10 WWE WrestleMania Myths EXPOSED

8. Sgt. Slaughter Was TOO Over As A Heel

CM Punk
WWE

The myth:

Sgt. Slaughter was so reviled as a heel Iraqi sympathiser that the WWF couldn't effectively safeguard him nor the fans in attendance at WrestleMania VII. As a result, the event was downsized from the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.

The myth exposed:

Funnily enough, since they spent six years trying with Roman Reigns, WWE tried to save face. It's just what they do. In an optimistic PR blitz, the above was claimed to spare embarrassment. To spare the embarrassment of that provable lie in itself, Bruce Prichard later clarified that the scope of the event itself was simply too large to present safely, which is funny, because that wasn't the case in 1987. Or 1990. Or 1992. Or 2001. Or 2003. Or 2007. Or...

When WWE hits LA in 2023 for WrestleMania 39, the "crime rate" won't be cited as a reason not to run the SoFi Stadium. Nor will this be cited for the reason to downsize any stadium-sized WrestleMania.

Because it was total bullsh*t.

Say this was true - that emotions were so charged ahead of the event that the WWF couldn't present it as originally envisioned - why did a meagre 400,000 buy it on pay-per-view, down nearly half from WrestleMania V's 767,000?

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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!