10 Wrestling Moments Everyone Misunderstood As Kids

3. Why Is Akeem...White?

Akeem WWE
WWE.com

Akeem was a gross caricature of the African American male, and he was white. He was reborn in a voodoo ceremony that also took place in something resembling a ghetto, the conflation of racism of which is almost impressive.

This totally bamboozled our basic grasp of geography and forced parents the world over to answer some deeply uncomfortable questions. The WWF made sure to repeat the phrase "deepest, darkest Africa" so many times, which only added to the confusion. As kids, we saw the world in black and white, and so, when white became black, we didn't have a bloody clue what to make of it. Our pure hearts didn't detect the racism, but we did detect the race. What was going on? Could you just...change...the colour of your skin? Did Michael Jackson do that too? What is life?

Oh, they just wanted to take the p*ss out of Dusty Rhodes, whose...affectations and lisp delighted the WWF into a rib.

But how we were to know? How we were to know that Vince McMahon thought nothing of devising a racist-as-sh*t angle just to needle the American Dream, a man he hired the very next year?

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick (Creative Writing BA Hons) is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over a decade of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential UK 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 AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and 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!