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| No Way, USA! |
Simon Gallagher |
Looking at why promotions keep using anti-American gimmicks for wrestlers
America � land of the free, home of the brave, Uncle Sam, stars and stripes, Kennedy, Lincoln and all the rest. What�s not to like? Okay, so maybe that�s a loaded question� but in the world of professional wrestling, speaking out against the good old US of A has become part of the industry�s fabric. Wrestlers from all sides of the globe have portrayed the anti-American gimmick at some point, be they from just over the border (Bret Hart, Christian and Chris Jericho), supposedly from further afield (Muhammad Hassan, The Iron Sheik) or even from its own soil (Sergeant Slaughter). Some have used the gimmick as a jump-off point to push themselves up the card, while others have never recovered from being made to portray such a easily-emotive character. But if one thing�s clear it�s that throughout history, wrestling companies � be they owned by the McMahons or not � have never grown tired of the angle.
Recently we�ve seen the latest iteration of wrestling-based America bashing through TNA�s multi-national stable, The World Elite. Led excellently by a revitalised Eric Young and featuring FSM�s very own Nick �Brutus Magnus� Aldis, World Elite is the premium stable in TNA right since the Main Event Mafia crumbled to dust following Bound For Glory. With their shiny new matching tracksuits and collection of stars from Mexico, Britain, Iran, Japan and Canada, World Elite is currently enjoying a big spotlight on Impact. Indeed, their current streak sees not only the British Invasion claiming the TNA Tag Team titles, but has also led to Young getting a run with the Legends Title (or Global Championship as he�s renamed it, with him even refusing to defend it on American soil or against American wrestlers). The group echoes the sentiments of many wrestlers before them � especially Bret Hart and the Hart Foundation stable � but then that in itself demands the question: why do wrestling companies, as repetitive as they are at the best of times, continue using this gimmick and, more importantly, why fans do continue to lap up something they�ve seen countless times before?
For the rest of this feature, check out issue 48 of FSM - available at WH Smith and all good retailers. (For US readers we are now carried at Borders and Barnes & Noble, so check for local availability or click here to subscribe.)
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