"If you turn your back on America we'll put the WWE Title on you and you'll face Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania 7." We don't know if that's exactly what Vince McMahon said to Sgt. Slaughter when he pitched the idea, but it must have been something like that. Slaughter was an American hero that kids loved because he was a part of the GI Joe cartoon in addition to being a wrestler. Slaughter represented the American military and did everything he could to portray the image of an American hero to children everywhere. Towards the end of 1990 with the Gulf War heating up in Iraq & Kuwait, Slaughter became an Iraqi sympathizer. He also became a top contender for the WWE Title even though he had never been at the top before. Slaughter beat the Ultimate Warrior for the WWE Title at the 1991 Royal Rumble thanks to the interference of Randy Savage. When Hogan faced Slaughter at WrestleMania 7 it was obvious that Hogan was going to win and of course that's what happened. Within a few months, Slaughter became a babyface again while fans tried to forget that this American hero turned his back on them. It took a lot of guts for Slaughter to turn heel. He was really good at it, though. Years later he spoke about getting death threats, which is why WWE had security with him all the time. He may regret it due to the things he had to do, but he also received the biggest push of his career at the time, so it wasn't all bad.
John wrote at WhatCulture from December 2013 to December 2015. It was fun, but it's over for now. Follow him on Twitter @johnreport. You can also send an email to mrjohncanton@gmail.com with any questions or comments as well.
