IrishCanadian25
Going on 10 years with WrestleZone
And no, not just in the USA.
With the first ever Wrestlezolympics on the horizon for February of 2010, I figured that this is as good a time as any to look back at the greatest characters of all time who identified themselves with a particular country - whether babyface or heel - and the impact they had on professional wrestling. I hope everyone will step up and either agree, tear me apart, or both.
#10 - Sgt. Slaughter
The Sarge was such a good patriotic character that he got over as an advocate for two countries, in one case becoming one of the top heels in company history, and in the other, a cultural cartoon icon.
Slaughter is well known for playing the role of an Iraqi sympathizer in the early 90's, defeating the Ultimate Warrior for the WWF Title at the Royal Rumble. He then went on to build a huge feud with Hulk Hogan, featuring such moments as Slaughter burning an American Flag in the middle of the ring. Slaughter dropped the title to Hogan at Wrestlemania 7 in one of the most emotional main events in wrestling history with Operation Desert Storm in the backdrop.
As an American patriot, Slaughter was a highly cheered babyface, and even became a major character on classic children's cartoon "G.I. Joe."
#9 - Hacksaw Jim Duggan
Jim Duggan is one of those wrestlers who was always over, always popular, and always fired up a crowd, but he is never included in lists of "greatest wrestlers never to be World Champion." He was very unique in that respect, but one thing you have to hand to Duggan - when he came to the ring with Old Glory and a 2x4, the crowd was certain to follow his chants of "Hooo!" and "U.S.A! U.S.A!" Duggan becoming United States Champion in WCW by defeating "Stunning" Steve Austin at Clash of the Champions was a terrific moment.
#8 - Nikoli Volkoff
Volkoff was as much a Russian as Kofi Kingston is Jamacian (Kofi is from Ghana, Volkoff from Croatia), but that doesn't change the fact that Volkoff's character was one of the original hated foreign nationalists. In the 70's Volkoff chased then WWWF Champion Bruno Sammartino, selling out MSG on several occassions. In the 80's, however, he formed a despised team with The Iron Sheik, and began singing the Russian National Anthem prior to matches. With the Cold War tensions still high (just ask Dolph Lundgren, who played Rocky IV opponent Ivan Drago), Volkoff became one of the most hated men in wrestling. In a stunning move, they upset Mike Rotundo and Barry Windham, a.k.a. "The U.S. Express," for the WWF Tag Titles.
#7 - Lance Storm
He is from Calgary.....................Alberta, Canada! And the former SMW tag team partner to Chris Jericho eventually took his place as one of WCW top non-nWo heels by forming Team Canada. During is many feuds with the humorous yet popular "Misfits in Action," Storm captured the United States Title and renamed it "The Canadian Heavyweight Championship. It should come as no shock that WCW dropped the ball with Storm, because at a Pay-Per-View event in Canada where Storm and his Canadian mates were cheered like crazy, Storm still cheated on three separate occassions to retain his belt. You could hear the fans feeling insulted along the way.
#6 - Ludvig Borga
Mind you, America has NEVER gone to war with Finland. But Tony Halme's arrival in the WWF in 1993 created an instant impact. Long running vignettes of Borga insulting America for pollution and crime drew the ire of fans, and Borga's reputation as a championship power lifter simply fueled the fire. Borga squashed numerous wrestlers, and at his first pay per view, destroyed recent Intercontinental Champion Marty Jannetty. Borga ended the 2+ year undefeated streak of Tatanka with a single finger (yes, there was cheating involved) and helped Yokozuna break the ribs of Jim Duggan. Borga was expected to be a major main eventer for many years until he broke his ankle in a match with Rick Steiner. It's possible that no other foreign heel has made as much of an impact in such a short time as Borga did...
#5 - Muhammed Hassan
...except maybe this guy. Hassan was the WWF's first real attempt to capitalize on the emotions of 9/11. Hassan didn't play a terrorist or a sympathizer; he played an American of Arab descent who lived in Detroit, MI and was infuriated by the mistreatment he received by ethnocentric and xenophobic Americans. The character was brilliant because it was over-the-top and yet at the same time perfectly plausable. Hassan drew monster heel heat and his programs with Hulk Hogan and Batista are memorable, and had Hassan's character not drawn so much criticism by the mainstream media, there's no limit to how far he could have gone.
