Written by Stu Cooper
If there is one thing in american pro wrestling that stands out, it's the rabid patriotism. You could not watch an 80's or Early 90's WWF pay per view without hearing the words "America" about a thousand times. Since then the patriotic american gimmick has been fairly prominent in professional wrestling. Not to mention the countless tributes to the american soldiers, the desert storm/gulf war storyline, and most recently the resurrection of the Russia vs. America cold war feud. These kinds of gimmicks can be traced back almost to the birth of professional wrestling. Showing pride in your homeland seems to be the go-to gimmick for a lot of pro wrestlers throughout history. Since today is July 4th, I have decided to honor some of these patriotic wrestlers with a Top 5 Countdown. There is literally hundreds of patriotic wrestlers, so I really tried to focus on the wrestler's overall impact and their usage of patriotism. Let's get into it!
5. The Patriot
"The Patriot" was a wrestling superstar from the 90's who dressed in Red,White, and Blue from head to toe. "The Patriot" was a walking US flag. He had the USA mask, the USA tights, and even named all of his moves after American things. My favorite move of his would have to be the "Patriot Missle"! The man under the mask is Del Wilkes, a man who started out in the AWA under his real name, then later became wrestling police officer "The Trooper". Soon after his run as "The Trooper" Wilkes started wrestling as "The Patriot". He began working for Global Championship wrestling where he won the TV title. His popularity began to soar after this and he was soon wrestling in All Japan and WCW. While in WCW he tagged with Marcus Bagwell to form a very cheesy tag team called "Stars and Stripes". Bagwell must have had a fetish for patriotic tag teams because he also went on to be in a tag team called "The American Males".
In 1997 Wilkes entered the WWF and began feuding with Bret Hart. Hart was in the midst of his Pro-Canadian heel turn, so it became a USA vs. Canada feud. The two had several matches including the obligatory Flag match. The most notable match-up between the two was at WWF Ground Zero: In Your House where "The Patriot" and Bret met one-on-one. Unfortunately soon after this Wilkes would get injured and with the Attitude era on the rise, he really didn't fit in. He was released from the WWF in early 1998. Since then Wilkes has retired due to a broken collar bone but just like the Doink gimmick, many wrestlers around the country wrestle as "The Patriot". Wrestler Tom Brandi claimed for years that he bought the gimmick from Wilkes and that's why he uses it, but Wilkes denied the claim. Funny thing is I can actually remember going to a local bingo hall indie in Georgetown,Kentucky when I was a teenager and I got very excited because I saw "The Patriot" was on the card. I couldn't believe Del Wilkes was coming to such a small town to perform in front of 15 people. I was quite shocked when he came out and he was about 4 inches shorter than Wilkes, 50 pounds lighter, and much hairier. Needless to say, I was disappointed.
4. "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan
"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan is perhaps one of the most memorable patriots in pro wrestling due to his longevity. Duggan started out in Mid South wrestling where he picked up the idea of using a 2x4 as a weapon/ringside companion. After wrestling in Mid-South and UWF, Duggan was hired by the WWF. Duggan's debut feud was...you guessed it, a Russia vs. America feud with Nikolai Volkoff! In the weeks leading up to Wrestlemania 3 Duggan would save several wrestlers from Volkoff and would interfere a few times. Later in the year he competed at The Survivor Series. Not too long after this Duggan actually won the first ever Royal Rumble. This didn't seem like a big deal at the time, but in retrospect it was the beginning of a long tradition that became one of the most beloved wrestling ideas ever.
Duggan would continue to be a regular in the mid-card where he would feud with legends like The Honky Tonk Man and Andre the Giant. Duggan never really ascended to main event status, but that seemed to be by design. Duggan often served as "The Hype Man" for the faces in the company. This is what led to the chants of "U-S-A" and "HOOOOOOO". Duggan never held any titles in WWF and really began to sink down the card as the 90's approached. In 1993 he would have a mini-feud with the Japanese Monster "Yokozuna" but soon after this he left the company. After WWF, Duggan moved onto WCW where he did the exact same gimmick for the next several years. He would hold the US Title and TV title in WCW. I can actually remember towards the end of WCW he had a long feud with this Cuban guy on Saturday Night, and they had flag matches against each other on a weekly basis. There was also a short time period where Duggan betrayed his country and joined Team Canada...but let's pretend he just did it to bang Major Gunns and that's it. After WCW closed "Hacksaw" began showing up on Old School events and various legends matches on WWE television. He is now a regular cast member of the WWE's reality show "Legend's House" and is still a proud American.
3. "American Made" Hulk Hogan/Mr.America
If you live on the planet Earth, you've probably heard of Hulk Hogan. He is one of the biggest icons in entertainment, and certainly in professional wrestling. Hogan is part of a select few in wrestling that have actually transcended it. So it's no shocker that he is on this list. If you grew up in the 80's or early 90's you probably got to witness the shirt ripping, the leg drop, or you caught Suburban Commander on TV.
