During the Ruthless Aggression era, WWE star Jimmy Wang Yang had one of the most wildly inappropriate gimmicks.
Known for his high-flying ability, Jimmy Wang Yang acted as an “Asian redneck” in his heyday on SmackDown.
Wanting to live up to his gimmick, Jimmy Wang Yang suggested adding controversial layering to his wrestling gear before being advised against it by a WWE Hall of Famer.
Speaking with Chris Van Vliet, the 44-year-old revealed that Undertaker told him to stop wearing an entrance jacket that featured the Confederate flag on the back.
“The most offensive thing is me wearing the Confederate flag on my back. They said ‘Hey, we want you to be an Asian redneck.’ Okay, what do you think of? I think of rodeos. I think of NASCAR, Dukes of Hazard and General Lee. I’m like, Oh yeah, I’m an Asian redneck, so I gotta wear the Confederate flag on the back of my vest and go out there.”
After getting a brief history lesson from the Deadman, Jimmy Wang Yang scrapped the vest entirely.
“But if anybody knows what that symbolizes, it’s God-awful. It’s horrible. I wish I hadn’t done that. Undertaker is the one who told me. He saw me wearing it, ‘Jimmy, take that f*cking sh*t off!’ I said I’m playing a character, an Asian redneck. ‘That sh*t means some horrible sh*t. Take it off.’ All right. Then I take off, and [the show producers] said, ‘Hey, where’s your jacket at?’ [I replied] ‘Undertaker told me to take it off.’ Okay.”
WWE Routinely Pushed Boundaries in the 2000s
Although the concept of an Asian redneck sounds wild, it was par the course for WWE in the early 2000s.
With Vince McMahon at the helm, several WWE superstars were centered around ethnic stereotypes.
The tag team duo The Mexicools used to enter the arena on John Deere lawnmowers. Cryme Tyme, another tag team, portrayed street criminals and often stole from other wrestlers in their segments.
Plus, who could forget the over-the-top nature of SmackDown heel John Bradshaw Layfield (JBL).
So, when it was time for Jimmy Wang Yang to assume his role, he figured he’d stretch it as far as possible.
Thankfully, the Undertaker stopped him from committing an overly offensive bit.
WWE Star Says Mr. McMahon Forgot He Fired Him
During the same sit-down interview with Chris Van Vilet, Jimmy Wang Yang recalls a time when Vince McMahon forgot he had fired him.
Yang said he went to a WWE event mainly to impress a girl and enjoy the show as a fan. Thanks to a connection, he got backstage access and started greeting his former coworkers. Suddenly, McMahon approached him.
“Steve Rubin used to hook us up with tickets, and I take this girl out wanting a diner, all this kind of stuff. So I go down there, I get to the building, I go down, I’m standing around greeting everybody, and all of a sudden Vince is walking down toward me,” Yang said.
McMahon then asked him where he had been all this time. Confused, Yang reminded him that he had already been fired.
“I’m like, ‘Hey, Vince,’ he’s like, ‘Jimmy, where the hell have you been?’ I was like, ‘You fired me.’ ‘What? I did? Oh, we’ve got to talk about it. I want to talk to you in a minute. Just stay here. I got to go do this. I’ll be back.’ He didn’t know he fired me,” Yang added.
WWE Star Recalls Undertaker Stopping Him From Wearing Racist Wrestling Gear