It’s no secret that WWE has a very controversial past regarding handling sensitive current events, and nowhere was that more evident than the dance-off that took place between Brodus Clay and Lord Tensai in Las Vegas seven years ago. Believe it or not, the original set up for this bout was a lingerie pillow fight.
While Brodus Clay was smart enough to wear his regular attire, his opponent wasn’t as lucky and showed up decked out in full lingerie. Keep in mind that this would pretty much mark the last time in WWE history that the company would try something like this. It was also the end of what could have been a very promising career for Tensai in WWE.
The bit mainly focused on how goofy Tensai looked in lingerie, but it occurred during a period when transphobia was becoming a minority opinion. As a result, a lot of fans either found it disgusting or were just left plain uncomfortable by the fact that a 200-pound man was wearing lingerie to the ring.
Tensai, Brodus Clay, and everyone involved in this storyline deserved better. Instead, however, Tensai was paired up with Brodus Clay in the coming weeks as a dancing gimmick. The team later picked up female wrestlers Naomi and Cameron but continued to toil in the midcard and wasn’t really involved with the title picture at all.
With that being said and the segment being the equivalent of two trains colliding at full speed, one has to be at least a little saddened that this was the last time WWE would do this. Not only is that a massive slap in the face to the bra and panties matches that had every teenager staying up late at night in the ’90s, but also to the pioneers that paved the way.
Furthermore, it is hypocritical of WWE to sit there and only show women in a dominant light when it is perfectly acceptable to portray them as sexual beings. WWE doesn’t seem to realize that female talent can be subjects of sexual desires and still be dominant femme fatales that can hang with the guys.
It’s almost like a slap in the face to the city of Las Vegas, now known as the place where the last lingerie pillow fight took place and it wasn’t even an actual pillow fight.
In the end, WWE needs to learn balance and to be more open about what they do with their female talent. They also need to suck it up and be willing to take risks again,
