10 Greatest Vince McMahon Creations

9. Goldust

Strowman Green
WWE

The Goldust character in its original incarnation marked Vince McMahon's first step towards the "edgy" - a proto-Attitude Era act in both its portrayal and controversial reception.

The homoerotic/homophobic overtones, accelerated by enterprising Savio Vega, were a dubious development. The faces of the WWF were portrayed as heroes for brutalising him in bad taste displays of homophobia. The implication wasn't merely that Goldust was an unwelcome sexual predator; the orientation of those assaults triggered their reactions. It's difficult to envisage Ahmed Johnson going apesh*t if Sunny had kissed him when he was unconscious.

Despite the toe-curling essence of 'The Bizarre One', the conviction with which Dustin Runnels portrayed the character immortalised it - impressive, given that the man was unaware of what 'androgynous' meant when Bruce Prichard first pitched it to him.

As wincing as the portrayal of otherness was, the objective was met: Goldust created a furore in the WWF and ushered in a new generation of acts with which fans could connect, even if in this case the source of discord preyed on the ugly id of the wrestling fan.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!