Titus O’Neil has made his first on-screen WWE appearance since last April at WrestleMania 37, reaffirming that WWE is a “safe space”.
Last night’s WWE Monday Night Raw was the penultimate episode of the red brand before SummerSlam, emanating from Tampa. Concluding with Alexa Bliss, Asuka, and Dana Brooke wrestling Doudrop, Nikki A.S.H, and Tamina, the broadcast opened with a rare appearance from Titus O’Neil.
The 2020 Warrior Award recipient had last been seen over WrestleMania weekend in April 2021. O’Neil was there to accept his induction into the WWE Hall of Fame, while also being involved in a backstage skit on ‘Mania itself alongside Bayley and The nWo.
On Raw, however, Titus O’Neil spoke of how proud he was to be a Global Ambassador for WWE:
“When I came to WWE and became a WWE Tag Team Champion and entered the WWE Hall of Fame as a Warrior Award recipient, I thought that I had reached the height of my personal achievements. But unbeknownst to me that one day, I would reach the pinnacle of my success by becoming your WWE Global Ambassador. You see, I get a chance to represent WWE all over the world, and something that I feel that we need now more than ever all over the world, which is goodwill.
And there’s no question that each and every one of us do everything we can to put smiles on all of your faces, both inside and outside of the ring. Whether it’s helping those less fortunate, or supporting our servicemen and women all over the globe. We also support causes that help promote family, health, and community. All these things that help bring people together to do good.”
As he explained, Titus O’Neil deemed WWE a “safe haven”, reaffirming that politics and religion, among other topics, wouldn’t be discussed on WWE programming:
“So, that’s what we get a chance to do, go all over and spread goodness and goodwill. That’s why you’ll never hear us talk about politics, or religion, or any other subject matter that’s divisive. Because regardless of your race, your economic status, or your nationality, this is a place that we deserve to have a safe haven. This is a place that WWE simply wants to simply make sure that we all have a good time.”
Titus O’Neil hasn’t wrestled consistently since 2019. A handful of appearances throughout 2020 – the majority of which were held on Main Event – marked his latest stint as far as in-ring competition is concerned, culminating in a challenge for Bobby Lashley’s United States Championship.
O’Neil did, however, tell Wrestling Inc.’s Nick Hausman a few weeks ago that he was allegedly in talks with WWE for an in-ring return. Perhaps Titus O’Neil’s appearance on last night’s Raw was the beginning of a more regular schedule for the former Prime Time Players man across WWE programming.
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