Sgt Slaugher is a great WWF character, with many fans having fond memories of him through nostalgia tinted retrospect. However, as a WrestleMania headliner in 1991, he was a critical and commercial flop. The event didn't draw, forcing a venue change. Critically, it was a dud, weighed down by the predictability of Hogan winning. It felt like the WWF clinging on to the gimmickry of the late eighties. They'd only put the WWF belt on Slaughter two months earlier, clearly to then transition it back to Hogan. It meant nothing, Hogan was old news, and Slaughter wasn't perceived as a credible champion. McMahon's trick was to tie it in with the gulf war, playing up the idea that Slaughter was a Saddam sympathiser and Hogan was the American Hero. Unfortunately, Slaughter just didn't have the star power to carry the spot off. Hogan could have been in there with any old jobber, the match was that transparent. Slaughter was a WWF legend, but he was never a credible WrestleMania main eventer.
