Why is there racism in the WWE in the first place?

[Savion83]

Even before the atittude era there has been racist storylines in the WWE for a longtime. The Atittude era the PG-Rated era whatever! There is NO room for racist angles in the WWE PERIOD!

We can take it back to the Triple H-Booker T fued back in '03 right before Wrestlemania 19. Where Triple H played the racist role in that fued were he openly ststed that "people" like Booker T don't win world championships, and other racist things that Triple H said and did to Booker T. It's bad enough that Booker T lost that fued to Triple H by losing their championship match at WM 19 in Seattle, Washington.

A year later! The same thing on RAW during the Randy Orton-Shelton Benjamin fued. Were the heel Randy Orton openly saying in the ring on the mic to Shelton Benjamin "that's what's wrong with YOU PEOPLE". And Shelton Benjamin was to lose that fued. What a bunch of B.S.

The same thing keeps on reapeating it's self in the same form, like in late 2006 during a backstage skit involving Rated-RKO (Randy Orton & Edge) and Cryme Tyme & Maria. Where Edge dropped a racial bomb on Shad Gaspard about things being "black" around the WWE. And that tag fued didn't even get started at all really? In the words of Gregory Helms "What's up wit that"?

Reverse racism isn't a good thing either. Like back in '03 on RAW where then heel manager Teddy Long and client Rodney Mack had the weekly "White boy challenge" with timed matches during Mack's matches.


As far as latino's/hispanic's go as far as being discriminated on WWE TV. Remember back on Smackdown in October of '03, when the Big Show said to the late great Eddie Guerrero and Chavo Guerrero that "he didn't like THEIR kind"? That was weak while we all know that the Big Show isn't a racist.


When is this horrible cycle going to stop in the WWE and every other wrestling promotion with racist storylines? Because I am sick to death about it!

 

[youngbullzeye]

racism anywhere is never going to stop bro you just got to deal with it it was here thousands of years ago and it will continue for thousands of years.Thier is always going to be some person picking on another race becuase he is black,latino asian,or white thats just the facts of life and you have to live with it.

 

[AndrewK23]

I dont think it's as much of the racists ways now. Yeah the E can be very stereotypical (spelling) but its about every race, religion and well people. I think the E and TNA use stereotypes (spelling) and its just something we have to live with

 

[Liquid Smallz]

I'm black and I took no offense to any of these events maybe your a little bit sensitive because those little statements are very MINOR. I don't see any racism if its there its subtle.

 

[kissfan85]

I think people are way to quick to call racism.
It's just entertainment, just take is as that cause entertainment is all it is.
Some people get way to offended over things.

 

[Savion83]

racism anywhere is never going to stop bro you just got to deal with it it was here thousands of years ago and it will continue for thousands of years.Thier is always going to be some person picking on another race becuase he is black,latino asian,or white thats just the facts of life and you have to live with it.

Yes racism still exist in this world. But it shouldn't be in the WWE/wrestling industry. Wrestling is scripted, so the people that are behind the creative part shouldn't bring racism into any storyline what so ever! It's a shame that even after president Obama got elected into office that people in this country of ours just got more racist.

Times must change in the world and so should in the WWE not just with the PG rating. So I hope that the WWE doesn't use anymore racist angles in the E at all!

 

[Steve Rogers]

5 events hardly merits a call for a racism. Maybe I am wrong but is our current Intercontinental champion not black, and his catapult to to his current fame, IMO, from embarrassing the biggest stars going in Randy Orton.

No cycles need to stop. As you said there were no racist story lines, only occurrences, for cheap heat.

PG era would not market racism.

 

[Find'er Woo'er Ryder]

well as u noticed they were all heels who said that stuff and thats a heels job is to get everyone to hate them. and racist comments are a good way to do it

 

[Poop Master Flex]

Like some have already said, it is used to get a more real reaction from the crowd. Whether its a heel putting down Africans, Asians, Caucasions,ect. or a face making fun of Russians in the 80's, racism is a way to get a superstar more over with the crowd (whether its cheers or boos).

Personally I've never had issues with racism on television (whether it was my race or not), its the way it is and its the way the world works. If there was no such thing as racism, you would never see stuff like this on TV. Racism garners a reaction plain and simple (whether its positive or negative). Its only television so people really shouldn't get their undies in a bunch, if you don't like whats on TV change the channel or turn it off.

