I dunno, that entire segment was uncomfortable and borderline racist. I was playing on my computer and my head legit spun around in surprise when the crack was made about Saxton only being there to create an alibi. Truth acting stereotypical frightened black man and then insinuating the other black man is a criminal. WWE has a serious issue with their portrayal of black men and this segment was…unwise.
Those kind of situations can be taken one way or the other, depending on the viewer. I don’t think it’s possible to have any sort of potentially humorous situation without stepping on somebody’s toes, as demonstrated to the extremes by Je Suis Charlie. I think we can all agree if WWE did away with the humor, it’d lead to some really boring shows. Speaking for myself, I can’t watch any show that has somebody trapped in an already-buried coffin, but that’s just me.
Here’s an older TNA promo he did (which features Rick Steamboat forgetting what he was supposed to say at the beginning). Sounds like he does have a bit of a lisp and maybe he’s been exaggerating it.
I’ve got no more problems with R-Truth’s bits than I have with Mr. Fuji, any Russian (or Iranian) portrayal, the FBI, redneck portrayals, upright-uptight citizen portrayals, etc. They’ve always taken shots at broad stereotypes, some hits, many misses. Wrestling did have a race issue for far too long, but McMahon doesn’t let race get in the way of chasing dollars. He just never let’s good taste get in the way.
Boldong for emphasis (EMPHASIS!).
I gotta disagree with you on this one. There are plenty of black wrestlers who had the same great body look that McMahon loves in Cena that have gone no where. There is no reason for Truth to be as buried as he is and ABSOLUTELY no reason for Titus O’Neal to be a buried as he is. Titus is huge, has great mic skills, and can be a heel like no ones business.
Black wrestlers have to be “black wrestlers” instead of just wrestlers. Look at the Nation of Domination (“Hey remember the Black Panthers? They were a thing right? Let’s do that again!”) and The New Day (“Black people love preachers!”). They can’t just let them be.
Hell even Booker T (other than being called damn Booker T) was popular, but very black.
Absolutely agree.
Which reminded me. If you look at Big E’s face while they’re in the ring doing the “New DAY!” Schtick in last night’s show, he looks kind of pissed off about it.
Sirty-- aside from anything else in your above message, I have to point out that Titus can’t wrestle for shit. He’d make a great manager, but Sami-freakin’-Zayn struggles to get a passable match out of the man. There’s no doubt that Vince has some racial issues, but Titus’s position on the card is not evidence for them.
I have no doubts that you’re right about this. It seems hard for the big guys like that to wrestle at any speed other than “half”.
They did try Titus as Darren Young’s manager a few years ago. He interrupted a John Cena promo as “Rufus ‘Pancake’ Patterson” and was never spoken of again afterward.
I can’t imagine why.
From a Bill DeMott Tweet:
I deny the recent allegations made about me, however, to avoid any embarrassment or damage to the WWE, I’ve decided to step down from my role effective immediately.
That’s best for all. Also probably him admitting guilt but whatever
Black wrestlers aren’t the only ones to have gone nowhere. The mid-card is littered with talent, white and black, that McMahon didn’t think had what it took to be ‘the man’. Most of the WCW talent after the buyout went nowhere fast (Booker T, whose name can’t be laid on McMahon, being a notable exception). And when someone can prove him wrong, he still tries to bury them. Jericho got to pin Rock and Austin in the same night, and a few weeks later he was picking up dog poo for Stephanie’s dog. Personally, I disagree that either Truth or O’Neill are top bills; they’re IC/USA title contenders (not even champions) at best. Titus, being much younger, could improve. I think we’ve seen the best of what Truth has to offer. I think Kofi dropped the ball when briefly given a chance, but as athletic as he is in the ring, he is not a good storyteller either verbally or in a match.
I’m not praising McMahon. He holds grudges (sometimes silly), he’s a bully, and has a juvenile (at best) sense of humor, but he’s colorblind. He’s not holding anyone back because they’re black, or yellow, or whatever (though the talent may think that’s the reason). He holds them back because he simply can’t feel the pulse of the audience anymore.
Just for the record, the Nation of Domination had 3 world champions (The Rock, Ron Simmons (WCW-only, though), and Mark Henry). Not exactly the worst gig in WWE.
