And then when Swagger and Colter have also run down other fan favorites like heel Englishman Wade Barrett:Īnd Canadian-American face Chris Jericho: Similarly, the idea of a generic Latino "stealing jobs and draining resources" is unpopular, but the charismatic Del Rio is a fan favorite for his fighting spirit, charm and resiliency. But when they see and hear the venom coming from Colter and Swagger, it turns them off. When Americans answer pollsters' questions on immigration, they equate "following the rules" with fairness, and so naturally someone who breaks immigration laws is not deserving of approbation. If the numbers are so convincing, then why do wrestling fans boo Swagger and cheer Del Rio? I think that it has to do with fairness and familiarity. The "non-partisan" (not really) Federation for American Immigration Reform has collated the results of numerous surveys that seem to show that the majority of Americans believe that porous borders (mainly to the south) are a serious threat to the United States and that illegal immigrants "harm" American workers. Swagger and Colter have been booed from the outset, despite the fact that they would seem to represent the views of many "real" Americans. It is well-known that despite what the writers want, it is up to the "WWE Universe" to decide what will be popular (or not). I have found the audience reaction to Swagger and Colter to be very interesting. Slaughter accompanied "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan as he came out to face Swagger and Colter.Īs you can tell from the video, Swagger gets a huge amount of heel "heat" for beating up three legends known for their patriotism, but he also gets berated by the announcers, saying that they want no part of Swagger's America. At one point, on "Old-School" Raw, WWE legends Dusty "The American Dream" Rhodes and Sgt. The only one to stand up for the duo is heel color commentator John "Bradshaw" Layfield, a brash Texan who praises Colter for being a Vietnam Vet (and thus, an American hero). In fact, in an effort to protect the character, announcers are careful to make sure to speculate that Colter has "brainwashed" Swagger, thus putting the blame on the manager, not the wrestler.
The thing that interests me the most about this character development is that Swagger has NEVER been cheered for his xenophobia. Radio host Glenn Beck got in the act, which led to Swagger and Colter inviting Beck onto Monday Night Raw to debate them (naturally, Beck didn't show up). At the beginning of their pairing, some right-wing media picked up on what seemed to be attacks on the Tea Party movement. Mantel is an old pro, but Swagger is an accident-prone goof who has more than once injured people in the ring, including broadcaster Jim Ross a few years ago, and current champion Dolph Ziggler a few weeks ago.ĭespite the arrest and injuring the top wrestler in the company, Swagger has continued to get a "push", perhaps because the WWE hope that the politically tinged message will garner them extra publicity. That is morally reprehensible enough, but it must have been especially hard for Dutch, considering that only a few months before, his granddaughter was killed by a person driving under the influence. Swagger has been known to have problems with marijuana, and shortly after the two were brought together, he was arrested for driving under the influence after a show in Mississippi. Swagger and Colter may be a great pair, but Mantel and Hager do not seem to be ideal companions. Duggan gained his appeal early on when, in the midst of Reagan-era Cold War tensions he prevented "Russian" Nikolai Volkoff and the Iranian Iron Sheik from singing the Soviet national anthem prior to a match. Slaughter, a real-life former Marine, Kurt Angle, the only American Olympic gold medalist to wrestle professionally, and " Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, who appealed to a very base level of patriotism, usually by putting down other countries and getting fans to chant "U-S-A, U-S-A" in response to his every action. Other examples of characters who have gained popularity through their appeal to pro-Americanism include Sgt. Naturally the fans were aware of what was going on and cheered lustily whenever the masked hero managed to prevail over the dastardly Vince McMahon and his minions. At one point, due to storyline exigencies I won't go into here, Hogan was forced to wrestle in a mask, coming out as "The American Patriot", a star-spangled heavyweight whose moves, voice and theme song were remarkably identical to the then-banned Hulkster.