#4 - Lex Luger
On July 4th, 1993, Lex Luger made one of the better face turns in wrestling history when he ceased being "The Narcissist" and arrived via helicopter on board the USS Intrepid to bodyslam Japanese monster heel and WWF Champion Yokozuna. Luger then challenged Yokozuna to a match for the WWF Title and spent the next month on a giant red, white, and blue bus called "The Lex Express" meeting fans and campaigning for his title shot. At Summer Slam, the two faced off, with Lex winning by count out. A stipulation meant that Luger only got ONE title shot, and the only way he'd get another would be by winning the Royal Rumble. Lex co-won the 1994 Rumble with Bret Hart. In between that, he led "The All Americans" into the Survivor Series against "The Foreign Fanatics." Luger won the match, pinning Ludvig Borga. He lost steam after Wrestlemania 10, since his feud with Mr. Perfect never materialized.
#3 - Bret Hart
Hart gets a huge spot on this list for what essentially amounted to a few months of work. For years, the world knew Hart was from Canada, and yet it was never a big deal. Until, that is, 1997 when Hart became a heel verbally attacking the American fans for their love of Steve Austin and their "turning against" Bret. Hart subsequently reformed "The Hart Foundation" as a stable, this time with brother Owen, Jim Neidhart, Davey Boy Smith, and Brian Pillman. Bret and co. feuded with Degeneration X, the Nation of Domination, and several other stables. The cool part of Bret's short heel run was how wildly popular the Hart Foundation was in Canada and Europe, and how hated they were in the US. It marked one of the first times there seemed to be a palpable rivalry between US fans and Canadian fans. The Montreal Screwjob ended it all, and Bret wound up in WCW.
#2 - Yokozuna
Similar to Volkoff not being Russian, Yokozuna wasn't Japanese. Rodney Anoa'i was actually Samoan and born in San Francisco. Regardless, Anoa'i became a legend in the WWF as a sumo-champion turned anti-American mega-heel in the early 90's, showing up with the hated Mr. Fuji as his manager and eventually taking on mouthpeice Jim Cornette as a consultant. Yoko squashed everybody, including jobber-to-the-stars Virgil at Survivor Series. He dominated everyone to win his first Royal Rumble and defeated Bret Hart at Wrestlemania 9. His reign lasted 128 seconds, as Hulk Hogan came out and defeated Yoko for his 5th WWF Title. The ensuing feud was tremendous, and led to Yoko defeating Hogan at King of the Ring, setting up the arrogant Intrepid July 4th Bodyslam Challenge and the feud with Luger. Along the way, Yoko challenged wrestlers to even simply knock him off his feet, which Jim Duggan was the first to do. The punishment? 4 Banzai drops, the last with the American Flag draped over him, and broken ribs. Yoko's feuds with Luger, Hogan, Hart, and the Undertaker were very memorable, though his face turn (and subsequent dismantling at the hands of Vader) were not the best send off for one of the greatest heels in wrestling history.
#1 - Hulk Hogan
Like there was ever any doubt.
Hulk Hogan wore yellow and red, but he bled Red, White, and Blue. His entrance music proclaimed "I Am a Real American." He defeated the Iron Sheik for his first WWF Title, beat Sgt. Slaughter at Wrestlemania 7 to defend American during Desert Storm, was the first man ever to pin Yokozuna at Wrestlemania 9, and returned as "Mr. America" and again as Hulk Hogan on Smackdown to fend off Muhammed Hassan. What else needs to be said? Hogan was portrayed as an all-American superhero who would always overcome the odds presented to him by cowardly foreign heels. He stood tall, flag in hand, and inspired a nation.
When fans think of great country-based wrestlers, Hulk Hogan will always come to mind. But will the fans on Wrestlezone Forums choose him to captain Team America at the 2010 Wrestlezolympics? We'll find out...
