LGBTQ in WWE: The Benefit of "Gay" Characters and Gimmicks

Professional wrestling used to be credited with illustrating controversial situations in our everyday lives.

Representing various forms of race, culture and beliefs, it intermingled sports entertainment with current events and issues.

Prime example: the 2001 “Billy & Chuck” storyline. An incredible one, to say the least. 

Following the “Invasion” angle, we began to see a groundbreaking tag team form between Billy Gunn and Chuck Palumbo that would remain in the psyches of wrestling fans for years.

With subtle hints every week, creating what began as a simple “bro-mance” (of sorts), we were becoming exposed to something that (at the time) was still very abnormal for sports entertainment.

A topless Sable, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin chugging Coors Light—we’d seen it all, right? Wrong. Of course, this was still the “Attitude” era. At this point, what else could we witness?

Aha! WWE creative (geniuses of the past) offered the very first tag team that pushed the fine line between the heterosexual and homosexual realms we all knew they would not dare enter.

With the addition of their hyper-metrosexual manager “Rico” and the commitment ceremony that took place on SmackDown, the duo never uttered the words “we are gay.” Though, what made this storyline one of the most compelling in WWE history was the media attention that swarmed around it.

A Today Show interview and G.L.A.A.D's critical response to WWE’s portrayal of (presumed) homosexual characters helped push the team’s career further. Given their wrestling abilities, this would later turn into the opportunity for them to obtain Tag Team Championship gold.

But what if there were a character given a chance to actually be gay/lesbian/etc. and be taken seriously in the ring?

For the PG-era, this could benefit the WWE greatly.

Understanding the company and how they are choosing to present themselves is not a difficult concept to grasp.

The desire to produce family-oriented programming is on their agenda, and that’s the bottom line (Stone Cold had nothing to do with this).

But contrary to popular belief, there is nothing that screams “TV-M” about including characters of the L.G.B.T.Q. community into the lower or midcard (being very realistic here).

Far gone are the days where homosexuality is a taboo subject (especially on television), so why on earth keep it from the storylines? The possibilities for some stellar promo-cutting are limitless, especially if you present the character in the body-builder image that Vince McMahon salivates over.

It is a win-win situation for everyone—and no different from some of our favorite male actors/actresses portraying the roles of gay people in PG/PG-13 films.

They (WWE) shove "Be A Star" down our throats every week. Would this not be the opportune situation to create a bullying storyline where the victim of gay-bashing rises above the hate? 

Don't worry, Cenation. We won't touch him.

If the WWE wants to see some bonus numbers in the ratings, they need to let the legends enjoy the programs from home and allow some rising talent to explore character changes that might alter dynamic in their programming for a while.

What would they have to lose?

How do you feel? The comments section is all yours!