Although the vast majority of the Inter Wrestling Community had long made up their mind on the new direction that TNA had decided to take Orlando Jordan in, it was picked up by many of the gossip-sphere, and they went buck wild with it. One Perez Hilton decided to chuckle into his fat neck and pseudo-sarcastic claim that ‘THIS ISN’T GAY LOL’, a marked unsubtle reaction to an unsubtle gimmick.
For those who are unaware (as this blog is essentially read as a last resort by my more bored friends, I’m assuming it’s everyone) Orlando Jordan was a fairly generic heel that was until recently under the employ of WWE. Struggling to find anything to do with him, Jordan approached WWE with the idea of using his real-life bisexuality in an angle, an idea that Vince no doubt loved as his love of all that is grotesque is well documented. This, obviously, never went anywhere, and eventually Jordan was sent on his merry way and let go. In the interim, Hulk Hogan & Eric Bischoff joined TNA, and in one of their first acts, acquired a raft of freelance talent including OJ. Again not having anything for him, OJ once again suggested his bisexuality be a gimmick and this time TNA went with it. Thus, TNA’s audience, made up almost exclusively of idiots, were subjected to the sight of a 6’ something black man being lowered from the ceiling wrapped in caution tape, rubbing lotion on himself before slithering out of the ring.
As you may well imagine, this did not go down well. Attacks came from all sides calling it ‘creepy’ ‘disgusting’ and varying levels of homophobia emanated from most sections of the wrestling audience. Indeed, even those working for TNA when trying to defend it were clumsy and insulting in their support. D’Lo Brown tried to invoke Lady Gaga, yet ended up making a crass comparison by saying ‘Well, you don’t know if she’s a dude or not’. Come on D’Lo, really?
It’s hardly the first time that sexuality has come into play in wrestling. At the height of the Attitude Era, one of the most intriguing characters was that of Goldust. The son of the American Dream Dusty Rhodes, a character that was based around his ‘Common Man’ charm and was one of the most enduring wrestlers to this day. Thus, when Goldust appeared, wearing a gold body suit, gold make up and a platinum blond wig groping and acting infatuated with his opponents it really jarred with the preexisting archetype of the badass wrestler. His feud and eventual Backlot Brawl really demonstrated the division between the old and the new. Piper had come up through the different feds and had been involved in some of the most brutal matches of all time; His dog collar match with Greg Valentine being one notable example. He was old school and angry. Goldust was flamboyant, used mind games and his whole schtick was a send up of popular culture and represent the new direction that the WWE was taking. Needless to say, they both beat the holy hell out of each other, and Goldust was begrudgingly given respect, by simply taking it.
However, regardless of Goldust’s precedent, the OJ character he is pedding these days is simply out of place. The reason Goldust was and still is such an enduring character is the fact that there is an element of mystery about his sexuality, and any attempts to classify him are met with confusion. Eric Bischoff once wrote ‘Controversy = Cash’, and unfortunately in this case he has fallen completely flat. It’s not that he has put a sexual minority on screen and forced people to rethink the way they think about sexuality; all they are thinking is what a shitty wrestler OJ is. Indeed, I’m not even sure the wrestling community really cares that much about OJ being bisexual. Kevin Nash has always been relatively enlightened about LGBT issues; Pat Pattersen was the first ever Intercontinental champion and was/is openly gay. I think the central issue is how shitty of a gimmick it actually is. It’s crass and vulgar and done in a completely artless manner. At the base of it, it’s a poorly done Lady Gaga rip off, and the introduction of Jordan’s real life bisexuality into it attempts to give it an edge, but all it does is give off the impression of an increasingly desperate booking team.
Do The Hammerlock! 