10 Most Shameless WWE Promotional Tactics
6. Sgt Slaughter & The Iraq War
When Sgt Slaughter kicked off a feud with pro-USA babyface Nikolai Volkoff in 1990, the story was phoney and lazy, but not entirely outside of wrestling's typical values at the time.
Harmless in as much as xenophobia even could be, it was otherwise quite a creative spin on his old GI Joe aesthetic until some real life tension encourage Vince McMahon to ramp the idea up beyond anything that could be considered reasonable.
After Iraq's hostile invasion of Kuwait triggered USA-led coalitions sending soldiers into the country, Slaughter sided with Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussain in some venomous tirades on his own nation he'd come to loathe. Countries were at war while caricatures attempted to profit from the conflict.
Naturally, he briefly became a white hot heel, but it was the cheapest and most disgraceful kind of heat. As human beings died, the company mocked up friendly photos of now-WWE Champion Slaughter and Hussain-alike General Adnan with Saddam. Sarge himself burned a Hulk Hogan shirt, symbolically representing America in place of the 'Old Glory' itself.
The financial failure of their WrestleMania VII main event was karmic - though it didn't stop the company from extending the programme through the summer months until Slaughter's overdue turn at the end of the year.