10 Most Offensive WWE Moments Ever
3. Gulf War Slaughter
Returning to WWE in the Summer of 1990 after a 5 year hiatus from the company, former American hero Sgt Slaughter turned on fans and the country overall for going 'soft' and 'weak' due to their acceptance of new babyface Nikolai Volkoff.
It was a relatively harmless and creative spin on his old image until tension in the Middle East ramped the gimmick beyond the pale.
Following Iraq's hostile invasion of Kuwait triggering the USA-lead coalitions sending soldiers in, Slaughter sided with Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussain in some venomous tirades on his own nation he'd come to loathe.
He was subsequently a white hot heel, but it was the cheapest heat imaginable.
As troops fought and human beings died, the company mocked up friendly photos of now-WWE Champion Slaughter and Hussain-alike General Adnan with Saddam, and had the Sarge burn a Hulk Hogan shirt, symbolically representing America in place of the flag itself.
The wave of jingoism had a negative effect at the box office, with crowds turned off to such a degree that the company couldn't shift anywhere near the 100,000 tickets needed to fill the booked LA Memorial Coliseum for WrestleMania 7 in March 1991.
A move down the road to the 17,000-seater Memorial Arena satisfied the last of the audience wishing to see 'The Hulkster' predictably dethrone Slaughter at the 'Show of Shows'.