[ W ] restling and boxing as immediately intelligible contests quickly attracted the immigrant hordes as participants and spectators . The new arrivals were changing both the ethnic mix and the labor force in America . For these reasons , the ruling set saw wrestling and boxing as manifestations of forces in America they disliked , feared and could no longer control . ( 32 )
By recent example , Zeb Colter ’ s Real Americans tap into this same exact social condition , using politically right wing anti-immigration rhetoric against their opponents , Los Matadores , who perform exaggerated stereotypes of Latino culture to a predominantly Anglo-American audience .
In order to stage a spectacle that entices a white populist audience , professional wrestling traditionally uses negative stereotypes which reaffirm and legitimize xenophobia . The Real Americans tag team , led by their politically-outspoken conservative manager , Zeb Colter , align themselves with staunch anti-immigration rhetoric in order to instigate their feuds with Latino opponents , stating continuously in their promos that , “ people from other countries are sneaking across our borders , and stealing jobs from real Americans ,” and so they believe that “ if you ’ re in our country illegally , then you should leave ” [ my transcription , italics added for emphasis ]” ( Meltzer ). All this occurs while a Gadsden flag hangs in the background , and white text that reads “ The First Amendment ” flashes across the bottom of the screen , both signifiers of white American sovereignty and solidarity . Colter ’ s speech uses an exclusionary rhetoric that divides Latinos from “ real ” Americans via terms of the U . S . -Mexico border .
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