By Nathan P Hunt
It is said
that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, and there are few characters who have been recycled and re-used quite as much as the one created by Adrian Street back in the 1960's. The 'Exotic' gimmick which he adopted was designed to intimidate opponents and fans alike by pushing an outlandish, arrogant and overtly homosexual character into their consciousness for heel effect. Homophobia was quite rife at that time in general society, but the character was so brash and flamboyant that it would naturally be reviled by anyone, whether homophobic or not. So creative and captivating was the character that elements of Adrian Street's act are still being used all over the world, including current incarnations of the character in various forms on WWE's current product.
The creation of Cody Rhodes’ ‘Stardust’ character in 2014 to mirror big brother Dustin’s already infamous ‘Goldust’ persona is a great compliment. Considering that the outlandish gimmick made Dustin (and others, such as his father, Dusty Rhodes) think that it was some kind of joke or rib against the Rhodes family, Dustin resolved to get the gimmick over, and he outperformed all expectations. Given that the gimmick was introduced in 1995, and still has a place and value on WWE’s roster, it is probably surprising to newer fans that there was ever any doubt that the character would be successful, but the original version of the Goldust character was quite different from the version that we see on the PG rated WWE of today, and was by no means guaranteed success.
The character was a movie-obsessed, androgynous and sexually suggestive master of mind games, whose look was patterned after the Oscars statue received by winners of the Academy Awards. He would stalk potential opponents, cut suggestive promos and would adopt mannerisms and manoeuvres to play up the sexual element of the character, such as rubbing up against opponents, groping, blowing kisses and taunts such as the way he drags his hands up his torso while slowly, loudly inhaling. He was designed to play off any feelings of homophobia, but beyond that, was so utterly outrageous and bizarre that even the least homophobic members of the audience would be incited. Shortly after the character debuted, he was joined on-screen by Dustin Rhodes’ real life wife, Terri, as Goldust’s valet/manager. She was referred to as his ‘director’, as part of the Hollywood-obsessed element of the character. Goldust was considered way ahead of its time and incredibly controversial. Dustin Rhodes recalls in his autobiography (Cross Rhodes: Goldust, Out of the Darkness) that even Vince McMahon, who loves to court controversy on his programming, thought the gimmick was sometimes too much and that Dustin should dial it down. As controversial as the character was in 1995, Adrian Street, had invented the ‘Exotic’ character back in the 1960s, where ‘controversial’ could be considered a vast understatement of the reaction he received.
Street has stated that he invented the character by accident. He had been bodybuilding since his teenage years and wanted to showcase himself as a ‘pretty boy’ who he felt the female fans would swoon over. To this end, his bleach-blond hair and tanned, muscular physique would be accentuated by posing and presenting himself as a heartthrob. When he realised that the reaction he was getting from the audience was one of disdain and blatant homophobia, he chose to play up to the crowd to incite them further, taunting them by blowing kisses, later wearing make-up & glitter, putting his hair in ponytails and wearing increasingly outrageous outfits. He would kiss his opponents to get into their heads and escape from holds & pins. He would also suck on lollipops, gaze longingly into the camera, jump around the ring in a feminine, skipping fashion and would gyrate his hips in suggestive ways towards his opponents.
In 1969 he met his wife (Miss Linda) and she became part of his act as one of the first female managers/valets in pro wrestling history, much like Dustin used his real-life wife as his valet many years later. Michael Hayes commented on a WWE Legends Of Wrestling roundtable discussion show that not only was Adrian Street one of the toughest men to ever perform in a pro wrestling ring, but that “Miss Linda could kick your ass” too. Despite this, Miss Linda played a subservient role to Adrian, being referred to as his ‘servant’ rather than manager or valet, removing his robes as part of his entrance and even allowing him to step on her back to enter the ring. This incited the crowd even more than before she was added to the act, as the idea of a supposedly ‘gay man’ using a woman in this way was considered disgusting by the audiences of the time, who in many areas were still in the mind-set of women being the fairer and gentler sex, to be protected and shielded by men.
Street would go on to author an impressive six books, which are highly recommended to any pro wrestling historians, and he is currently looking forward to the release of a sixth. He led his own wrestling school which was unfortunately damaged by a hurricane and so had close it’s doors in 2004. He only recently retired on June 14th 2014, but in the meantime he & Linda have designed ring gear for wrestlers which they marketed through their website, most famously designing the ring gear for Mick Foley’s ‘Dude Love’ character. Despite being newly retired, his legacy can be seen throughout pro wrestling history, in characters such as Orlando Jordan’s overtly sexual character in TNA in 2010 & Rico Constantino’s manager/stylist character and his wildly extravagant gimmick which followed on from it. There are of course countless other performers who have been influenced by Street’s innovative, creative and ground-breaking use of psychology and character development, but it is testament to his genius that no less than four performers, across three acts (Adam Rose, Fandango & the Goldust & Stardust duo) are currently being showcased on WWE’s current product. Adam Rose even uses the name ‘The Exotic Express’ for his band of followers, which is directly derivative of the ‘Exotic Adrian Street’ ring name employed by the legend, and has adopted many of Street’s mannerisms, including sucking on lollipops during his entrance and in promos, and jumping on the spot with arms stretched out over his head. Fandango may not be as directly inspired by Street, but certainly uses the same psychology to incite fans and incorporates some of the aspects that made Adrian Street a huge international star. It is, however, the success and entertainment value of the Rhodes brothers that is particularly noteworthy when looking at those who have been inspired by his innovative and unique character.
