My problem with this article is the assumption it makes about the wrestler known as Awesome Kong.
There have been many “monster” wrestlers in the business who are depicted as savage, ruthless, unstoppable, almost un-human, and a lot of the time they don’t talk. They’re an integral part of the wrestling industry; used in storylines to make a young hero look tough and brave, as tools of revenge or punishment, or just to get the audience cheering as an unpopular wrestler gets squashed by the monster.
And most of the time they’re white men.
Awesome Kong should be viewed not from a racial viewpoint, because race has nothing to do with the character. She should be viewed from a feminist viewpoint; Breaking away from the typical role of women in wrestling as sexually gratifying eyecandy, and allowing a woman to be just as intimidating as the men.
A could example of this would be the recent story feude between Awesome Kong and the group of female wrestlers called The Beautiful People. The spoilt, tanned, blonde bimbos antagonize and insult the less attractive Awesome Kong, and the crowd cheers as she gets her revenge on them.

I’m kinda agreeing with forsoothsayer — I think you’re right in pointing out that the target audience of wrestling is very traditionally white male misogynists. It’s a culture of admonishing women and minorities, as well as anyone of different culture, icluding the educated (think “elitist” remarks we’ve all heard lately). Nonetheless, the display is no less offensive.

At first I thought the niqab was probably used to make the character as Muslim-looking to the viewers as possible, but I then I thought it’s probably necessary to disguise the white woman who’s doing this. I’m sure it’s probably doing double-duty as both.

Sad indeed.

Prior to that, there existed a proto-pornographic wrestling company called Glow, which featured a (villainous) character called Palestina. Played by a white pole-dancer, Palestina dressed in combat fatigues and partnered the ‘Soviet’ wrestler in tag matches. She was particularly vicious and sadistic, defeating her opponents by throwing sand in their eyes (metaphor!) and crushing them into submission.

At least one wrestler with a Middle Eastern gimmick has played the good (babyface) role: Farah the Persian Princess, whose name and image provide an inextricable link to a bygone age in which Orientals were agreeably exotic and tantalizing, but not yet dangerous and antagonistic (to Americans). Farah’s bio at wowe.com is a treasure of Orientalist cliché.

It will be interesting (though quite probably depressing) to see how the Saaed character develops, in our more politically correct (and charged) age. As you mention, the organization has so far resisted expliciting most of the implications of the character’s dress and ‘background’ – itself evidence that TNA feels the need to tiptoe around the subject, rather than indulging in the kind of blatant racism incarnated by Sheba.

“I’m pretty sure Spike knows that a white person impersonating another race is totally wrong on about a thousand levels –”

As much as I wish this were true, given the intense level and acceptance of Islamophobia in the US today, I have serious doubts that they do. This form of prejudice is not only acceptable, it’s the in thing it seems.

I’m pretty sure Spike knows that a white person impersonating another race is totally wrong on about a thousand levels –