10 Times WWE Used Real Life Misery For Storyline Gains

10. The Gulf War

hulk hogan sgt slaughter
WWE.com

When it comes to loving the military, nobody does it like WWE. Tribute to the Troops has been an annual show since 2003, with members of the roster heading out to various military bases to entertain American troops stationed there, with a series of shows that are seriously heavy in babyface wins. If there’s one thing WWE loves more than anything else, it is saluting and waving flags.

But even the military isn’t safe from Vince McMahon’s exploitative creative mind. When Iraq invaded Kuwait on 2 August 1990, the world’s largest military power decided enough was enough; it was time to fight Saddam. It was a fairly one-sided battle, but the whole thing was serious enough for the US to send 750,000 troops to the Middle East, 149 of whom never came home. War is miserable, no matter the numbers.

WWE exploited it all by turning Sgt. Slaughter heel and making him an Iraqi sympathiser, because of course. The madness was compounded when Slaughter defeated a red, white and blue-clad Ultimate Warrior to win the WWF Championship, only to eventually drop it to none other than the ‘Real American’ himself, Hulk Hogan. The storyline was a dude, an immoral dud.

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Born in the middle of Wales in the middle of the 1980's, John can't quite remember when he started watching wrestling but he has a terrible feeling that Dino Bravo was involved. Now living in Prague, John spends most of his time trying to work out how Tomohiro Ishii still stands upright. His favourite wrestler of all time is Dean Malenko, but really it is Repo Man. He is the author of 'An Illustrated History of Slavic Misery', the best book about the Slavic people that you haven't yet read. You can get that and others from www.poshlostbooks.com.