 

[wiigotaproblem]

I think you might be reading into it just a little too much. What Triple H said to Booker T about "people like you don't win championchips" could also be because Booker T was just... idk. Awful? Personally, I was never impressed with the guy. I don't think he had what it took to be a main eventer. He was a good mid-carder, could cut a decent promo, but I was never impressed with his in-ring skill enough to consider him a main eventer. The fact that he got such a huge push and had such a great feud with a main eventer like Triple H (and several others) should prove there was no racism towards him. If they were really racist about it, you would have seen him on screen about as much as you see Yoshi Tatsu these days, which isn't very often.

I wouldn't blame the stars so much for being racist. On screen, anyways. Backstage politics are a completely different story. What goes on backstage? I have no clue, but I'm sure theres some racism away from the cameras, and I do believe that WWE should do everything in their power to protect their stars from that, but as far as on-screen goes I think the WWE is smarter than that.

Also, look at it this way. Randy Orton pulled the "you people" card on Shelton Benjamin during a time where Shelton was getting a push in his career. Feuding with a big name like Randy Orton? What better way to make Shelton over with the fans AND sell Randy Orton as the ultimate heel than to have Orton use two simple, yet powerful words; "you people".

WWE creative knows what they're doing... they know where the line is, and they know not to cross it. So, I don't think theres as much racism in the WWE now as there used to be. I mean, R-Truth just had a legit United States Champion run, and now Alicia Fox is Diva's Champion. Seems pretty fair to me.

 

[CobraVenom]

Reverse racism isn't a good thing either. Like back in '03 on RAW where then heel manager Teddy Long and client Rodney Mack had the weekly "White boy challenge" with timed matches during Mack's matches.

I love it when people use the "reverse racism" term. That's implying that racism can be only white on black, and when it is black on white, it is reverse racism. Racism is racism.

I saw nothing wrong with what Mack did or with what they are doing with Sheamus. Pro wrestling is nothing but a caricature (You do know what a caricature is, right?) of the world. It has been since before I started watching and it always will be. Don't take it so seriously, or you will drive yourself crazy. Relax, Savion.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

All this "their kind" and "you people" stuff doesn't automatically indicate a racist attitude. If you look hard enough and try hard enough, you can make just about anything an issue of race.

For a storyline purpose, stuff like "their kind" and "you people" could be used as a metaphor for physically weak, inferior skills, inferior intellect, etc.

Now I do believe that wrestling still relies too much on outdated stereotypes, but not nearly as much as it used to. During the 70s, 80s and 90s, you could see tons of wrestlers running around exploting certain racial or cultural tensions in order to get over as a character. Ivan Koloff, Nicholai Volkoff, Nikita Koloff, The Iron Sheik, Kamala, Yokozuna and even Eddie Guerrero were wrestlers that relied a good amount on stereotypes of certain cultures and peoples that'd been presented to the United States for years on television and in movies. The closest thing really that I can think of that the WWE does is it still uses the occassional "Jap" wrestler that can't speak English very well, such as Yoshi Tatsu.

 

[Hazardous]

Where Triple H played the racist role in that feud were he openly stated that "people" like Booker T don't win world championships, and other racist things that Triple H said and did to Booker T. It's bad enough that Booker T lost that feud to Triple H by losing their championship match at WM 19 in Seattle, Washington.

that one was NOT referring to the Book man being black, but rather an ex-con.

A year later! The same thing on RAW during the Randy Orton-Shelton Benjamin feud. Were the heel Randy Orton openly saying in the ring on the mic to Shelton Benjamin "that's what's wrong with YOU PEOPLE". And Shelton Benjamin was to lose that feud. What a bunch of B.S.

and i do believe that this one meant for people who were starting shit up with Evolution, because as i recall, Shelton was one of 4 or 5, who would go on to beat evolution and all get a turn as GM or RAW for a night.

As far as latino's/hispanic's go as far as being discriminated on WWE TV. Remember back on Smackdown in October of '03, when the Big Show said to the late great Eddie Guerrero and Chavo Guerrero that "he didn't like THEIR kind"? That was weak while we all know that the Big Show isn't a racist.

was this not about people who had to lie, cheat, and steal? which i know WWE made as eddie and chavo's thing, but Angle has done it, as has Rock, Austin, hell almost everyone. again, not fully a Raciest comment.

you must be rather new to WWE though, as you left out the VERY race driven Nation of Domation (mostly black) vs D.O.A (white bikers) vs Los Boricuas (Latino). a VERY race driven angle i might add, but it wasnt meant to offend any one race, none were made inferior to another.