With the first ever Wrestlezolympics on the horizon for February of 2010, I figured that this is as good a time as any to look back at the greatest characters of all time who identified themselves with a particular country - whether babyface or heel - and the impact they had on professional wrestling. I hope everyone will step up and either agree, tear me apart, or both.
#10 - Sgt. Slaughter
The Sarge was such a good patriotic character that he got over as an advocate for two countries, in one case becoming one of the top heels in company history, and in the other, a cultural cartoon icon.
Slaughter is well known for playing the role of an Iraqi sympathizer in the early 90's, defeating the Ultimate Warrior for the WWF Title at the Royal Rumble. He then went on to build a huge feud with Hulk Hogan, featuring such moments as Slaughter burning an American Flag in the middle of the ring. Slaughter dropped the title to Hogan at Wrestlemania 7 in one of the most emotional main events in wrestling history with Operation Desert Storm in the backdrop.
As an American patriot, Slaughter was a highly cheered babyface, and even became a major character on classic children's cartoon "G.I. Joe."
#9 - Hacksaw Jim Duggan
Jim Duggan is one of those wrestlers who was always over, always popular, and always fired up a crowd, but he is never included in lists of "greatest wrestlers never to be World Champion." He was very unique in that respect, but one thing you have to hand to Duggan - when he came to the ring with Old Glory and a 2x4, the crowd was certain to follow his chants of "Hooo!" and "U.S.A! U.S.A!" Duggan becoming United States Champion in WCW by defeating "Stunning" Steve Austin at Clash of the Champions was a terrific moment.
#8 - Nikoli Volkoff
Volkoff was as much a Russian as Kofi Kingston is Jamacian (Kofi is from Ghana, Volkoff from Croatia), but that doesn't change the fact that Volkoff's character was one of the original hated foreign nationalists. In the 70's Volkoff chased then WWWF Champion Bruno Sammartino, selling out MSG on several occassions. In the 80's, however, he formed a despised team with The Iron Sheik, and began singing the Russian National Anthem prior to matches. With the Cold War tensions still high (just ask Dolph Lundgren, who played Rocky IV opponent Ivan Drago), Volkoff became one of the most hated men in wrestling. In a stunning move, they upset Mike Rotundo and Barry Windham, a.k.a. "The U.S. Express," for the WWF Tag Titles.
#7 - Lance Storm
He is from Calgary.....................Alberta, Canada! And the former SMW tag team partner to Chris Jericho eventually took his place as one of WCW top non-nWo heels by forming Team Canada. During is many feuds with the humorous yet popular "Misfits in Action," Storm captured the United States Title and renamed it "The Canadian Heavyweight Championship. It should come as no shock that WCW dropped the ball with Storm, because at a Pay-Per-View event in Canada where Storm and his Canadian mates were cheered like crazy, Storm still cheated on three separate occassions to retain his belt. You could hear the fans feeling insulted along the way.
#6 - Ludvig Borga
Mind you, America has NEVER gone to war with Finland. But Tony Halme's arrival in the WWF in 1993 created an instant impact. Long running vignettes of Borga insulting America for pollution and crime drew the ire of fans, and Borga's reputation as a championship power lifter simply fueled the fire. Borga squashed numerous wrestlers, and at his first pay per view, destroyed recent Intercontinental Champion Marty Jannetty. Borga ended the 2+ year undefeated streak of Tatanka with a single finger (yes, there was cheating involved) and helped Yokozuna break the ribs of Jim Duggan. Borga was expected to be a major main eventer for many years until he broke his ankle in a match with Rick Steiner. It's possible that no other foreign heel has made as much of an impact in such a short time as Borga did...
#5 - Muhammed Hassan
...except maybe this guy. Hassan was the WWF's first real attempt to capitalize on the emotions of 9/11. Hassan didn't play a terrorist or a sympathizer; he played an American of Arab descent who lived in Detroit, MI and was infuriated by the mistreatment he received by ethnocentric and xenophobic Americans. The character was brilliant because it was over-the-top and yet at the same time perfectly plausable. Hassan drew monster heel heat and his programs with Hulk Hogan and Batista are memorable, and had Hassan's character not drawn so much criticism by the mainstream media, there's no limit to how far he could have gone.
