10 Best Foreign Heels In WWE History
6. Nikolai Volkoff
Along with Ivan Koloff (a Canadian, no less), Nikolai Volkoff was one of pro-wrestling’s first “evil Russian” characters, and a constant thorn in the side of former World Champion Bruno Sammartino during the 1970s. However, it wasn’t until the 1980s that Volkoff truly ramped-up the imagery by singing the Soviet national anthem before matches and decking-out in full U.S.S.R. attire.
Known for delivering lengthy anti-American speeches in his trademark broken English, Volkoff remains the archetypal Russian wrestling villain, and a man so over-the-top he almost makes Rusev seem toned down and reserved.
Though his in-ring abilities had rapidly deteriorated by the time WWE went national, Volkoff’s tag team with The Iron Sheik (we’ll get to him…) remains one of the most widely-despised duos in wrestling history. After defeating the U.S Express (Mike Rotundo and Barry Windham) for the Tag Team Championships at the first WrestleMania, Volkoff and Sheik’s three-month reign of terror caught the eye of Hulk Hogan, whom Volkoff would go on to wrestle several times throughout 1985 and 1986.
Ironically for a man who spent his entire wrestling career mocking US democracy, Volkoff became a Republican in his retirement, and unsuccessfully ran for a seat on Maryland’s State House of Delegates in 2006.