Pro Wrestling Illustrated: March 2024
AND NEW PAN-AFRIKAN WORLD DIASPORA WRESTLING CHAMPION … Suge D Topples A Reign Longer Than Roman’s
At 1,338 days, Trish Adora stood tall as the longest-tenured world titleholder recognized by PWI. NOW, her coveted title begins a bold, new era led by ambitious ring vet Suge D
TEXT BY KEVIN McELVANEY
PHOTOS BY JAYLEE MEDIA
“IF YOU SAID I could … if you said i couldn’t … thank you.” Thus reads a tweet by the newly crowned Suge D, composed the night he fulfilled a mission that even he thought might be impossible. Indeed, the veteran grappler–who proudly embraces the label “journeyman” after competing around the globe for two decades–had twice tried to unseat Trish Adora as the Pan-Afrikan World Diaspora Wrestling champion. On Sunday, October 15, 2023, he was finally successful in his third attempt..
“This is the real deal … and I feel like there's like such a weight and a responsibility to go with that, and I'm still letting it sink in,” Suge said, speaking with PWI a few days after likely the biggest win of his career. “(TWE Chattanooga champion) Darian Bengston called me the other day, saying, ‘I was talking to my friends, and it’s like, I wonder if it’s set in for Suge yet that he’s an actual world champion.’ By the time this makes print, no, it probably still hasn’t set in. But I totally get the responsibility.”
The gorgeous, green PAWD title belt Suge D grasps during our interview has become one of the most coveted prizes on the independent circuit since its February 2020 introduction. Commissioned by the District of Columbia-based F1ght Club Pro, the championship is meant to highlight Black wrestlers not just locally, but from all over the globe; to create opportunities in an industry that hasn’t always been kind to marginalized groups.
[Suge D and Trish Adora bridge up off the canvas, each attempting to outleverage the other. Nearby, Darius Carter prepares to put the boots to the two fan favorites.]
“Lucha libre is this authentic Mexican thing,” explains Suge D, by way of comparison. “It’s a Latin thing. And it can exist in its own realm and its own world, untouched by anything else that comes into it. They’ll allow some guests in. But you can have greats in lucha libre that have never touched American soil, and it’s all good. There’s a respect and a reverence for it–same thing with Japanese Wrestling. Once we start talking about the idea of Black wrestling doing the same thing, I feel like it kind of rubs people the wrong way. I’ve even seen people make comments about it, like, ‘Oh, that’s such a racist title.’ No, we’re just celebrating the cultural aspects of us as Black performers, African-American performers, Afro-Latino performers.” Suge adds that he wants wrestling fans of all backgrounds to enjoy the matches and stories on display.
[Darius Carter nails Suge with a blatant low blow during the triple-threat bout. Though he prefers to rely on his mat prowess, Carter is definitely not above taking such shortcuts.]
Though the March 2020 declaration of a global pandemic limited the title’s reach in its early days, inaugural Pan-Afrikan champion Trish Asdora defended it valiantly across the U.S. for the first two years of her reign.She ventured overseas as soon as she was able to do so–March 2022–retaining over Rhio and Mercedez Blaze on two consecutive nights at PROGRESS Wrestling. By that time, the coveted green belt was already seen as the provenance of a legitimate world champion, recognized as such by PWI the previous summer.
Like the IWTV Independent Wrestling World championship, which earned world-title status on the same day in August 2021, the Pan-Afrikan World Diaspora Wrestling crown was a traveling championship in the traditional sense. “The Afro Punk” put it up for grabs with regularity, pinning or submitting some of the toughest competition the U.S. had to offer: dynamic performers such as Big Swole, Janai Kai, Eel O’Neal, and Ashton Starr (to name a few). She memorably retained against MLW superheavyweight Calvin Tankman at GCW’s For The Culture 2023.
[Adora and Suge D know each other quite well, which resulted in another thrilling battle between the two.]
When Adora’s schedule became busier–competing for AEW and Ring of Honor, training at the NJPW Academy–her World title defenses became far less frequent. In October 2023, she faced her ultimate challenger at F1ght Club Pro’s “Thriller” show, battling Darius Carter and Suge D in the triple-threat main event.
The smug, ruthless Carter had never forgotten the disputed finish to an August 2021 title bout with Adora at New Jersey's We Are Wrestling. And the man who dubbed himself “Wrestling’s Richest Prize” was favored by many to go home with the championship on that fateful day two years later–perhaps even by the wrestler who ultimately left with the belt around his waist. “Darius Carter is a terrible man,” admitted Suge D. “But he’s a great wrestler.”
Carter was prematurely taken out of the fight by Eel O'Neal, who attempted to cash in a “wild card” title shot during the scheduled triple-threat. An altercation between the two erstwhile allies allowed the championship to be decided between Suge D and Trish Adora. The fan favorites each showed off their mat prowess, trading pinning combinations until, finally, it was the challenger who pinned the champ’s shoulders to the mat for a three-count.
“I’m not just saying this because she and I have become close friends: I think the world of her. She’s a one-of-one,” Suge says of Adora. “There’s a tenacity about her and goal-making. She’ll write down what she wants and fixate on what it’s going to take to make these things happen. She goes out there and tries every door, every lock, every key to unlock those doors and get where she’s going. If it isn’t enough, she will go back and rewrite that list, fixate, and then try to top that list.”
Trish Adora is a tough act to follow. Twenty years into his career, Suge D now faces a barrage of potential challengers–all of whom want to defeat him and become world champion. This is a prize, after all, that has become world champion. This is a prize, after all, that has been spoken of with reverence by independent and contracted wrestlers alike; one mentioned on ROH TV by wrestler-commentator Caprice Coleman (someone Suge holds in high regard and would be happy to grant a title shot.)
[Carter became incensed when his Best Business Bureau ally, Eel O’Neal, attempted to cash in a guaranteed title shot during the match.]
To his credit, Suge D welcomes the onslaught of contenders. “There are great talents at Battle Club Pro, ACTION Wrestling, West Coast Pro, Naptown, Glory Pro, Asé Wrestling.”he says. “You literally could have a super-indie right now and just book it with Black talent and still be able to have two, three, or four more drafts of a show with completely different talent, and it’s all good.”
[New Pan-Afrikan World Diaspora champ Suge D poses with inaugural titleholder Trish Adora and F1ght Club promoter Jonny X backstage.]
On the U.S. indie circuit, Suge singles out heavy hitters including Bryan Keith, Camaro Jackson, and Arik Royal, along with Joseline Navarro (his first confirmed challenger), as those he’d like to see get a chance at the Pan-Afrikan World championship. In the U.K., he cites the work of Roy Johnson, whose “Everything Patterned events put Black wrestlers in the spotlight: British veteran Warren Banks, recent IMPACT signee Leon Slater, and possible opponents. Then, there’s Zombie Dragon, who competes and helps train grapplers for China’s Middle Kingdom Wrestling. Suge praises Dragon’s aesthetic and in-ring abilities, expressing interest in a possible international matchup.
It’s obvious that the new champ wants to emphasize the global nature of the Pan-Afrikan World Diaspora title. Of course, he’ll have to work hard not to lose it to another determined athlete along the way.
“You know, I’m a wrestling nerd at heart,” Suge D reflects. “When we have these conversations about PWI, I was deep in those magazines, reading the international section and finding out all this other stuff. With social media, I want to know more about everybody that’s out there, and I want to be able to connect us. If Trish was the foundation of this championship, I'm trying to pave the streets that lead to this house, so that we can have a community. So, whether they come to me or I gotta go out there to find them, that’s what I'm gonna do.”
