Is The WWE Ready For Another "Billy and Chuck" Angle?

[CM Steel]

About 10 years ago to the date over on the Smackdown brand. The WWE universe were in the mist of the "Billy & Chuck era". With Billy & Chuck as the primary tag team in the WWE, they had two tag team title reigns as a tag team.

With the WWE tag team division decaying right now in the WWE. Would it be safe to bring back a Billy & Chuck-like tag team into the WWE in this era? Billy & Chuck did make headlines in the media with the whole same-sex marriage angle on Smackdown. And were the first tag team in wrestling history to define the old wrestling stereotype that (some) male wrestlers are gay. With the pair wearing matching pink wrestling tights with matching headbands.

The WWE tried to re-invent a Billy & Chuck tag team in the form of the Hearthrobs and the Dicks. But have since been released from the WWE.

So is the WWE ready for another Billy & Chuck era?

 

[Famous Shea]

Well, I think if you were gonna do a gay angle for a wrestler, these days, it'll only make more waves with a single wrestler than a tag team. Let's be honest, tag teams are a dying breed in WWE.

This might sound crazy, but I believe WWE can get a "gay" (actually gay or pretending to be) superstar over if he was a face. I mean, hell, they got their whole anti-bullying campaign going on, so it'll make perfect sense for WWE to try to get a gay person over with the WWE crowd.

 

[KoC417]

Absolutely not. With the way everyone is so sensitive these days towards anything that can be taken as "gay bashing" (thanks in part to Glaad over reacting to every single little thing) this would be PR suicide by the WWE. Think of this. GLAAD jumped all over WWE already for the word "***" being used i believe it was. Imagine if said "gay" superstar started getting beaten down by a group of "straight" WWE superstars. It's just not a good time for anything of the sort at the moment. Maybe in 20 or 30 years when this ridiculous sensitivity era in the real world is over. But for now (especially with Linda trying to campaign and everything) WWE is only ready for 1 or 2 things. Politically correct, politically friendly programming.

 

[123NewChamp]

I feel where you coming from with this question. And it's a good question, but I'ma have to say no. Many similar gimmicks have came in the past like Rico when he teamed with Charlie Haas, and the Heart Throbs and the Dicks like you said. But to me what made Billy and Chuck a success was the fact that Billy and Chuck gimmick was an original idea and one of it's kind. I don't recall any other tag team that had a gay gimmick, if there was one feel free to correct me on it. But it was an odd combination of 2 random superstars who put together this gay gimmick and ran with it. Something that never been done in the wrestling world ever period. And 2. Another reason why this gimmick or angle was succesful especially with that wedding was beause of the rise of Gay Pride in America. The Terminator got governor, and people getting married in California, and states started legalizing same sex marriges. And I'm pretty sure we have some gay wrestling fans out there, but this team in my opinion basically stood for gay pride and may of tried to attract gay viewers. But with the rise of folks coming out the closet, it turned out to be a popular thing that has made this wedding the highest rated segment of the show that night. Yeah WWE tried their hand at it again, but the most successful attempt was not as successful but it was a shot and it was the "Hot Lesbian Action." So WWE basically took advantage of a time and or era in history that started becoming popular. So I can't see another successful Billy and Chuck angle. These guys really going to have to know how to act the part, and get over with the crowd. But what really gave this team the edge was the significance of the era of the rise of Homosexuality and states legalizing and approving same sex marriages. And because this was actually an original gimmick. But I seriously doubt it. But you never know, anything can happen in America, and WWE may have a gimmick that may blow Billy and Chuck away. We just got to stay tuned.

 

[JuviJuiceIsLoose]

I think if the WWE is going to do another gay angle, they shouldn't pussyfoot around it.

They should actually have a guy "come out of the closet". Not dress him up flamboyantly, make him effeminate.

If they really have any balls whatsoever, I'd have him fall in love with another guy in the locker room.

Hell, you can even make the guy a heel. Let's be honest, once the guy comes out, he'll get booed.

Have him come out and say the audience is too stupid to realize that gay people aren't just some stereotype they see on TV.

Basically, have him turn the audiences prejudices against them.

He should also kick ass in the ring. 'Cause you just can't have some jobber, or some low on the card guy coming out, because no one would care.

Say, if Wade Barrett came out of the closet, it would be interesting. Not have him be "Wade Barrett the Gay Wrestler", but have him just be like he's always been as a cocky heel, but add that character trait.

 

[Ares08]

Coming from a gay wrestling fan, I definitely remember when WWE did this and the person above is right. When they did this angle it was right in the height of gay pride coming to the fore front so it got a lot of attention. I think that if they were to attempt doing it again and did it with the same tasteful and non-discriminating manner that they did the first go around. Then there's a slight chance that it could maybe work again. But they'd have to REALLY plan it out so it didn't come off in a bad way.