Hogan did not start out as The Hulkster. He began his career working for various territories in Florida and Alabama. He had a short run in the WWF, and then found fame in New Japan Pro Wrestling. Afterwards he played a pro wrestler named "Thunderlips" in Rocky 3. I personally love that character and I often whip out the term "ultimate meatball". Soon after this he re-signed with WWF and began his run as "The Hulkster". It started out with just the red shirt and eventually evolved into full blown mania after he defeated Iron Sheik for the WWF Title. Now the patriotism came in shortly after this when Hogan began cutting intense hype filled promos, encouraging people to support the troops, take vitamins, and workout. These promos came to their peak around the time of the Gulf War when Hogan feuded with turncoat Sgt.Slaughter.
After his WWF run he switched over to WCW and for a short time tried to carry the "American Made" gimmick over. Fans were tired of it and began booing him and this led to his eventual heel turn. You could say his involvement in the N.W.O could disqualify him but he really wasn't against the country, he just wanted to rule it BROTHER! Hogan would return to WWE some years later and in possibly his most patriotic moment ever, dawned a mask and called himself MR.AMERICA! It was absolutely absurd, but very patriotic.
2. "The Olympian" Kurt Angle
Kurt Angle is another obvious choice on this countdown that couldn't be ignored. This man oozes Americana. Angle started out as a very successful NCAA Amateur Wrestler. After college he went on to win a gold medal in the 1996 Olympics despite having a severe neck injury. It was truly an incredible feat. Soon after this, Angle started showing interest in pro wrestling. He appeared on commentary for an ECW show but left the show after he witnessed the Sandman/Raven crucifixion angle. It wasn't until 1999 that Kurt Angle began competing for the WWE. He instantly made an impact with his smartass prideful olympian persona. Angle would come to the ring dressed in red,white, and blue and would often wear his Olympic medal to the ring. His patriotism was certainly part of his gimmick, and it was glorious. He used his look and smug attitude to move through the ranks and became a hated villain.
Angle was a instant success and within a year he won almost every WWE title available. Later in his career he would compete in TNA and Japan. One thing remained the same no matter what his character was doing or what company he was working for, and that was his love of America. In his promos and interviews Angle would constantly remind the audience and viewers at home that he was a Olympic Gold Medalist for Team USA. He would often wear sweatsuits covered in the colors of the flag. The medal he wore became a source of inspiration for him and would often serve as bait in a storyline. A wrestler stealing it was often the start of a grudge. In one case "Stone Cold" Steve Austin actually threw the medals off a bridge. Angle somehow recovered them shortly after.
1. Sgt. Slaughter
It's time for the number one entry in the Film Enigma Patriotic Wrestler Countdown. Number one is none other than Sgt.Slaughter! This one might actually be considered controversial because Slaughter actually turned on the country during the Gulf War but since it was such a short period of time, I let it slide. Slaughter began as a bad guy managed by "The Grand Wizard" but in 1984 he showed up to defend America's honor against the Iron Sheik and that's when his path to patriotism began. Slaughter feuded with Sheik all over the world for the next year. The feud peaked when the two sold out Madison Square Garden when they competed in a "Boot Camp Match". The "Boot Camp Match" would later become a signature match for Slaughter. Slaughter left the WWF after a dispute involving his role in G.I. Joe but he would keep the Sgt.Slaughter persona for the rest of his career.
Let's talk about the reasons why I chose Slaughter to be the top patriot in the countdown. Slaughter really used the patriotism gimmick to it's fullest potential. Before Hulk Hogan, he had the crowd in the palm of his hand. The point where I believe he transcended the others in the countdown was when he began appearing on the "G.I. Joe" cartoon and toy-line which was wildly popular at the time. Slaughter even voiced his own character on the cartoon. It doesn't get much cooler than that. Slaughter became a recognizable figure among most children as a result. After this the Iraqi controversy comes into play.
After a run in the AWA, Slaughter returned to the WWF. When he returned "The Hulkster" was the king of the mountain and he was also the one waving around the American flag like Slaughter did before. Slaughter returned as a villain in 1990 during The Gulf War and revealed himself to be an Iraqi sympathizer. This started one of the craziest angles of the early 90's, possibly in history. Slaughter got a lot of heat for this, and supposedly received death threats from patriotic Americans. I would say this is grounds for disqualification but Slaughter says in interviews that he had a very hard time delivering the anti-american promos. The program would end in 1992 and Slaughter would go back to his old Pro American Drill Sgt. routine. Slaughter has actually been a good guy ever since. Slaughter used the patriotism to push him to the top of the wrestling world AND the cartoon world. That's something special.
I hope you enjoyed the countdown. I ran a little bit longer than I originally planned but I feel like the information is important to include. I had a lot of honorable mentions like Jack Swagger, Bob Backlund, Craig Pittman, and others but I had to keep it simple with just a top 5. Please LIKE, SHARE, COMMENT, and SUBSCRIBE if you like what you see. Have a safe and happy 4TH OF JULY!
