WWE Continues To Struggle With Gimmicks For Minorities

The WWE continues to create characters marred in social stereotypes even as some glimmers of hope shine.

Characters in professional wrestling are meant to be colorful accentuations of everyday personalities. To some it’s whom the athlete really is with the dial “turned up.” But what is to be made of characters marred in stereotypical backdrops? That’s the issue that has plagued many of the minority athletes in the WWE and it’s a real life storyline that doesn’t seem to have an end in sight.

This is a conversation that is nearly as old as the industry. In the world of professional wrestling, it’s easy to count the number of African Americans that have reached the pinnacle of the major promotions in the industry. In fact, it’s even easier within the WWE as the organization has never had an African American male hold their main world championship. Some have come close, but WWE creative has never pulled the trigger to create that historical moment.

But the issue at hand goes well beyond the title picture. Some often wonder why minorities are framed within character archetypes that are based around negative stereotypes. From the days of Bobo Brazil and Koko B Ware, to the Nation of Domination and Cryme Tyme, to today’s Street Profits; there’s a catalog of examples to speak to within this trend. It’s a situation that causes head scratching confusion as to why the WWE can’t get out of this habit.

Take the Street Profits for example. Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins are a tag team in the NXT promotion. As they’ve moved up the ladders their characters have developed into two highly athletic, boisterous men that make a lot of bold claims against their opponents. They “dance” somewhat in the ring as Ford’s moves look more like pelvic thrusts. While that doesn’t seem too egregious, the issue comes up with the WWE has used terms akin to the selling of drugs and drinking alcohol when promoting this tag team.

Whether they are “cooking recipes” (a phrase often used in reference to cocaine) or “pushing weight” (a phrase used in reference to selling drugs) the Street Profits are caricatures of stereotypes that plague the minority community.

The conversation doesn’t stop there. Take Jinder Mahal as another example. The former WWE champion was presented in a manner that harkens back to the foreign wrestlers from the 80s. Regardless of the fact that he’s a Canadian, fans were pushed to boo him on cheap heat based on his outward appearance and the assumptions placed on it. The same could have been said for Rusev when he started his WWE run.

This lazy character development is a problem that persists within the WWE. But that doesn’t mean the organization doesn’t have the ability to invent creative, new characters. Take the New Day or Velveteen Dream as examples.

The New Day was supposed to be a play on the Black church, a pillar in many communities throughout the country. Instead, Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods and Big E infused their own personalities to create one of the most popular groups in recent memory.

On the other hand, Velveteen Dream is perhaps one of the most creative gimmicks the industry has seen in years. Twenty-two year old Patrick Clark has taken this character and built him into an amalgamation of Prince, Rick James, Gorgeous George and Rick Rude. All the while putting on great matches when the lights are shining brightest. If he’s given the proper amount of time to develop in NXT and his character is left untouched on the main roster, Dream has the ability to flourish into a gimmick that will leave memories.

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In 2018 its depressing that the WWE is still having a hard time creating gimmicks for minority wrestlers that do not fall within some stereotypical theme. As the roster continues to flourish and new leadership has an impact on shows such as 205 Live and NXT; fans can only hope that there is an improvement with how these athletes are cast in the future.