 

[PEP3]

The problem with pro wrestling doing gay-themed angles, such as the Billy & Chuck tag team, is that the industry loves to build characters based on stereotypes. That's where WWE is prone to getting in trouble with organizations like GLAAD.

Of course, the caricature of the effeminate, pastel-draped wrestler assumed to be gay was done to death with "Adorable" Adrian Adonis back in the late '80s. Ironic, really, since Adonis' character before that -- the tough-as-nails biker guy -- is another gay stereotype.

The idea wasn't that original, though, since it was the WWF's way of stomping on one of the most successful indie wrestlers of all-time, "Exotic" Adrian Street. Wrestling predominantly throughout the south and in countries around the world, Street was known for colorful outfit, extravagant face paint, effeminate movements, long, flowing blond hair (generally worn in pigtails) and the mind games those traits played on his opposition. Naturally, the vast majority of the time, they also necessitated Street be a heel.

The flip side of the coin, though -- and what WWF failed to do with their variation of the character -- is that Street was also tough. A former bare-knuckles boxing champ, he looked soft, but could go toe-to-toe with even the fiercest competitors. And he had outside-the-ring support from his beautiful female companion Miss Linda.

However, as someone pointed out, GLAAD would have a tremendous amount to say about a character of this nature -- especially when it spurred the viewing public to respond in homophobic ways. If people taunted the character with homophobic slurs, audiences rose up against the character because he was perceived or portrayed as gay, etc., it would draw significant negative attention to WWE. And, I might add, rightfully so.

To use a racial stereotype, and then incite audiences to act out negatively against said race or vilify the character based on racial lines, is something most would not tolerate in this day and age. Similarly, using a character's sexual identity to make him a heel, should not be kosher.

However, if a character were introduced as being gay, and other wrestlers rallied in support of that character expressing his authentic self, preventing a heel from bullying or picking on him as a result of that, it could really promote a very positive message. It would be the long-term sustainability of that, though, that would be an issue.

Even in the case of Billy & Chuck, I got the impression WWE didn't know where to go with the concept after a certain point. That's why you saw the abrupt ending of the angle not long after the proposed "marriage" didn't happen.

As it relates to today, considering the pay-off for such an angle be short-lived, and the characters seen as "limited" in long-term potential -- no to mention the possibility it could blow up into a PR nightmare -- I'm guessing WWE would rather side-step the idea altogether.

 

[DaNewGuy]

The issue would be crowd reaction to the gay team. Angles like Billy and Chuck played on the fairly prevalent 'homophobia' of wrestling audiences. As much as social norms may have changed a face gay team is always going to get, at best, mixed reactions.
A heel team would be playing on these prejudices, whether intentional or not and that'd be viewed pretty dimly. GLAAD would be less than impressed, and the 'social un-acceptability' of 'promoting' prejudice would be damaging to WWE's image.

 

[RKOPUNK]

I don't see it happening. I have no recollection of Billy and Chuck, but it just doesn't sound like an angle that would fly in this day and age of professional wrestling. Just look at Orlando Jordan, although the fact that he has barely any talent has a big part in him not getting over.

It looked like something similar was going to happen with Drew McIntyre when he was supposedly flirting with male audience members at a house show a couple of months ago, but I'm guessing the decision was made to out off destroying his career completely for just a little while longer.

 

[LTDA]

No way. I wouldn't have a problem with it, but have you ever been to a live show? The audience is FULL of dumb hicks that would be super homophobic.

 

[justin71]

It would be interesting to see if the could do it in a PG environment without going there with negative gay stereotypes(I.e. Orlando Jordan, Adrian Adonis, ect). Remember at the end the punchline was Billy and Chuck were not actually gay at the end of it all in spite of all the racy fail safe gay jokes they were a part of.

 

[justin71]

On the other side of the token Linda McMahon might see it as a political liability to do that at this point for fear of Tea Party types might hold her to task for being "gay friendly" thus not being a "true conservative".

 

[guayaboso815]

hey, its the PG era, talking about these kinds of angles might affect the younger audience.. the thing that they should do is get TAG TEAMS in general, i mean, The Usos vs Epico and Primo for the nth time, you have to be kidding me, i thought Air Boom would invigorate the division, but thank you Evan Bourne you buried it even further, they should get the top teams in the indie, not relive a bogus angle..

 

[Danger Burger]

Yeah, agreed with the guy who's name is a bunch of gibberish and numbers! We need tag teams! I dont care if theyr straight, gay, transgendered, midgets, Devon dudley's kids, siamese twins, two pigs tied together with a rope or R-truth and an imaginary friend... We need them! Brodus and santino are a (terrible) brilliant start! It would help to shove some of them monsters together and have them owm the tag titles for a whie, demanding better competition!!

