Few storylines were as poignant and provocative as when Sgt. Slaughter turned his back on the United States and became an Iraqi sympathizer during the first Gulf War to set up this day in wrestling history, March 24, 1991.
It was a match that built for about half a year as Slaughter captured the WWF World Heavyweight Championship from the Ultimate Warrior with some help from Randy Savage, which also set up their final confrontation at WrestleMania VII.
Hogan had long been touted an American hero by the WWE, and as arguably the biggest face in wrestling history, Hogan embodied that from his fanbase, promos, and entrance music.
The stage was set, and all that was left was the match. Unfortunately, it almost didn’t happen for a couple of reasons.
Death threats and backlash
While Hulk Hogan would go on to win the match to an enormous pop from the crowd, the WWE in general received tons of backlash for using the war to line their pockets, and Sgt. Slaughter said he had to have armed guards after he and his family received death threats.
Hogan talked about it in his book, Hollywood Hulk Hogan, and we’re sending special thanks to @awrestlinghistorian for the transcript.
“Vince McMahon took Sergeant Slaughter, who had been an American patriot, and turned him into the worst kind of heel you could have had in those days—an Iraqi sympathizer.
“Sergeant Slaughter announced his allegiance to Saddam Hussein and at the Royal Rumble, he beat Ultimate Warrior for the championship. That set everything up for WrestleMania.
“Instead of me wrestling Randy Savage for the hundredth time, I went into the ring as the defender of America, ready and able to take down the traitor Slaughter the way I had taken down the Iron Sheik back in 1983. By the time the match was over, I had become the first three-time champion in World Wrestling Federation history.
“Unfortunately, we caught a lot of heat for the Iraqi sympathizer angle from the press, with people saying we had no right to exploit a real war. But that was nothing compared to the fan reaction. I understand Sergeant Slaughter had a couple of close calls and some wackos even threatened his family. It was a tough time for him.”
In many ways, this type of heat wasn’t unheard of as heels were often the focus of fans’ wrath and even were the subject of riots at some arenas when the fans disagreed and wanted to correct things.
With that being said, receiving death threats is nothing to laugh at and we’re glad no one followed through on any of them. At the end of the day, it’s meant as entertainment for us.
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