10 Wrestlers We Had To Love Before We Could Hate

10. Sgt. Slaughter

Sgt Slaughter Iraqi Sympathiser
WWE.com

The apple pie-loving, Old Glory-waving, rugged American army man Sgt. Slaughter was definitely once a babyface. He actually started as a heel, but captured the love and support of fans by targeting the 'evil foreign menace' of The Iron Sheik in the mid-'80s. From then on, Sarge could do no wrong.

Oh, wait a minute, he could.

The same folks who had cheered Slaughter on as he chased Sheik were spitting with hatred when he returned in 1990 and aligned himself with Sheik (who was renamed Colonel Mustafa) and General Adnan. A reborn Iraqi sympathiser who bemoaned the US military and their actions in the Gulf War, Slaughter completed an unlikely 180.

Fans were left heartbroken. The real-life G.I Joe they'd come to love had turned his back on them, and they couldn't comprehend why he'd become a traitor during such a sensitive time. Slaughter's prior work as a baby defo helped open the floodgates for hate.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.