The Rhodes brothers were put together to give much needed depth to the WWE tag-team division, which has started to flourish for the first time in over a decade. They had exciting, successful feuds with the newly returned New Age Outlaws and with the Usos, and solid matches with every permanent and temporary team on the roster. With any successful team made up of singular performers, there is an eventual shift towards a united identity, to establish the team as being an act in itself, so teams tend to dress alike and share similar traits or styles, both in-ring and out. The Rhodes brothers were in stark contrast to each other, with the bizarre, face-painted Goldust teaming with his conservative-by-contrast, alleged pretty-boy brother. In order to further the team and to establish a united identity for the brothers, there were invariably only two options – to strip down the Goldust gimmick, having Dustin simply appearing as Dustin Rhodes, or to package Cody in a more similar fashion to Goldust. It was decided that the latter option would be in the best interests of the team, and so Stardust was unleashed on the WWE fans on 16th June 2014. The feedback on social media over the next couple of days was almost all negative, with many fans speculating that WWE were punishing Cody, or that this gimmick would kill his career. Basically the same rumblings that were made at the inception of the original Goldust character, but once again, the Rhodes’ family would prove the detractors wrong.
Stardust is a similar, yet very different incarnation of the bizarre and exotic gimmick. He plays the character with giddy, almost childlike excitement and a sense of wonderment that makes him both endearing and aloof. He is believably outlandish, and the ‘intergalactic’ element of his promos brings a unique layer to the character, separating it from the ‘master of mind-games’ character of his brother, while remaining in the same sphere of mildly disturbing craziness. In WWE’s PG product, there is no room for the overtly sexual, hermaphroditic, homoerotic, androgynous or otherwise controversial characters that were portrayed by Adrian Street or by Dustin in his original run with the Goldust character. Goldust, while still bizarre and outlandish, has had to dial back the sexuality but thankfully Dustin is a talented enough performer that he finds alternative ways to keep the character interesting, entertaining and relevant. Similarly, Cody is finding his own distinct ways of being the bizarre and exotic character without sexuality. Both are doing an outstanding job, which must be sincere flattery indeed for Adrian Street, who paved the way for these characters to evolve and was more than a passing influence on the success of these and others who tried to recreate the magic that he invented. Needless to say, the current crop of exotic-styled characters owe a lot to Adrian Street's influence, example and unparalleled creativity.
The creation of Cody Rhodes’ ‘Stardust’ character in 2014 to mirror big brother Dustin’s already infamous ‘Goldust’ persona is a great compliment. Considering that the outlandish gimmick made Dustin (and others, such as his father, Dusty Rhodes) think that it was some kind of joke or rib against the Rhodes family, Dustin resolved to get the gimmick over, and he outperformed all expectations. Given that the gimmick was introduced in 1995, and still has a place and value on WWE’s roster, it is probably surprising to newer fans that there was ever any doubt that the character would be successful, but the original version of the Goldust character was quite different from the version that we see on the PG rated WWE of today, and was by no means guaranteed success.
The character was a movie-obsessed, androgynous and sexually suggestive master of mind games, whose look was patterned after the Oscars statue received by winners of the Academy Awards. He would stalk potential opponents, cut suggestive promos and would adopt mannerisms and manoeuvres to play up the sexual element of the character, such as rubbing up against opponents, groping, blowing kisses and taunts such as the way he drags his hands up his torso while slowly, loudly inhaling. He was designed to play off any feelings of homophobia, but beyond that, was so utterly outrageous and bizarre that even the least homophobic members of the audience would be incited. Shortly after the character debuted, he was joined on-screen by Dustin Rhodes’ real life wife, Terri, as Goldust’s valet/manager. She was referred to as his ‘director’, as part of the Hollywood-obsessed element of the character. Goldust was considered way ahead of its time and incredibly controversial. Dustin Rhodes recalls in his autobiography (Cross Rhodes: Goldust, Out of the Darkness) that even Vince McMahon, who loves to court controversy on his programming, thought the gimmick was sometimes too much and that Dustin should dial it down. As controversial as the character was in 1995, Adrian Street, had invented the ‘Exotic’ character back in the 1960s, where ‘controversial’ could be considered a vast understatement of the reaction he received.
Street has stated that he invented the character by accident. He had been bodybuilding since his teenage years and wanted to showcase himself as a ‘pretty boy’ who he felt the female fans would swoon over. To this end, his bleach-blond hair and tanned, muscular physique would be accentuated by posing and presenting himself as a heartthrob. When he realised that the reaction he was getting from the audience was one of disdain and blatant homophobia, he chose to play up to the crowd to incite them further, taunting them by blowing kisses, later wearing make-up & glitter, putting his hair in ponytails and wearing increasingly outrageous outfits. He would kiss his opponents to get into their heads and escape from holds & pins. He would also suck on lollipops, gaze longingly into the camera, jump around the ring in a feminine, skipping fashion and would gyrate his hips in suggestive ways towards his opponents.
