Titus O’Neil on WWE Only Having One African American World Champion, The Dudleyz, New Day, More

– Titus O’Neil recently spoke with Sports Illustrated’s Extra Mustard blog. The full interview is at this link. Below are highlights:

His goal of becoming WWE World Heavyweight Champion:

“I am one-hundred percent confident that I am WWE world heavyweight championship material. That is my goal. I won tag team gold, and while I’m in a tag team, that is my goal, but champion should be the goal of every single person on the roster. Otherwise, you’re wasting your time, and you’re wasting my time.”

WWE only having one African American world champion in their history:

“I’ve never been involved in the creative process in any aspect of this company, so I couldn’t tell you why there has only been one. Is it disturbing in some cases? Yes, but it’s no different than any other form of entertainment. There aren’t a lot of places, whether it’s film or television, with African-Americans as heroes. I can’t answer the question of why there has only been one, but I would definitely like to be the next African-American champion. Not because I’m African-American, but because I’ve deserved and earned the right to be WWE world heavyweight champion.”

Learning from The Dudley Boyz and The New Day:

“We’re all learning from the Dudley’s, but we’re learning from one another, too. Being able to go out and perform, and create storylines and create drama within those storylines, that takes not only the veterans–it also takes the young guys who are hungry and looking to prove themselves. I’ve learned a tremendous amount in a very short period of time from the Dudley’s, but I’ve learned a lot from New Day.”

“Those guys [The New Day] have definitely taken what was looked to be a doomed gimmick and made it gold. I’m very proud of all three of those guys. They’re not only great representatives of the company as far as being educated and articulate and represent the brand of WWE, but they’re also very talented athletes and all have college degrees. I’m proud to say I have the pleasure of being able to learn from them.”

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