11. G.I. Joe With Sgt. Slaughter And "Rowdy" Roddy Piper
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQT42lUdnIM This is another of those cross-promotions that doesn't seem as weird in hindsight. Heck, for some people, G.I. Joe was their first-ever exposure to the Sarge, and they weren't even aware he was actually a wrestler! Still, for whatever reason, the folks at Hasbro had this strange idea about incorporating real world and semi-real world athletes into their line of military-themed adventure toys. Football player William "The Refrigerator" Perry was another, while plans for Sylvester Stallone's Rocky Balboa ended up falling through. Compared to those, Slaughter was downright normal- at least he was military-themed himself! Fittingly enough, Sgt. Slaughter would end up appearing not only in the toyline and for a brief stint in the Marvel comic book, but also as a major new character in the television show (which he hosted) and animated movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RMgyklSi6c Interestingly enough, the original deal was not approved by the World Wrestling Federation, leading to Slaughter parting ways with the company for a time. In more recent years, Slaughter returned to the G.I. Joe fold as
a San Diego Comic-Con exclusive figure, leading to the development of a rival for him- a version of "Rowdy" Roddy Piper who serves as the trainer for Destro's elite Iron Grenadiers!