10 WWE Gimmicks With Racist Undertones
8. Virgil
Lost to a generation of young fans experiencing their first taste of pro wrestling in the 1980s, the power dynamic between Ted Dibiase and Virgil remains uncomfortably driven as much by race as it was the fictitious fortune.
But it wasn't just bad taste that should have seen the gimmick stutter long before it did. Almost everything about the persona was a rib. The name itself was a joke at Dusty Rhodes' expense, doubled down upon thanks to accusations from many within the industry that 'The American Dream's patter was a stolen style rather than an homage.
He'd never escape his fate as a downtrodden inside joke even after turning babyface in WWE. A mid-1990s divide crossing saw him stripped of his refinery to represent the lowest level of the New World Order totem pole as 'Vincent'.
Just as he was used and abused for the first shot across the bow, so too was he considered worthy of the receipt. WCW even renamed him 'Shane' as he fell further down the ranks, as if the joke hadn't already been beaten half to death.