Sgt. Slaughter
Robert Rudolph Remus, better known as Sgt. Slaughter, is an American voice actor and retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE in the ambassador program.
From the late 1970s to the early 1980s, Slaughter had success in the National Wrestling Alliance, American Wrestling Association, and the World Wrestling Federation. He won the WWF Heavyweight Championship and headlined WrestleMania VII in 1991. Slaughter also captured the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship twice. He is a WWE Hall of Famer, inducted as part of the class of 2004. As Sgt. Slaughter, Remus became known for his dark sunglasses, his campaign hat, and his Vietnam War-era military fatigues. In the 1980s, an alternate version of the Sgt. Slaughter character was incorporated into the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toy line as well as its animated series and comic books.
The gimmick of Sgt. Slaughter is that of a former U.S. Marine who fought in the Vietnam War. Although Remus himself claims to have served as a drill instructor from 1966 through 1973 — a period roughly contemporaneous with the Vietnam War — his name is conspicuously absent from departmental records, and over the course of his wrestling career, his unapproved usage of authentic U.S. Marine uniforms, emblems, and insignia has periodically drawn the ire of military officials.
Early life
Remus was born on August 27, 1948, in Detroit, Michigan, and grew up on a farm in Minnesota. At a young age, he became a fan of professional wrestling after watching it on television with his father. He attended Eden Prairie High School in nearby Eden Prairie, where he wrestled and played football, graduating in 1966.Professional wrestling career
Early career (1972–1980)
After training with Verne Gagne and Billy Robinson in Minnesota in 1972, he began working for the American Wrestling Association under his real name. He wrestled as "Beautiful" Bobby Remus, competing in Portland and Vancouver. Remus held numerous regional titles early in his career and experienced major success in the National Wrestling Alliance. However, he briefly stopped wrestling when his mother was diagnosed with cancer, going back home to run his father's roofing company.During his time off, Remus came up with the gimmick of a drill sergeant, Sgt. Slaughter, inspired by the 1957 film The D.I. and named after Jackie Gleason's character from the 1963 film Soldier in the Rain. He pitched the idea to Gagne, who liked the idea as it reminded him of his own drill instructor. Harley Race then called Remus to compete as Bob Slaughter in Kansas City.
In 1978, Remus returned to the AWA under a mask as Super Destroyer Mark II. He was initially managed by Lord Alfred Hayes, whom he dismissed and replaced with Bobby Heenan, leading to a feud between the two managers with Hayes as the babyface.
World Wrestling Federation (1980–1981)
In 1980, Sgt. Slaughter signed with the WWF after receiving a call from Vincent J. McMahon and was pushed as a villainous character. Under the guidance of the Grand Wizard, he quickly rose to the status of number one contender on the strength of his "cobra clutch" challenges where he would seat wrestlers in a chair in the ring and apply the hold, offering $5,000 to anyone who could break it. He would eventually face Bob Backlund for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship across the WWF territory in 1980, earning two-of-three falls main event matches in most markets, but failed to win the title. He also wrestled Bruno Sammartino in his final match in Madison Square Garden.Slaughter then engaged in a feud with Pat Patterson, which stemmed from Slaughter calling Patterson "yellow" and offering him $10,000 to try to break the cobra clutch. Patterson accepted on television and was escaping from the hold when Slaughter released it and put a beat-down on Patterson. This started a hot feud that culminated in an "Alley Fight" between the two in Madison Square Garden, which has been described as "one of the most brutal and bloody matches in WWE history". The match ended when the Grand Wizard threw in the towel, awarding Patterson the victory.
National Wrestling Alliance, Catch Wrestling Association (1981–1983)
In September 1981, Slaughter joined the NWA for its flagship territory Jim Crockett Promotions. The following month, he won a tournament to determine a new NWA United States Heavyweight Champion, defeating Ricky Steamboat in the finals for the vacant title. He would hold the title for over seven months, before losing the title to Wahoo McDaniel in May 1982. In September, Slaughter and partner Don Kernodle were awarded the NWA World Tag Team Championship, claiming a title victory over Antonio Inoki and Giant Baba in Tokyo. They were involved in a heated rivalry with the team of Steamboat and Jay Youngblood, who defeated them for the titles in a steel cage match on March 12, 1983. Following the rivalry, Slaughter left JCP.During this period, Slaughter also toured Germany and Austria for the Catch Wrestling Association, twice unsuccessfully challenging CWA World Heavyweight Champion Otto Wanz.