#4 - Lex Luger
On July 4th, 1993, Lex Luger made one of the better face turns in wrestling history when he ceased being "The Narcissist" and arrived via helicopter on board the USS Intrepid to bodyslam Japanese monster heel and WWF Champion Yokozuna. Luger then challenged Yokozuna to a match for the WWF Title and spent the next month on a giant red, white, and blue bus called "The Lex Express" meeting fans and campaigning for his title shot. At Summer Slam, the two faced off, with Lex winning by count out. A stipulation meant that Luger only got ONE title shot, and the only way he'd get another would be by winning the Royal Rumble. Lex co-won the 1994 Rumble with Bret Hart. In between that, he led "The All Americans" into the Survivor Series against "The Foreign Fanatics." Luger won the match, pinning Ludvig Borga. He lost steam after Wrestlemania 10, since his feud with Mr. Perfect never materialized.
#3 - Bret Hart
Hart gets a huge spot on this list for what essentially amounted to a few months of work. For years, the world knew Hart was from Canada, and yet it was never a big deal. Until, that is, 1997 when Hart became a heel verbally attacking the American fans for their love of Steve Austin and their "turning against" Bret. Hart subsequently reformed "The Hart Foundation" as a stable, this time with brother Owen, Jim Neidhart, Davey Boy Smith, and Brian Pillman. Bret and co. feuded with Degeneration X, the Nation of Domination, and several other stables. The cool part of Bret's short heel run was how wildly popular the Hart Foundation was in Canada and Europe, and how hated they were in the US. It marked one of the first times there seemed to be a palpable rivalry between US fans and Canadian fans. The Montreal Screwjob ended it all, and Bret wound up in WCW.
#2 - Yokozuna
Similar to Volkoff not being Russian, Yokozuna wasn't Japanese. Rodney Anoa'i was actually Samoan and born in San Francisco. Regardless, Anoa'i became a legend in the WWF as a sumo-champion turned anti-American mega-heel in the early 90's, showing up with the hated Mr. Fuji as his manager and eventually taking on mouthpeice Jim Cornette as a consultant. Yoko squashed everybody, including jobber-to-the-stars Virgil at Survivor Series. He dominated everyone to win his first Royal Rumble and defeated Bret Hart at Wrestlemania 9. His reign lasted 128 seconds, as Hulk Hogan came out and defeated Yoko for his 5th WWF Title. The ensuing feud was tremendous, and led to Yoko defeating Hogan at King of the Ring, setting up the arrogant Intrepid July 4th Bodyslam Challenge and the feud with Luger. Along the way, Yoko challenged wrestlers to even simply knock him off his feet, which Jim Duggan was the first to do. The punishment? 4 Banzai drops, the last with the American Flag draped over him, and broken ribs. Yoko's feuds with Luger, Hogan, Hart, and the Undertaker were very memorable, though his face turn (and subsequent dismantling at the hands of Vader) were not the best send off for one of the greatest heels in wrestling history.
#1 - Hulk Hogan
Like there was ever any doubt.
Hulk Hogan wore yellow and red, but he bled Red, White, and Blue. His entrance music proclaimed "I Am a Real American." He defeated the Iron Sheik for his first WWF Title, beat Sgt. Slaughter at Wrestlemania 7 to defend American during Desert Storm, was the first man ever to pin Yokozuna at Wrestlemania 9, and returned as "Mr. America" and again as Hulk Hogan on Smackdown to fend off Muhammed Hassan. What else needs to be said? Hogan was portrayed as an all-American superhero who would always overcome the odds presented to him by cowardly foreign heels. He stood tall, flag in hand, and inspired a nation.
When fans think of great country-based wrestlers, Hulk Hogan will always come to mind. But will the fans on Wrestlezone Forums choose him to captain Team America at the 2010 Wrestlezolympics? We'll find out...