 

[Captain Jive]

I say that if it doesn't offend the person, its being said towards, then why would it offend you? Racism isn't one of mankinds greater achievements, but its there, so enjoy the show, and if it offends you, just remember that your TV gets more than one channel.

 

[Mustang Sally]

All this "their kind" and "you people" stuff doesn't automatically indicate a racist attitude. If you look hard enough and try hard enough, you can make just about anything an issue of race.

That's for sure. I seriously doubt that Triple H was referring to black people when he said "you people." Why? Because he knows better, that's why. An experienced performer like him isn't about to issue a stupid statement like that on national TV. But if you're looking for the remark to be racist, then that's how you're going to see it.

It's ironic; I recall Booker T addressing a gathering of his "subjects" when he was doing a skit in his "King" gimmick. In it, he referred to the 5-6 white folks in the ring as "you people." Yet, no one implied Booker was talking about their race.....because he wasn't.

And neither was Triple H. The expression "you people" can be used in numerous ways and we needn't jump to the conclusion that every usage is racist in nature.

Much of this kind is in the eye of the beholder. If a person is actively looking to uncover racist content, he's probably able to find it everywhere he looks.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Wrestling has long been steeped in stereotypes... the reason the business took off in the 50's was due to guys parading around as Nazi's, Russians, Mongols anything resembling a comic book villain... Wrestling still has that as a crucial part of its storylines... Eddie's low rider, Cryme Tyme and their antics, The Nation and its salute...

Racism is portraying somebody or a group negatively because of their race.. none of those groups were portrayed in a negative way cos of that... WWE used the stereotype to promote them in a positive way...

Bret Hart was not racist in '97... most of his promos focused on facts, Canada does have health care, the US then did not... he was not knocking the fact they were americans, but their behaviour in his eyes... Muhammed Hassan was not racist against whites by saying he was held back, because logically he was a success by being in the WWE at all... he had overcome the percieved racism...

The closest to overt racism I have seen was Saba Simba/Tony Atlas... that clearly was at attempt to portray Tony Atlas in a negative light by giving him a gimmick that was clearly inappropriate... The Rodney Mack/Teddy Long "Whitey" stuff was close to the bone but in reality true...

The Booker T comments were part of Booker's gimmick... it was inbuilt that Booker had a response the "...tell me he did not just say that..." if you use that as a catchphrase, whatever is said has to be pretty inflammatory...

Racism is ugly, deplorable and has no positvity... Stereotyping, while sad will always be there, do people not watch Breakfast At Tiffany's anymore cos of the Chinese guy? No... Do british people complain that Regal is always portrayed as pompous? no... look at The Great Khali... he is the stereotype from hell, either a monster or a dancing Bollywood fool... but do the Indian people hate him? Far from it, they revere him cos that IS their culture... and he is showing it to the world...

if WWE EVER did anything properly racist, they would be jumped on from a great height...

 

[Hazardous]

Racism is portraying somebody or a group negatively because of their race.. none of those groups were portrayed in a negative way cos of that... WWE used the stereotype to promote them in a positive way...

if WWE EVER did anything properly racist, they would be jumped on from a great height...

i can actually give one example of WWF using some racism, but it really didnt shock as many people, as it isnt talked about much these days.

in the build up to WM 1, Roddy Piper called Mr.T's fans "porch monkeys", called T a monkey, and fed his poster banana's, also said he would "whip him like a slave"

 

[patriotjay]

Wrestling is all about the steriotype.The Wild Samoans,Razor Ramon,Nikoli Volkoff,Cryme Tyme I can go on forever.To me its funny because I dont take it seriously I think when you over react to anything minorly racist you give it power over you.Me myself Im portugueese and I had no beef with Aldo Montoya "The Portugueese man of war" was running around in loud mis-matched colors in the 90s I just laughed cause I know guys with them loud colored clothes so I find it funny.And when it comes to race or racism its all in how you personally handle scituations because theres nothing you can do about steriotyping and wrestling is theatre so for me to take theyre portrail on race seriously Id have to be the ignorant one.Just sit back watch the show and If it bothers you that Vladimir Kozloff is pictured as a steriotypical cold war Russian and your of Russian descent is the character representing you?If not then wtf are you so upset about?And as far as heels saying racist things to get heat..If a guy needs to say somthing racist to garner heat then he sucks as a heel.You gotta be more creative then that.

 

[Kayoh]

I'm going to try to put this as simply as I possibly can without getting a spam infraction.