Return to WWF (1983–1984)
Slaughter returned to the WWF in March 1983, immediately targeting Backlund, who was still the reigning WWF World Heavyweight Champion. Their feud heightened when, at a television taping, Slaughter attacked Backlund while he was in the process of completing the Harvard step test, hitting him repeatedly with his riding crop and leaving bruises on his back. Although he won several matches by disqualification, he never won the title.In early 1984, Slaughter's career took off after he turned face and defended America's honor against The Iron Sheik from Iran, leading to a series of matches between the two. They had many matches throughout the year, culminating in a boot camp match that took place before a sold-out Madison Square Garden that summer.
On Vince McMahon's DVD, McMahon, Slaughter said he was fired by McMahon in Toronto after no-showing an event in protest of McMahon's refusal to give him six weeks of paid vacation. Other interviews with Slaughter and McMahon have revealed that Slaughter left the company more over a dispute that emerged due to the WWF not allowing Slaughter's role in the G.I. Joe toy line.
American Wrestling Association (1985–1990)
He received a considerable push in the AWA throughout 1985 and 1986, becoming the AWA America's Heavyweight Champion by defeating Larry Zbyszko shortly after his debut. Sports editor and columnist Lew Freedman wrote of Slaughter's popularity in the wake of his face turn in August 1985: "Talk about your overnight sensations. Slaughter had been wrestling for 10 years and suddenly he was hotter than Dwight Gooden". He defended the title against wrestlers like Zbyszko, Kamala, Boris Zukhov and Nick Bockwinkel and feuded with Sheik Adnan Al-Kaissey and his stable of wrestlers, The Road Warriors and Colonel DeBeers. He was also involved in the short-lived Pro Wrestling USA promotion, winning a 25-man battle royal for the right to challenge Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, which he did not win.In 1988, Slaughter returned to wrestling in the AWA, resuming some of his past feuds with the likes of Al-Kaissey, the Iron Sheik and DeBeers. At the SuperClash III pay-per-view on December 13, he defeated DeBeers in a Boot Camp match. He became a top contender to the AWA World Heavyweight Championship during Zbyszko's reign in 1989 and was a team captain for the AWA's ill-fated Team Challenge Series during the first half of 1990. The AWA teased fans with Slaughter appearing to win the world title from Zbyszko live on ESPN, only to have the decision reversed on a technicality.
Second return to the WWF (1990–1994)
Iraqi sympathizer (1990–1991)
In June 1990, Slaughter returned to the WWF as a heel. The August 1990 invasion of Kuwait by Ba'athist Iraq triggered a political crisis that would lead to the 1991 Gulf War, in which Kuwait was freed by a U.S.-led military coalition. A decision was made to have Slaughter support the Iraqi cause, not for the actual political reasons, but more for the fact that Slaughter liked "brutality" and the Iraqi government was "brutal" while the United States regime was said by Slaughter to have become "soft" and "weak". Slaughter aligned himself with an Iraqi enthusiast and kayfabe Iraqi military general, General Adnan. They entered a feud with Volkoff, with Slaughter winning the majority of their encounters at house shows. On November 22, at Survivor Series, The Alliance defeated The Mercenaries. As part of his character change, Slaughter began wearing Arab headdresses to the ring, adopted the camel clutch as one of his finishers, and was photographed meeting with Saddam Hussein. While portraying a turncoat, Slaughter and his family received numerous death threats and he could not go anywhere in public without wearing a bullet-proof vest, having to be surrounded with security personnel at all times.By the end of the year, Slaughter set his sights on the WWF Championship, held by The Ultimate Warrior. At the Royal Rumble on January 19, 1991, days after the Gulf War air campaign had begun, Slaughter defeated the Warrior to win the WWF Championship after interference from "Macho King" Randy Savage. He was immediately challenged by Royal Rumble winner Hulk Hogan, who was furious that Slaughter had desecrated the American flag as part of his victory celebration. Hogan demanded a match against Slaughter at WrestleMania VII on March 24 in Los Angeles, California, where Slaughter lost the WWF Championship to Hogan. After WrestleMania, Slaughter introduced his newest ally, Colonel Mustafa, teaming with him and Adnan in a three-on-two handicap match against Hogan and Warrior at SummerSlam on August 26, which they lost.