Actually, blame his mother for that. His birth name is apparently Booker Tio Huffman Jr.
I’m not necessarily disagreeing with you here. The misuse of the midcard (which is a very important piece to wrestling) is an entirely different conversation, and I think each guy is fine for the pursuit of the middle titles.
But it’s not a coincidence that the guys who aren’t getting real chances to shine are the same skin color
Since the topic has come up, I feel like it’s worth referring everyone to this piece the Atlantic did last year, which talks about WWE’s problematic booking of black wrestlers and uses Booker T as a major example.
I wouldn’t say the people creating the product are maliciously racist, but I think there’s definitely an older-generation mindset at work where black wrestlers are thought of as “black” first and “wrestlers” second and the powers that be are fearful of making someone who can’t pass for white their champion. (The Rock’s father is black, but he looks just sort of generically swarthy rather than “ethnic”, and your casual fan would probably never twig that Roman Reigns is an Islander.)
Right, it’s not so much that Vince is racist as it is that he may believe a good segment of his audience is (and he may well be right).
If you say that racial black stereotypes are now off-limits, you thus risk losing a chunk of that audience and what do you gain? It’s not like a bunch of culturally-sensitive people are going to start tuning in because Big E becomes “Generic Big Man” instead of “Generic Black Man.”
Sure, there’s a point where any particular stereotype drives off more people than it attracts, but that’s always going to be a sliding target–and Vince isn’t always the most on top of the audience’s desires (to put it mildly)
As much as I wanted to get you all the NXT Columbus recap and review tonight, I’m afraid it’s not going to happen. I’ve been writing for the last 2-3 hours, and I’m running out of steam on it; if I keep this up, my recap of the main event will be: “Wrestler A entered. Wrestler B entered. Wrestler A beat Wrestler B. The end.”
And let me tell you, the main event deserves so much more than that.
So here’s a teaser–the match card, in two parts. You’ll understand the division if you’re brave enough to peek under the spoiler for the second half of the card.
INTERMISSION
[spoiler]
NXT TV TAPING?!
[ul]
[li]Tyler Breeze def. Kallisto[/li][li]Charlotte def. Bayley[/li][li]Kevin Owens murd. Alex Riley[/li][li]Sami Zayn in-ring promo[/li][li]CESARO!!! def. Adrian Neville[/li][/ul][/spoiler]
Ok, maybe a bit of editorializing crept in there. Full report Sunday or Monday, I expect.
Pretty much any wrestler, regardless of skin color, has to develop an immunity to shame and develop a thick skin. They’re going to have to do some pretty embarrassing things, the least of which is playing to stereotype. Does Big E’s current gimmick suck any less than what he was before? The dude wrestles like Gumby. He needs to find some kind of niche if he wants staying power.
Geez, my comcast TV listings keep showing “Kurt Angle in a 3way”. I’m just not interested!
You sure? The other participants are named Rude and Young. 
Chimera’s Absolutely Free and Completely Useless Booking Ideas:
Blue Pant’s entrance and theme are obviously done by Big Cass. So introduce her in front of Enzo and Carmella as his girlfriend.
Carmella: Oh yeah, you don’t even know her name!
Cass: Sure I do. It’s Blue Pants.
(Blue Pants smiles and nods yes vigorously)
Carmella: WHAT? That’s not even a real name! blah blah blah
Cass: C’mon Blue, let’s go.
(Cass and Blue Pants leave together.)
At Wrestlemania, Sting beats down Triple H so bad he’s taken to a hospital, unconscious.
Monday he’s in a coma.
A month later, he finally wakes up with amnesia. He also seems to be unnaturally nice to everyone, which confuses Steph. They need to keep him under observation.
Two weeks later, he’s been taken home, but is on leave suffering from amnesia and “mental confusion” (Completely off TV)
At Summerslam, Triple H returns, leading an NXT Invasion, as a Face. If I had my druthers, it’d be a series of Career Vs Career matches. If the NXT guy wins, the WWE guy is fired and the NXT guy gets his spot. If the WWE guy wins, the NXT guy goes back to NXT.
Hell, you could do that for one or more matches at Summerslam (or some other PPV) once a year.