The El Grande American character has gained a lot of backlash from the Mexican wrestling community and others who find it to be a very racist gimmick. However, Konnan doesn’t look like that as he shut down all racist allegations against the character.
While talking about Keepin’ IT 100 podcast, Konnan was asked about racism accusations directed at the El Grande American character. He said people complain about everything, even if you give them something worthwhile like a gold bar and they still find a reason to complain. He said you can do anything with the character. I noticed that there are so many creative options, as he is in a big match or storyline.
“A lot of people complain, mates? People complain about everything. You can give people a bar of gold, and they say, “Oh, there’s a scar in the corner. You can take it as much as you like. Mask vs. Mask match, Championship match – you can do what you want with him.
Conan also said wrestling is always slow when it comes to understanding race. In the past, people didn’t know much about it and it seemed like it was okay today. He said that wrestling has become better, like society, and now he shows more respect.
Conan explained that if he is kidding about race today, it must be done in a clever and entertaining way, not in a mean and obvious way. He sees the character as a parody or a joke, and doesn’t think that’s the problem.
“Let me just say this. After all, peers, wrestling is always behind the curve of racial sensitivity — whether it’s black, white, Japanese, Japanese, it’s anyone.
You can’t just be outwardly racial. You have to be very interesting and subtle about it. But it’s a parody, do you know what I’m saying? There is no problem. ”
Conan said the most important thing is to ask if the character would tease Mexicans in a sly way. And it’s not for him. He gave examples of things that he thought were offensive, like when Mexicole rode a lawnmower or when Lucha House parties used a piñata. He found them insulting, but said that El Grande American characters weren’t.
“I think it’s the most important part – does that threaten Mexicans? No, it’s not. If you remember the lawn mowers, Mexicole – very sneaky.
This comes after it has already been confirmed that El Grande Americano will be featured at a future AAA event following the acquisition of WWE. Anyway, some people think the characters are outdated and insulting, but Conan says it’s a fun throwback to classic wrestling and it’s not intended to hurt, and debate about the characters won’t stop soon.
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