A lot of people absolutely hate racist people. The WWE occasionally uses racism to help a heel to get more over as a heel, and to become more hated by a broader audience. Racism helps heels to even get hated by smarks who know that heels are supposed to be hated because they're blinded by their hate for racists. It's that simple. Racism helps heels to get over.

 

[Slack]

First off, when did the term you people because the codewords of racism? When Chris Jericho says you people are a bunch of hypocrites when he talks to the audience is he being racist? I don't see any proof that the comments made by Orton and Triple H were racist. The only proof shown is that it was a white guy saying you people or people like you to a black guy. Heck that to me is more racist than what Orton and Triple H said.

Also the entertainment industry as a whole uses racism in storylines. Heck I'm willing to say that at least half the shows on tv at one time or another had a racial episode. And the reason is, racism is still part of our lives. The entertainment industry gets their ideas from real life, for most part.

And as far as wrestling, let's look at the stereotypes you haven't mentioned. For a long time, the vast majority of wrestlers from Texas were dressed up like cowboys or some other guy from the wild west. All asian wrestlers were suddenly martial arts experts, unless they were fat, then they were sumo wrestlers.

 

[Trill Co$by]

-_- so just because some says "You people" or "People like you" it's racist? I mean it couldn't possibly be because of you know Triple H never believing Booker T to be a main eventer...

It couldn't possibly mean that by "You people" they could be talking "lower class" as if you remember Evolution was all about the money and holding down the championships...

People are so fucking quick to pull that bullshit racist card and not think logically.

As for why it's in WWE... it's everywhere and it's not going to stop. Just deal with it.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

i can actually give one example of WWF using some racism, but it really didnt shock as many people, as it isnt talked about much these days.

in the build up to WM 1, Roddy Piper called Mr.T's fans "porch monkeys", called T a monkey, and fed his poster banana's, also said he would "whip him like a slave"

The fact that WM still took place and that Piper and WWE were not censured proves my point... People of the time took it for what it was, a heel doing what he should be doing... in the same way that Iron Sheik playing up to the anti-US stuff... Piper played to the stereotype of an ignorant racist, he "got his" in his losses to T... that was his role... Most of the race related laws and rules were not in force then, so of course attitudes were more casual... Piper covering half his body black at Wrestlemania also came close to the mark... but again nothing major happened... Hot Rod didn't win the match and Bad News gave as good as he got...

Wrestling is still doing the same thing, the only problem is now the "person on the street" is far less likely to accept anything approaching racism... but not cos they are appalled by it... Indeed it's now at the point where its tough to know whether you have to say African-American, Black or another term when describling something like Ron Simmons being the first World Champion... It's easier to just not bother...as anyone remotely whispers racism, people run a mile. and can be tarnished.. when in reality it is rarely truly justified in 2010... few people publicly make real racist statements, as they would be prosecuted for inciting hatred... But that doesn't mean that EVERY phrase connected with a race or stereotype used through history is instantly banned...

 

[Savion83]

I just think that it's a low down dirty shame that their's racism and racialy bias people within this company that is here to entertain ALL people of the world. Like for example back during Wrestlemania 24 weekend at a party where Michael Hayes dropped the N-bomb incorperating with Mark Henry. I don't care he was drunk, the word should have not been on Hayes's thought little alone lips!

As a result Michael Hayes was suspended for sixty days without pay. But when are we as professional people gone stop doing this to each other?

 

[Zigglerfan227]

You forgot about the time with Ted Dibiasi and R-Truth backstage. I thought that was kinda racial.

Anyway, none of it is serious, and although it shouldn't be there we will just have to put up with it. It only happens every few years usually. That's a good thing! haha...

I get viry tired of racist stuff but what can i do about it???

 

[One to Remember]

eddie guerero went places but at the same time prior to his reign it had been no later hen 1997 that a champion had been hispanic or latino.

As far as the Book is concerned i think other references have been made to his record and time in the pokey. I did feel something wrong about the incident where Booker T was ejected from the NWO but I'm still conflicted on that half a decade later.

We know that when you people is used it is racially charged yet you could then argue that a racist would never refer to them people as people at all. That is the beautiful of double speak and technicality. It provides a means of protection for the promotion, cheap and abundant heat, as well as the conflicts that drama ****es crave most.

R-Truth talks like an idiot. I think his presence is more racist then calling him any slur one could think of lol

Who would call you racist for calling Simmons the first African-American world champion? The last term for Blacks is obviously the safest terms. People make up racism as much as people try to justify it as them simply trying to be anti-PC.