The beginning of this Tag Team battle established and compared two competing relationship types: Justin Gabriel & Tyson Kidd in a traditional pairing of equal partners, and Kassius Ohno & Leo Kruger in a Dominant/submissive relationship.
The name “Kassius” works well for the dominant partner on his team. Normally spelled “Cassius,” the name means “vain and narcissitic” in Latin. There have been Roman emperors with the name “Cassius.”
Leo Kruger had originally been depicted as a big game hunter, with his opponents serving as his prey that he is hunting. Now he is presented as a savage beast himself, a wild predator who needs a dominant man like Kassius Ohno to master and control him.
Is it coincidence that the only man in this fight without facial hair is the helpless Baby-face, Tyson Kidd? He is depicted as a smooth boy (a “Kidd”) among men — or a human forced to fight with wild, hairy beasts.
Ohno and Kruger just brutalize the smooth, hairless Kidd while the Safe Partner, Justin Gabriel (with his dark, well-groomed beard) has been relegated to the background, forced to watch from outside the ropes as his partner is devoured.
Finally, the Good Guys from team International Airstrike make a tag and Justin Gabriel explodes like the proverbial house on fire. He gets to deliver some impressive high-flying moves and the fans are excited to see him come to the rescue of his partner. He is even able to knock the Beast-master, Kassius Ohno, out to the floor…
Without Kassius Ohno to control him, Leo Kruger is a beast unleashed. He grabs Justin Gabriel around the neck and twists him down, slamming his skull into the mat. Gabriel is utterly destroyed and easily pinned by his fellow South African — wildman Leo Kruger.
The relative success and dominance by Ohno and Kruger is meant to reaffirm the continued supremacy of traditional masculinity — the power of the hairy Wild Men (the Heels) over the Soft Males (cute, smooth little Gabriel and Kidd.)
Because masculinity is nothing more than a performance that we act out for each other, it is increasingly subject to scrutiny and criticism by modern feminist critics. Masculinity is always in danger of being exposed as a fraud, nothing more than play-acting, which will call into question the Male Privilege granted by our patriarchal society. This leads to anxiety among males, that they’re losing their power and control. The dominance of the bearded Real Men in this match reassures the male viewers that Manly Men still reign and always will.
Ohno and Kruger strike victory poses to communicate the superiority of their relationship as Master/slave over the fraternal pairing of Kidd and Gabriel. Ohno continues to yank his partner around by the hair (with Kruger willing permitting himself to be dominated) so we understand that these men have entered into a consensual Owner/property relationship.
Our take-away is that equal partnership may not be the most effective homo-social relationship. Instead, men can enter into powerful Alpha-beta pairings where both men understand and agree upon who is boss. This “Master/Blaster” pairing can result in efficiency from having the more cunning man making decisions and the more aggressive man obediently carrying them out. The primarily male audience is left with the understanding that knowing and carrying out your role in the paternal power structure may help you achieve even greater success.
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