10 Best Foreign Heels In WWE History
7. Baron Von Raschke
A Teutonic character portrayed by an American-born wrestler with a background in the US Army, the goose-stepping, monocle-wearing Baron von Raschke almost sounds like a cartoon character today, but he was one of wrestling’s most infamous villains upon debuting in 1966.
Portraying a cut-throat German and who drew upon Nazi imagery to pray on the American audience’s post-World War 2 fears, von Raschke was an outrageous character. A perma-scowling loose cannon who threatened opponents and audience members alike, he’s partly responsible for popularising the claw hold as a finisher throughout the 1960s.
Von Raschke’s run through the territories eventually brought him to Vince McMahon Sr.’s WWWF in the 1970s, and he had a second brief run with the company while managing the Powers of Pain in 1988.
Known for delivering his trademark “dat is all da people need to know!” catchphrase in a thick German rasp, Baron von Raschke was a trendsetter, and one of the first foreign heels to break ground in North America.