10 Worst Anti-American Wrestling Gimmicks
U.S...eh?
The sudden placement of Jinder Mahal as the number one contender to Randy Orton's WWE Title was met with almost universal derision from an online fanbase completely bewildered with his sudden ascent to SmackDown Live!'s main event picture.
However, more dispiriting than Mahal's actual rise was a dated post-match promo, in which he teased audiences with a braggadocios gimmick that lazily leapt back into jingoism and division thanks to Jinder's ethnicity.
Suggesting that his wealthy family, higher education and the fact he didn't look like the crowd's 'stereotype for the All American' were the reasons for the disdain he was receiving in the aftermath of his genuinely shocking six-pack match victory, Mahal opined that stateside WWE fans were unable to accept diversity but would have no choice but to prepare for his supremacy.
Of all times in US history, pushing buttons of this nature is a gamble by WWE. Firmly entrenched in the Trump administration but apparently mindful of the tension his Presidency has created, the company appear to be having their cake and eating it too.
Furthermore, with news of physical WWE shops opening in India alongside a new strategy to crack the potentially lucrative market, the company may go the whole hog and run with Hardbody Jinder as their new WWE Champion as they surprisingly did with going-nowhere John 'Bradshaw' Layfield in 2004.
Bashing the United States may be a reliable method for cheap heat, but it doesn't mean it's always particularly entertaining. Here are the 10 worst anti-American gimmicks.
10. Doug Furnas & Phil Lafon
Attempting to piggy-back on Bret Hart's white hot crusade against American wrestling fans, Doug Furnas and Phil Lafon concluded an underwhelming WWE tenure as pro-Canada heels, but barely anybody appeared to notice.
All Japan Pro Wrestling's former 'Can-Am Express' were a dynamic force in their WWE debut, rocking Madison Square Garden and despatching tag team champions Davey Boy Smith and Owen Hart to score victory for their team in an electric Survivor Series 1996 opener.
However, a brief feud with the entertaining champions exposed their charismatic fragilities. The part-comedic part-serious tension between Bulldog and Owen surpassed any interest audiences had in the impactful strikes and vicious suplexes the duo were throwing, and their stock looked low following a count-out elimination from a WrestleMania 13 number one contender's match just six months after their debut.
A heel turn on perennial babyfaces the Legion of Doom was designed to reignite the pair, as was a loose allegiance with the Hart Foundation during their spell as a white hot heel faction.
Real life disaster struck when the duo were involved in a car crash alongside colleagues Flash Funk and Sycho Sid. Injuries from the smash left them shelved throughout the summer, and outside of placement in the tepid Team Canada vs Team USA elimination match on Survivor Series 1997's forgotten undercard, the talented pair made no further impact in the company.