 

[Cabana]

Initially, I thought WWE would be too risk adverse as a public company to go for it, but I think that if it can work in every other form of media, it can work here. The keys to it would be:

a) You'd probably need an actual gay wrestler. This is just because of how high profile it would be, so it might be hard to have someone playing gay. Granted, it happens in every form of media, but ya never know.

b) It could not and should not be his dominant characteristic. As another poster mentioned above, it would work best if it just so happens Wade Barrett is gay. You don't make his coming out a big deal, but rather just have it become a facet of his character. Dude's got a boyfriend, nbd.

c) While he could be a mid-carder or a main eventer, said wrestler absolutely could not be a jobber. It'd be too high profile a member of the roster.

d) Dude better have great mic skills and, again, being gay should *not* be his dominant characteristic. However, using him/her as a part of the anti-bullying campaign in conjunction with, say, GLAAD would be really cool. If, offscreen, they make a point of being a high profile and successful member of the LGBTQI community? Awesome. Can that be a part of the character? Sure, but it should be a secondary or even tertiary characteristic.

 

[Peoples_Champ]

The problem I have with Billy & Chuck is that it was intended to be a shock angle. "Look at those two! They're gay!" People don't think like that any more, at least not in major cities. Sure there are some people who might be homophobic and make anti-homosexual remarks, but the majority of people, especially WWE's core audience (kids and preteens) are generally not homophobic.

Not only would this angle run counter to the B A Star message, but there's no way a "gay" wrestler / tag team would be able to catch heat without upsetting WWE sponsors.

That being said, I would love for a face wrestler to come out of the closet and say he's gay. Heels could catch major heat by being homophobic and the face would be incredibly over by winning a match against a hated heel.

 

[Jdulemba1001]

Heres the problem with this. Your talking about a gimmick. Organizations like GLAAD will be upset when the angle ends, as they were with Billy and Chuck. Now if you used a gay wrestler who comes out, who is gay in real life, then he doesnt ever have to remove that from his gimmick, and it will work. If you used say, Randy Orton for example, at some point he would have to address that he isnt really gay, it would kill all the momentum you gain, if you used a real life gay wrestler, it could remain his gimmick.

 

[Shalashaska]

I like the idea on paper. A non homophobic angle about a normal wrestler who just happens to enjoy the company of other men. Its a shining tower of diversity and acceptance.

Unfortunately, as soon as that camera cuts to the announce desk for King and Cole with red faces (from embarrasment, you filthy heathens) explaining delicately about the homo erotic video package we are about to watch: I'm laughing my ass off, GLAAD are pissed, the wrestler in question's career is over, and the boys in the back are shifting from side to side, looking at eachother nervously and Vince is wondering "Why did I greenlight this shit?"

Great idea to have sexual tolerance in the real world, but trying to tackle it on a wrestling show just isn't going to happen. too many lawsuits. TOO MANY LAWSUITS OHHHHHHH OHHHHHH......

 

[ultramattman]

WWE couldn't get away with a gay 'character'. WAY too much of a minefield. It wouldn't play in 2012.

If something like this were going to happen, it would have to be a wrestler who is actually and openly gay. If the right guy came along to get over with this, you'd end up with another 'mixed reaction' character like you get right now with Cena and Daniel Bryan. He'd be booed in some cities, cheered in others.

 

[AzLunchbox]

First off, To the topic starter, Billy and Chuck were not the first "gay team" in the history of wrestling.

I'm pretty sure WCW beat them to the punch with The West Hollywood Blondes (Lenny and Lodi)

And also one of the things people seem to be forgetting about Billy and Chuck was that they got over because they WEREN'T gay. I mean they made it seem like they most likely were but they didn't say it through almost the whole angle.....when they brought it up near the end (for the marriage angle) the whole gimmick tanked and they ended it.

They used to always be seen helping each other stretch or something awkward like that but they would always say "Chicks dig them" they even said when they gave each other the matching headbands that chicks would dig them.

Then they "came out" and had the gay marriage that they didn't go through with and then the whole angle bombed!

So the "Gay angle" didn't work for them....the humorous "Maybe in the closet" angle is what worked and got them over.

 

[MissLeigh80]

I can't see that angle being successful in WWE, not because there us anything wrong with it but because even though there have been strides made to protect the gay community there is still a very long way to go. Being a part of the GLBT community myself, I just can't see it being done. Too many homophobic people would make the wrestler's life a living hell, who knows how many times GLAAD or other gay organizations would be down WWE's throat for how they portray the character in general. I don't have a problem if they did bring in a gay character, but don't stereotype him or make him effeminate ~ actually make him just a normal human being, just because he's gay doesn't mean he's not a person too.