10 Things About WWE You Didn't Get Until You Were Older
6. Goldust
Pro wrestling has a long history of using the insinuation of homosexuality and general effeminate characteristics in order to get crowd heat for various performers, going back as far Gorgeous George and the original Nature Boy, Buddy Rogers. This concept was taken to an absurd extreme with the introduction of Goldust in 1995. Greatly different from present day Goldust, this character was all about sexual ambiguity and androgyny. Using these qualitys as a psychological ploy against his opponents, Dustin Runnels took this angle pretty far and was apparently willing to go even further (various reports persist that he was even ok with getting actual breast implants). Theres an infamous Attitude Era promo courtesy of Jerry Lawler out there in which The King makes use of an ugly, homophobic slur in reference to The Bizarre One. Because of the current political climate, that would never happen today. But in the late 90s, homophobia was surprisingly prevalent. Kids of a certain age, however, tend to be more innocent and less instilled with the prejudices that adults eventually come to have. For this demographic, the whole homosexual aspect of Goldusts character was likely misunderstood. Instead, he was simply seen as bizarre, much as his nickname would suggest.
I am a writer and stand-up comedian living in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. I didn't witness the Bret Hart screw job in person, but I did watch the Breaking Point PPV live and that was terrible it its own way. I am dangerously obsessed with professional wrestling and its surrounding culture. I am the current ring announcer for a local fed called the IWS. I got to introduce Tommy Dreamer a while back. My head almost exploded. I am a mark, and proud of it. I also co-host a podcast called Go Plug Yourself, which has featured quite a few local wrestlers and even Mick Foley. Speaking of the Mickster, I once got to be his warmup act when he was in town for comiccon. My head actually exploded that time. I've recovered... sort of.
