2. WWE Has A Minimal Understanding At Best Of Modern Minority Cultures And Minority Cool
For as much as we could discuss the pitiable legacy of WWE's Latinos either being brave luchadores or lawn maintenance men and matadors, R-Truth basically having the gimmick of being a rapper from 1993 for a combined decade in WWE gives a far better understanding of the issue surrounding WWE's lack of modern awareness of minorities. While every other rapper you see in a rap video in 2014 is wearing skinny jeans and hypebeast sneakers, here's R-Truth in baggy, airbrushed jeans and a pair of Jordans. Yes, Jordans are timeless, but even when airbrushing was all of the rage, when is the last time you've ever seen a black rapper in airbrushed baggy jeans? Exactly. WWE's tragically un-hip when it comes to minorities. Even resident rap loving and minority culture-adopting white guy John Cena still wears baggy shirts and jorts like it's the mid-90s, and he's a near 40-year old man in 2014. Why are R-Truth, Mark Henry, Kofi Kingston, Big E., Xavier Woods, Darren Young, David Otunga, Titus O'Neil and Sin Cara at the bottom of the card? Above all else, they're not unique. They are not allowed to embrace what makes them a minority in 2014, and as well are hamstrung by scripting that makes them all appear to be unfathomably un-hip and lacking the broader character associations afforded to the larger white performer population in WWE.
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.
