10 Times WWE Blatantly Used Racist Stereotypes

There's only one real logical reason why for the past three decades in WWE, ethnic minority wrestlers have generally been reduced to a debased pastiche of their race. It was the same old story in the late 2000s, as Jayson Anthony Paul and Shad Gaspard adopted a stereotypical 'street thug' gimmick in developmental territory OVW, before they were called up to the main roster where the act was considered not only acceptable, but too subtle.

Pretty soon, Shad and the newly-rechristened JTG were performing entirely to type, with petty theft their most frequent invocation of damaging racial clichés. A program with The World's Greatest Tag Team even saw Shelton Benjamin call the duo out for miscasting the African-American community. But that was immaterial; Cryme Tyme were popular, and the subtly degrading antics continued.