7 Times WWE Used Wrestlers To Capitalise On US Foreign Policy

The eighties were a time of renewed patriotism in the US. The Reagan presidency saw a boom rise growth in the idea of American masculinity and more aggressive rhetoric towards Russia. Movies like Rocky IV and Red Dawn started to exploit real world tension for entertainment with plots based around Russian bad guys.

The WWF was now under the control of Vince McMahon and he amplified the traditional Russia heel to the level of cartoon villain with Nikolai Volkoff. Dressed head to toe in red and donning an ushanka emblazoned with the hammer and sickle Volkoff elicited deafening boos from packed arenas as he gave his rendition of the Soviet national anthem before his matches.

Throughout the eighties Volkoff and the immortal Hulk Hogan were styled as the “The Two Superpowers of Wrestling” playing of off the rhetoric of tensions between Russia and the US . On an October 1985 edition of Saturday Night’s Main Event Mean Gene Okerlund introduced a match between the two by proclaiming that “we may be on the brink of an international crisis” and the flag waving and pageantry before the match drew an emotional reaction from the crowd in attendance.

Volkoff also holds the distinction of appearing in WWF’s first line of action figures giving young fans a villain for the hero to slay in their burgeoning figure feds. Volkoff's character was routed in real world foreign policy and became a building block not only of Vince McMahon's national expansion in the eighties but also his merchandise and toy empire which is unrivalled and a core part of the companies financials to this day.

Another heel also appeared in that first figure line...