Illinois State defensive line coach Ben Black watched pro wrestling with his family growing up. Now, his younger brother Josh is part of the WWE organization. (Photo by GoRedbirds.com)
By Barry Bottino
Growing up near Rockford, Ben Black and his family enjoyed a weekly tradition.
“We always loved WWE growing up,” said Black, Illinois State’s third-year defensive line coach. “It was a big thing for our family. It was a way for us to spend time together on Monday nights and Friday nights.
“Whenever they’d come to town, we’d go to all the shows,” he said.
These days, Black still watches professional wrestling, but for one major reason – his younger brother, Josh, is the current tag team champion in NXT, WWE’s developmental brand.
Josh Black, who goes by the name Osiris Griffin in the ring, is four years younger than Ben. Though they watched wrestling together, the sport wasn’t an obvious career path.
Football first
The brothers were introduced to wrestling by their father and tried the sport at an early age, to varying degrees.
“My dad was a wrestler. I wrestled,” Ben Black said. “But my brother didn’t wrestle in high school. He wrestled for one year when he was little and he got hurt.”
Football was where both brothers thrived as Harlem High School in Machesney Park.
Ben Black’s prep career led to playing at Robert Morris in Chicago (now Roosevelt University), where he was a four-year starter on the defensive line.
Josh Black’s career took off later in high school.
“He was good at football, and he was big,” Ben Black said. “He didn’t really love it until he got a little older. By the time he got to his junior year, that’s when he really blew up.”
Since Ben had been through college recruiting with his family, they all helped Josh navigate the process, which led to him attending Syracuse, where he started 48 games.
What’s next?
After college, the 6-foot-3, 290-pound Josh wasn’t sure where his career path was headed.
The family certainly didn’t think it would result in a job with WWE, which did not respond to interview requests from Prairie State Pigskin.
“It was crazy,” Ben Black said. “This wasn’t even on his radar at all.”
Josh Black signed with the New Orleans Saints but was released. He was training athletes and built a growing social media audience by highlighting his athletic feats.
“He got kind of famous on TikTok,” Ben said. “He had about 150,000 followers. He did a running backflip off a wall and it went viral. He had about 500,000 views on it. That was how he took off.”
Finding a way to WWE
A big, agile athlete showcasing his skills drew the attention of a WWE talent scout, Ben Black said, which led to a tryout in Detroit.
With 100 hopefuls in attendance, Josh was one of approximately five to get signed. According to Syracuse.com, Josh Black signed a three-year year rookie contract in August 2023. He made his NXT debut Feb. 17, 2024.
“He was behind the scenes for about a year just training,” Ben Black said. “He’s always worked his tail off. He works seven days a week. They go from sunup to sundown, lifting weights and conditioning. They take acting classes and safety classes.”
Along with tag team partner Dion Lennox and fellow wrestlers Cutler James and Saquon Shugars, the group is known as DarkState.
The NXT organization is based in Orlando but travels multiple times a week.
“People don’t understand how much goes into professional wrestling,” Ben Black said. “They’ll be in one state Friday, a different state Saturday and another state Sunday.”
NXT talent returns to Orlando after the weekend then also does a Tuesday show, which airs on the CW network in primetime.
Growing fanbase
Ben Black’s NXT exposure so far has been solely watching on TV.
“Hopefully I’ll be able to see him soon,” he said. “During football season, we go seven days a week too.”
The NXT schedule offers plenty of opportunities. Next month, for example, the organization will have live shows Dec. 12 in Greensboro, N.C., Dec. 13 in Columbia, S.C. and Dec. 14 in Macon Ga.
Ben has done his part in growing the number of Osiris Griffin and DarkState fans in central Illinois.
“The D-line tunes in,” he said. “I’ll send out a text to the guys and they’ll watch him. The other coaches will too. It’s been a lot of fun.”
Barry Bottino is a co-founder of Prairie State Pigskin and a 19-year veteran of three Illinois newspapers. He has covered college athletics since 1995.
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