Ahead of 2002, two WWE Magazine writers pitched Stephanie McMahon the idea to introduce a character that would combat gay stereotypes.
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, those writers eyed Brock Lesnar as the candidate for the gimmick.
Per the story, Lesnar would have been introduced as a dominant, main-event-level character who openly professed his homosexuality. The character would have directly confronted stereotypes about the masculinity and toughness of gay men.
Lesnar’s character would have been presented as a strong babyface; the heels would wage insults based on his sexuality only to be proven wrong when he defeated them in the ring. Since homophobia would have been associated with the villainous characters, WWE would have been communicating a positive message about tolerance.
The likelihood that such a message would potentially resonate with the mainstream media — and thus gain WWE valuable brand cachet — was certainly recognized.
At the time, one obvious concern was the fact that Lesnar, himself, was not homosexual. Since his true sexuality would have surely gotten out, it may have undermined the credibility of the character — and risked exposing it as a branding stunt.
Whether that was a contributing factor remains is unclear (according to the Observer, “some of the veterans in the [writers’] room felt the very idea was crazy”), but the writers never received a direct response to that pitch. Brock Lesnar did not debut as a homosexual character, and Billy & Chuck, the wrestlers who did perform as gay characters, were not presented as stereotype-crushing main-eventers.
[Image: WWE]