In 1969 he met his wife (Miss Linda) and she became part of his act as one of the first female managers/valets in pro wrestling history, much like Dustin used his real-life wife as his valet many years later. Michael Hayes commented on a WWE Legends Of Wrestling roundtable discussion show that not only was Adrian Street one of the toughest men to ever perform in a pro wrestling ring, but that “Miss Linda could kick your ass” too. Despite this, Miss Linda played a subservient role to Adrian, being referred to as his ‘servant’ rather than manager or valet, removing his robes as part of his entrance and even allowing him to step on her back to enter the ring. This incited the crowd even more than before she was added to the act, as the idea of a supposedly ‘gay man’ using a woman in this way was considered disgusting by the audiences of the time, who in many areas were still in the mind-set of women being the fairer and gentler sex, to be protected and shielded by men.
Street would go on to author an impressive six books, which are highly recommended to any pro wrestling historians, and he is currently looking forward to the release of a sixth. He led his own wrestling school which was unfortunately damaged by a hurricane and so had close it’s doors in 2004. He only recently retired on June 14th 2014, but in the meantime he & Linda have designed ring gear for wrestlers which they marketed through their website, most famously designing the ring gear for Mick Foley’s ‘Dude Love’ character. Despite being newly retired, his legacy can be seen throughout pro wrestling history, in characters such as Orlando Jordan’s overtly sexual character in TNA in 2010 & Rico Constantino’s manager/stylist character and his wildly extravagant gimmick which followed on from it. There are of course countless other performers who have been influenced by Street’s innovative, creative and ground-breaking use of psychology and character development, but it is testament to his genius that no less than four performers, across three acts (Adam Rose, Fandango & the Goldust & Stardust duo) are currently being showcased on WWE’s current product. Adam Rose even uses the name ‘The Exotic Express’ for his band of followers, which is directly derivative of the ‘Exotic Adrian Street’ ring name employed by the legend, and has adopted many of Street’s mannerisms, including sucking on lollipops during his entrance and in promos, and jumping on the spot with arms stretched out over his head. Fandango may not be as directly inspired by Street, but certainly uses the same psychology to incite fans and incorporates some of the aspects that made Adrian Street a huge international star. It is, however, the success and entertainment value of the Rhodes brothers that is particularly noteworthy when looking at those who have been inspired by his innovative and unique character.
The Rhodes brothers were put together to give much needed depth to the WWE tag-team division, which has started to flourish for the first time in over a decade. They had exciting, successful feuds with the newly returned New Age Outlaws and with the Usos, and solid matches with every permanent and temporary team on the roster. With any successful team made up of singular performers, there is an eventual shift towards a united identity, to establish the team as being an act in itself, so teams tend to dress alike and share similar traits or styles, both in-ring and out. The Rhodes brothers were in stark contrast to each other, with the bizarre, face-painted Goldust teaming with his conservative-by-contrast, alleged pretty-boy brother. In order to further the team and to establish a united identity for the brothers, there were invariably only two options – to strip down the Goldust gimmick, having Dustin simply appearing as Dustin Rhodes, or to package Cody in a more similar fashion to Goldust. It was decided that the latter option would be in the best interests of the team, and so Stardust was unleashed on the WWE fans on 16th June 2014. The feedback on social media over the next couple of days was almost all negative, with many fans speculating that WWE were punishing Cody, or that this gimmick would kill his career. Basically the same rumblings that were made at the inception of the original Goldust character, but once again, the Rhodes’ family would prove the detractors wrong.
Stardust is a similar, yet very different incarnation of the bizarre and exotic gimmick. He plays the character with giddy, almost childlike excitement and a sense of wonderment that makes him both endearing and aloof. He is believably outlandish, and the ‘intergalactic’ element of his promos brings a unique layer to the character, separating it from the ‘master of mind-games’ character of his brother, while remaining in the same sphere of mildly disturbing craziness. In WWE’s PG product, there is no room for the overtly sexual, hermaphroditic, homoerotic, androgynous or otherwise controversial characters that were portrayed by Adrian Street or by Dustin in his original run with the Goldust character. Goldust, while still bizarre and outlandish, has had to dial back the sexuality but thankfully Dustin is a talented enough performer that he finds alternative ways to keep the character interesting, entertaining and relevant. Similarly, Cody is finding his own distinct ways of being the bizarre and exotic character without sexuality. Both are doing an outstanding job, which must be sincere flattery indeed for Adrian Street, who paved the way for these characters to evolve and was more than a passing influence on the success of these and others who tried to recreate the magic that he invented. Needless to say, the current crop of exotic-styled characters owe a lot to Adrian Street's influence, example and unparalleled creativity.
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(This article is updated from one I originally posted on the 'Inside The Squared
Circle' website on 25th July 2014, but was moved here when the site closed.)
