Rockhound
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Mugger Kitty Strikes Again!
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Post by Rockhound on May 4, 2008 9:44:36 GMT -5
How does Vince get away with this? For years he has put wrestlers in stereotypical gimmicks conducent to their ethnicity and not in a flattering way. Let me give you just a few examples:
Russians-I know this was more during the Cold War era and it was easy to portray Russian wrestlers as anti-American powerhouses but they were all this way. At least they were somewhat talented.
Mexicans-At least 2, Tito Santana and The Mexicools were shown in a not too flattering way. Tito as a matador was mild but the Cools as landscapers? Um, OK.
Blacks-Saba Simba, Kamala, Papa Shango, The Godfather, Cryme Tyme, are all stereotypical gimmicks. And no one is offended?
Italians-Santino speaking broken English...this after a gimmick as a Russian shoot fighter speaking broken English, Salvatore Sincere are 2 examples here.
French/French-Canadian-Frenchie Martin complete with beret is the only one I can think of.
Samoans-All, and I do mean all were portrayed as savages at one point in their respective careers. I guess we can include Snuka even though he was portrayed as being from Fiji.
I know I'm missing alot but can someone please explain how Vince gets away with this? And I must be honest that everytime I see one of these stereotypical gimmicks I just shake my head.
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Post by davidblade on May 4, 2008 10:05:56 GMT -5
I don't think we see as many as we use to. I think some of the more recent ones were done in humor(for example like the Chapelle show) such as Cryme Time and Mexicools.
Oh and what about white guys? Hillbilly Jim, The Godwins, and Jamie Noble were all portrayed as white trash/hillbillies. ;D Honestly though I think a white trash kind of kid rock heel gimmick would work today if done right.
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Post by FrankGotch on May 4, 2008 10:40:04 GMT -5
I don't think we see as many as we use to. I think some of the more recent ones were done in humor(for example like the Chapelle show) such as Cryme Time and Mexicools. Oh and what about white guys? Hillbilly Jim, The Godwins, and Jamie Noble were all portrayed as white trash/hillbillies. ;D Honestly though I think a white trash kind of kid rock heel gimmick would work today if done right. You mean like the one Kid Kash had in ECW? |
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longdogga
Don Corleone
All australian look like this ^^^
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Post by longdogga on May 4, 2008 11:27:58 GMT -5
aussies
two examples
outback jack no explanaion needed
and nathan jones
who had freaking didgeroodo music as his entrance
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Post by TheMediocreWarrior on May 4, 2008 14:28:36 GMT -5
aussies two examples outback jack no explanaion needed and nathan jones who had freaking didgeroodo music as his entrance You mean to tell me that there isn't didgereedoo music all over Australia? TV has lied to me! The only ones that I've thought were really in bad taste were Saba Simba and Crime Time, and probably having the Mexican wrestlers on lawnmowers too. The one that really bothers me is LAX. I think they should leave gangster shit out of wrestling. Other than that though, they don't really bother me. It's pro-wrestling, they are already pretending to beat the snot out of each other, I don't expect it to be PC. |
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Post by WWE Trademarked My Name on May 4, 2008 15:16:53 GMT -5
It's still not finished yet! I'm hearing aboriginal percussionists and I want an army of didgeradoos. Fifty thousand didgeradoos! For those of you who haven't seen Dewey Cox yet here is what I'm refering to. (link broken due to language) youtube.com/ watch?v=gbmpo_tDlvg |
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Mac
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
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Post by Mac on May 4, 2008 18:05:47 GMT -5
Sterotypes and Wrestling go hand in hand, always have.
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Post by davidblade on May 4, 2008 18:35:27 GMT -5
I don't think we see as many as we use to. I think some of the more recent ones were done in humor(for example like the Chapelle show) such as Cryme Time and Mexicools. Oh and what about white guys? Hillbilly Jim, The Godwins, and Jamie Noble were all portrayed as white trash/hillbillies. ;D Honestly though I think a white trash kind of kid rock heel gimmick would work today if done right. You mean like the one Kid Kash had in ECW? Uhhhh no. I mean a real white trash gimmick. Not a Kid Rock ripoff gimmick. LOL ;D |
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Mac
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
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Post by Mac on May 4, 2008 18:36:59 GMT -5
You mean like the one Kid Kash had in ECW? Uhhhh no. I mean a real white trash gimmick. Not a Kid Rock ripoff gimmick. LOL ;D Dirty White Boy |
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Rockhound
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Mugger Kitty Strikes Again!
