one another on the internet. There are many stars within both companies, however, who support one another, and are even close friends. Former AEW TNT Champion Kevin Knight talked about tribalism, and Black wrestlers supporting one another, ahead of AEW All In London 2026 with “WRESTHINGS.”
“I think since this is an artform, since we’re in the public eye, that tribalism and all of that fandom is going to naturally come,” he said. “I know you guys are like big football fans. This club is not going to like this club, they may be friends in real life, but they’re going to support their club. I think it’s the same thing with wrestling. Me and Trick [Williams] are homies. Je’Von Evans. So many different people, like Swerve [Strickland,] we’re all supporting each other.
Knight said in his experience, he’s going to support everyone, because Black talent have a lot stacked against them. He said when they grew up watching wrestling, there were only a few Black talent. He shouted out various other stars in AEW, like Willow Nightingale, Mercedes Mone, Maya World, and Strickland.
“This is the standard now,” he said. “That’s the goal that we’re all trying to go for. I feel like with that in mind, we operate with that and we’re not anomalies anymore. We have the Hurt Syndicate, too, doing their thing. It’s hard to ignore us.”
He also gave props to Black stars in WWE, like Carmelo Hayes, EK Prosper, and Oba Femi. He said there’s 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 provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
Read the full article here
