Given that WWE has been publicly criticized for potentially being a racist organization of late, the idea that an educated black man who is not a cartoon character from the hood is currently employed by WWE definitely puts Xavier Woods behind the 8-ball every time he walks through the curtain. He's employed by the company in a time of evolution, where what once worked has been proven to be flawed, and what the next-best steps should be are largely uncertain. To break this down into unfortunate stereotypes, Woods is too "white" to be considered "black" and too "black" to be considered "white." Thus, dancing and shaking his Afro feels as uncomfortable as him speaking with proper diction and having an affinity for Pokemon and Power Rangers. Squarely caught between two sides of himself at a time where WWE likely has nary a clue of what to do with him, he certainly feels like he's pandering to a crowd that isn't quite yet conditioned to know what to make of a man like him in pro wrestling.
Besides having been an independent professional wrestling manager for a decade, Marcus Dowling is a Washington, DC-based writer who has contributed to a plethora of online and print magazines and newspapers writing about music and popular culture over the past 15 years.