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Post by Rockhound on May 4, 2008 18:40:12 GMT -5
Sterotypes and Wrestling go hand in hand, always have. But when they're borderline racist like Saba Simba. And as for Samoan wrestlers, has there ever been one, besides Rikishi, who actually wrestled with boots on? Wild Samoans, barefoot. Sivi Afi, barefoot. The Islanders, barefoot. Umaga, Snuka(after a while because he did wrestle with boots on), Peter Maivia, Headshrinkers, all wrestled barefoot. Do they not have shoes in Samoa? |
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Mac
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
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Post by Mac on May 4, 2008 20:44:05 GMT -5
Sterotypes and Wrestling go hand in hand, always have. But when they're borderline racist like Saba Simba. And as for Samoan wrestlers, has there ever been one, besides Rikishi, who actually wrestled with boots on? Wild Samoans, barefoot. Sivi Afi, barefoot. The Islanders, barefoot. Umaga, Snuka(after a while because he did wrestle with boots on), Peter Maivia, Headshrinkers, all wrestled barefoot. Do they not have shoes in Samoa? I dont think Saba Simba was racist. Just another gimmick, not sure exactly who it was meant to appeal to. I think a racist gimmick would be someone playing a dumb stereotype black guy, or an Amos and Andy character. BTW a Samoan wrestler who wore boots and gained mild popularity = The Rock |
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Post by theclaphurts on May 4, 2008 21:52:53 GMT -5
I'm disappointed they nixed Saba's watermelon at the last minute.
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Rockhound
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Mugger Kitty Strikes Again!
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Post by Rockhound on May 5, 2008 0:07:35 GMT -5
But The Rock wasn't a true Samoan. He wasn't even touted as a Pacific Islander. He's more recognized as being black. How about Slick. Didn't he do a promo while eating fried chicken once? Yes. Here is said vid: www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2iIYibSa-g&feature=related |
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Post by davidblade on May 5, 2008 8:23:43 GMT -5
But The Rock wasn't a true Samoan. He wasn't even touted as a Pacific Islander. He's more recognized as being black. How about Slick. Didn't he do a promo while eating fried chicken once? Yes. Here is said vid: www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2iIYibSa-g&feature=relatedYou are looking way too into this man. Sure some of the gimmicks may come off a little racist but you have to remember that the wrestlers aren't exactly being forced to do it. Almost every samoan guy you mentioned had the exact same gimmick before they ever stepped into the WWF. So did Cryme Time. Samoans are very proud of their heritage and I'm sure they don't mind dressing up like samoans use to dress. You could say the same for the white guy gimmicks that may seem racist(of course they don't seem racist to society because they are white but they are no different) such as Cade and Murdoch. Both redneck gimmicks yet they both used those gimmicks in some version outside of WWF too. |
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Post by sandman20 on May 5, 2008 10:59:00 GMT -5
Uhhhh no. I mean a real white trash gimmick. Not a Kid Rock ripoff gimmick. LOL ;D Dirty White Boy or former xpw world champion "WHITE TRASH" johnny webb. |
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Post by Handsome Halfbreed on May 5, 2008 11:31:54 GMT -5
Yeah.. we need more Jimmy Wang Yang type gimmicks like a rich snooty somoan an african exchange student with ebonics as a second language and a white guy from deepest darkest Africa... no wait! we had that w/ Akeem.
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Post by Black Swagger on May 5, 2008 12:14:13 GMT -5
Stereotypes have always been apart of wrestling whether its saba simba or Kentai (I think that's how it spelled, where they mocked bad translation of dubbed movies from Asia). Gimmicks bases on terrorist , Anti French sentiment (La Resistance), or Latin Kings, it will all always be apart of it. While I don't always agree, I see how it's always gonna be there.
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Rockhound
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Mugger Kitty Strikes Again!
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Post by Rockhound on May 6, 2008 1:38:06 GMT -5
It doesn't answer the question: How are they able to get away with it? For example, the series 24 caught all kinds of feelings from CAIR(Council for American/Islamic Relations) over terrorists being Middle Eastern to the extent when one terrorist went to try to blow up a subway he yelled, "Allah Akbar" before he did it. Man were feelings hurt over that one. The only thing that killed the Muhammed Hassan/terrorist angle was that the show aired on the same day as the London bombings. Had that not happened, the angle would have never been dropped. The same goes for some commercials. Watch a commercial for ADT or Brinks Home Security. The person breaking into the house is always white. But Vince dresses up Mr. USA Tony Atlas in African garb, not just any African garb but the outfit fitting of a Zulu warrior spear included and have him dance to the ring and no one says a word except on how bad it must be for Atlas.
I just think it's strange how little attention these shows gets.
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DDave
Mike the Goon
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Post by DDave on May 6, 2008 17:26:51 GMT -5
There's usual British snob gimmick, the fact that it's been performed so well by Regal for a huge part of his career when he grew up so far removed from that environment does not escape me. But with the exception of the Bulldogs, it seems like every "English" guy in the WWF/E (or WCW) has had something similar, from Lord Alfred to Squire David Taylor.
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Post by Handsome Halfbreed on May 7, 2008 10:57:44 GMT -5
How exactly is the Samba Simba gimmick so offensive. How is that different than a "Wild Somoan" or Native American in tribal headress?
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