10 WWE Champions You Didn't Care To Hate
8. Sgt. Slaughter
There has been a decent amount of revisionist history with this one. WWE and some fans like to remember Sgt. Slaughter's 1991 WWE Championship reign as a heat-seeking triumph, a tenure that whipped fans into a jingoistic frenzy that could only be sated by the combined might of Hulkamania and Old Glory herself. Fans couldn't turn away as the damn turncoat paraded around the world with the most prestigious belt in compact sports around his waist. Damn you, Sgt. Slaughter, damn you!
The reality was very different. The general reaction to Sgt Slaughter as champion in 1991 was 'why is this old man the champion?' Sarge was interminably boring in the ring, had only been back in the company for a brief time and the overwhelming majority of fans were totally ambivalent to the guy. Yes, live crowds waved flags and looked man while giving him the thumbs down, but that was about it. When Hulk Hogan defeated Slaughter for the title at WrestleMania VII, the most common reaction was one of relief that vague normality could resume.
I clearly remember thinking that Sgt. Slaughter was far too old to be wrestling, let alone be champion. He was 42 years old. Bobby Lashley is 45, Brock Lesnar is 44, Edge is 48. Heck, CM Punk is 43. Times have changed. The ambivalence towards Sgt. Slaughter has not.