Wrestling Deja Vu 05.11.09: Gold and Glamour

Posted by Joseph F. Martinez on 05.11.2009

Reader request week is back for its second go-around. Today’s WDV takes a look at two of wrestling’s more flamboyant characters. So take a gander inside and see how “The Exotic” Adrian Street matches up with Goldust.

Hey yo. Welcome to the column, reader. This week, Wrestling Deja Vu goes back to the readers for a topic suggestion and I've found a great couple of wrestlers to compare.

It can be argued that flamboyance and pro-wrestling go hand in hand. The flashy outfits, the magnificent pyro and the larger than life characters are all pretty out there. Creativity goes a long way in the development process. Sometimes, you get a wrestler who just beats people up with no substance or flair. He or she has no bells or whistles and just does their job. Other times, you get characters like "The Exotic" Adrian Street and the "Bizarre One" Goldust. Street and Goldust were two wrestlers who explored the depths of the ambiguously gay character.

These guys went to an extreme with their gimmicks and played their roles to perfection. Street inspired the Goldust character (and apparently former WWE wrestler, Rico's) and the similarities between the two are great.



It's strange watching some of the promos of Adrian Street or Goldust and then seeing them in a serious role, but it's just a testament of how well they pulled off their characters. Street apparently opened up a school (more information here) but had to close it down after some hurricane damage. Anyways, enough about how well these guys did their jobs and onto feedback from last week's column.

Looking back

Guest#1468: I'd say that judging the utility of tag teams by the amount of merchandise they sell and the ratings they bring in is short sighted. Tag teams serve to give midcarders ring and air time. It adds to their experience while hopefully helping them address weaknesses. Can it really be said that any midcarder (not upper midcarder) or lower actually puts butts in seats? Would HBK be what he is (and could have been without the back injury) without the time he spent in tag teams?

I think this is a valid argument. Sadly, the WWE lives in a "what have you done for me lately" environment and it seems tag team wrestling is at an all-time low. One of the reasons I initially said the elimination of good tag team wrestling was no big deal was because there really isn't a point if the WWE gives this division a lackadaisical booking effort.

Devin: Wonder how Thorn would have been used had they gone ahead with the Hade Vansen stable that was set to confront The Undertaker? I can't picture him as a lackey, personally.

As for Gangrel - well, I think what hurt him the most during his run with the company was that he was injury-prone. Not quite "Ahmed Johnson injury-prone", but still enough so that WWE/F brass weren't going to put him in a major spot after a while.

Interesting piece!

I think Kevin Thorn would have eventually become the leader of this group. Vansen is only 5'11 and Thorn at 6'3 would have been a better booked opponent for the Undertaker.

Guest#2288: WWE missed the boat on Gangrel. Could have easily been upper mid card. With an entrance like that, taker vs. Gangrel at a big 5 ppv could've elevated this guy.

And Thorn should've just stuck to his Se7en gimmick he had in the Indies.

Guest#4971: Gangrel and Kevin Thorn were both awful... absolute garbage... surely it's pretty obvious?

And this is why I said in the teaser that you either love Gangrel and Kevin Thorn or you don't care for them. Onto this week's column! The over/under for the usage of the word flamboyant is at 6.

AND INTRODUCTING THE PARTICIPANTS

Being the son of legendary wrestler Dusty Rhodes probably wasn't very easy for a guy like Dustin Rhodes. He was very able in the ring, but it's difficult for some guys to escape the shadow of their father. Rhodes had a lot of success in WCW, but never became a main eventer. He came to the WWE in 1995 and was given the Goldust character. Goldust was a fixture of the midcard scene up until 1999 (when he went back to WCW). During his stay in the WWE, he feuded with the likes of Razor Ramon, Vader and Jeff Jarrett. He came back to the WWE in 2002, stayed there for a while and started wrestling off and on between TNA, the independents and the WWE.



WHERE IS HE NOW?: Goldust re-signed with the WWE after the 2008 installment of Cyber Sunday. He's still under contract with the company and appears sparingly. His most recent appearance saw him wrestle in a losing effort to Matt Hardy.



There are only a handful of individuals who can be described as "ahead of their time" and Adrian Street was definitely one of those guys. He was a hot prospect in England despite his size and was a very tough guy. Time passed, titles were won and eventually Street wanted to become more of a flamboyant guy because of the glitz and glamour of some of America's wrestlers. One day, Street donned some baby blue gear and wrestled with hopes the crowd would love him. This was not the case as fans teased him for dressing up in a feminine manner. Street then did something that sparked a very long, influential career. He embraced the criticism and began throwing kisses to the crowd. The Exotic One was born. He wrestled for several decades and to this day is still involved in the industry.

WHERE IS HE NOW?: According to his site biography, he wants to wrestle after the year 2010. The thing says he's still active. The last documented match I could find of his was in 2008, so maybe he can wrestle after 2010. He sells wrestling gear at his store, The Bizarre Bazzar.

GOLD AND GLAMOUR

Goldust's WWE.com biography spares no time before calling a comparison between the "Bizarre One" and Adrian Street. As previously stated Goldust took a page out of Street's book and applied some of that to his character. The Goldust character was a guy enamored with some of the more flamboyant aspects of life. He came into the ring wearing a wig and a very elaborate jacket. In the ring, he would intimidate his opponents with maneuvers such as the Butt Bump or his trademark move, Shattered Dreams.

Of course, this was not to be outdone by Adrian Street. Not only was Adrian Street an individual who wore a ton of makeup and had his hair in pig tails upon arrival into the ring, but he did music videos and other promotion materials to get over the fact that he was very comfortable with himself. Kissing his opponents to avoid a pin was just one of the things Street did. Goldust was a bizarre individual, but you cannot say he was a weirder character than Adrian Street.

HILARITY ENSUES



It would be no surprise to me if I discovered that the outrageous domain of Goldust and Adrian Street disgusted some of the viewers. However, these individuals had many moments where they were hilarious. Goldust's interaction with then tag team partner, Booker T contained a number of funny promos. Booker T was the perfect comedic foil to the crazy Goldust character. A lot of the jokes came from ambiguous statements, but they're still good for a couple of laughs. Before Goldy's run in WCW (prior to the death of said promotion), he was more of a serious character, but after, he was allowed to show more of his comedic side. Depending on what you find funny, moments like his bout with Tourette's Syndrome were either distasteful or funny. I happen to have no opinion towards the matter but I still acknowledge that some people were entertained. Adrian Street had a ton of his hilarious moments that came in the form of the aforementioned music videos. Not only are they funny, but some of these things are extremely catchy. Street appears to be having a good time in the videos. Most of these videos capture the life of the ambiguously gay wrestler and they just make for entertaining moments.

PARTNERS IN CRIME

Valets aren't as common as they once were, but there are still some floating around the industry. A pretty lady can do a lot to help hide a wrestler's flaws, but they can also help complement a character.

According to his website biography, Adrian Street got into marine tropical fish. He would purchase these because he felt they were extravagant, just like himself. The woman he purchased them from went by the name Linda and the two eventually got together. Miss Linda accompanied Street to the ring and they were frequently involved in inter-gender tag matches. Street claims that he was one of the first people to come to the ring with a valet, and there may be some truth to that statement. Linda and Street seemed perfect for one another.

In the nineties, another pair got together.Terri Runnels debuted for the WWF in 1996 under the name Marlena and served as the valet for Goldust. Just like Linda and Street, the pair was married in real life. Marlena and Goldust didn't enjoy a long run together in the company, but they were engaged in several feuds, including one with Brian Pillman that had Marlena put up her managerial duties on the line. The two split on-screen in 1997 and eventually split in real life (unlike Street and Linda who are still together).

WDV FACE-OFF

"The Exotic" Adrian Street (w/ Miss Linda) versus Goldust (w/ Marlena)

As soon as the extravagant entrances are done, the two wrestlers locked up. Goldust went behind street and delivered a reverse DDT to get the early momentum. Goldust lifted Street and hit the Exotic One with a neckbreaker. Miss Linda is up on the ropes and is trying to get Goldust's attention. She's successful, but out comes Marlena who takes Linda out of the match. Goldust turns his attention back to Adrian Street. He makes his way towards the downed wrestler, but is met with a kick to the shin. Street elbowed the staggering Goldust and locked in a quick half crab. After Goldust reached the ropes, Street let go and prances around the ring, showboating for the fans. Goldust is up and stuns Street with a punch to the back of the head. The Bizarre One Irish whips Street into the corner and sets Street up for the Shattered Dreams. Street is in the corner and Goldust steps back to deliver the move….but the ref interferes and stops Goldy from getting the DQ. This allows Street to lock in a sleeper hold. Goldust is out, but Street lets go and launches himself towards to ropes and onto Goldust with a splash for the win.

THE RUNDOWN

There will always be some people that are fully against this type of character, but the main message these guys send is a fun one. Their flamboyant style and awkward offense brought an aura to the ring that isn't normally there. During promos, Street and Goldust had the ability to be weird, hilarious, serious and sometimes a combination of them all. They weren't the greatest technical wrestlers, but they knew how to put on a show and that's why a lot of people remember guys like these. Of course, the original is always better than the second coming, so it's unfair to Goldy to say that Street was the better "flamboyant character." It can be said that both these guys are entertaining and someday, another wrestler will make it to the major leagues with a similar gimmick. If they're wise, they'll watch tapes of Street, Goldust (and to a lesser extent, Rico).

In Case You Missed It

Had a busy weekend? No worries, the following are all of the columns posted over the weekend.

411Mania's Squared Circle News Report

Contemplating CHIKARA

The Wrestling Bard

Column of Honor

The Bell to Bell News Report

The Triple Threat

For The Record

Please Don‘t Hate

Goodnight, Travel Well

• Judgment Day is shaping up to be a nice card with some old matchups and at least one new one. I'm anxious to see how CM Punk and Umaga mesh together and if we'll get a MVP-William Regal match thrown on the card. It'd also be cool to see John Morrison get a singles match.

• Speaking of Judgment Day, tonight is going to be the start of the go-home shows to the PPV. Some interaction between Batista and Orton should go down tonight as well as the addition of some new matches. I hope there is no McMahon sighting, but it wouldn't shock me at all if that happened.

• And that's going to be all for this column. I hope you enjoyed it and plan on returning to the column next week when I return with another examination of some of wrestling's best recycled gimmicks. Don‘t forget to bookmark 411mania for all of your pop culture needs. Until then, see y'all in seven.