What if Sgt. Slaughter never left?

[bioshock]

Slaughter was a top contender to Bob Backlund's WWF Championship. However, his career took off after he turned face and defended America's honor against the hated Iron Sheik in 1984. Slaughter and the Iron Sheik engaged in many matches throughout 1984, culminating in a boot camp match which took place before a sold out Madison Square Garden that summer. However, with the emergence of Hulk Hogan as the WWF Champion and lead face within the company

In that time before Wrestlemania 1,, Slaughter was the top heel, and then he become the top face, or at least #2 top face in the company. Then Hogan ends up getting the win over Sheik and kicking off the run that would last 4 years, it was also around that time in 1984 that Slaughter left the WWF, one claim was he was fired, another claim is he left because of the GI Joe gig.

Slaughter missed out on Wrestlemania 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, returning in the summer of 1990 with his first WWF PPV being at Summerslam 1990.

By Royal Rumble 1991 he was in the main event winning the WWF Championship over the Ultimate Warrior, and went on to headline Wrestlemania 7 against Hulk Hogan and in that time he become what many think of as being ultimate heel, the best heel, greatest heel, what ever you wanted to call him, but this wasn't the first time had been a top heel, he did it before in the early 80s.

Not only could he be the top face or top heel, but he was also in a few very well known matches, some that people think rank among the greatest ever, his May 4th 1981 brawl against Patterson at MSG is one of a few.

Question is: How different would WWF of been from 1984-1990 had Slaughter never left, you can only assume he would of at some point won the WWF title in that time, and feuded with Hogan, Savage, and others. How could the books of been rewrote.

 

[oneofakind318]

Interesting question. I'm sure he would have fallen in line with the guys who aligned themselves with Hogan at some point and then turned on him. He was definitely a big enough star to main event one of the early Manias, so maybe that happens by 2 or 3, or maybe he gets Orndorff's summer/fall run with Hogan. in 86. And even if none of those things happened, his presence in the mid-card certainly changes how the underneath feuds played out and perhaps who got elevated at different times. There's no doubt him staying would have changed the course of history significantly from several angles.

 

[justtxyank]

As an absolute Sarge mark I wish he would have stayed so history would remember him more fondly. Sarge was brilliant in a way that modern fans don't appreciate. Fans now judge a match on the moves that are done, but Sarge was great at telling a story.

If he had stayed in the WWF he would have been a big star, but probably would NOT have won the World Title. This was the Rock & Wrestling Era, and Sarge was perfect to be a baby face for the cartoon years of the WWF. There was no way a face Patriotic Sarge was going to get the belt over Hogan who was the bigger draw. He probably would have had an IC title reign though and a feuds with Sheik, Volkoff, etc. at Wrestlemania would have been nice. Could have started a WM tradition by having him with a flag match each year.

Also don't forget his age. He was five years older than Hogan.

 

[Pedigree1]

I always appreciated Sarge,he was indeed a great character,and a good story teller in the ring.. That is important,the feuds the could have happened.. He could have feuded one on one with the Sheik at WM1 and Volkoff at WM2! A couple of WMs appearances for the Sarge would have been great..

IMO he would have never won the World title as Hogan was the man at that time.. But an IC reign here and there and a Tag Team title reign,maybe with Hacksaw would have not been out of the question. As a Heel or Face,sarge to me,is one of the most underrated stars of all-time. He could play both sides very well.. "I WANT MY COUNTRY BACK"

 

[THTRobtaylor]

It depends really on what they did with Hogan... It was clear they wanted him to be the "Real American" so Sarge was surplus on that score... Another guy who left/retired who had a big impact on this scenario was Jesse Ventura... Either he or Slaughter or both could have been headlining early Manias alongside Hogan.

At the time Jimmy Snuka was being primed to be #2 although his legal stuff put paid to that, perhaps Sarge got wind of this and figured he'd be better off elsewhere. In many ways Hogan's "picking of Slaughter" in 90-91 over guys like Rude could be seen as a loyalty thing from Hogan, he saw Slaughter get squeezed out of the big paydays early and perhaps wanted him to benefit... or of course he knew Slaughter would play ball.

Personally I think Sarge wouldn't have gotten the run he wanted with Hogan around, he saw this early and got out to the AWA where he was the top draw without being champion. His only option was to be a heel against Hogan, which would have diminished his star, without a Ventura type to go against you're into the aging guys like Sheik and Volkoff for face feuds and if he's heel he's gonna be a victim of a HulkUp or Andre...

Now what might have been interesting is if they went with a Slaughter turn at Mania 2. Slaughter as ref in the cage, Hogan wins with the damaged ribs and Slaughter locks in the Camel Clutch on him... now of course this means Mania 3 may not have been Andre... so it's debateable how the WWF would have fared... but if Hogan Slaughter was gonna headline Mania 3 was the time... not 7 when both guys were aging badly.

 

[MINISTRYrising]

If you look at the guys that were around to challenge Hogan bettween 85 and 90, then there is every chance Sarge would have gotten a shot at the Title and I would even go as far as to say that there is a good chance Slaughter may have very well taken Bundys place at Wrestlemania 2. I also think Sarge would have gone on to have feuded with Savage at somepoint down the line before ending up on the Midcard and before long turning Face and becoming a Tag Team Wrestler just like the Million dollar man did and if things did end up turning out this way then I don't think Sarge would have ever gotten a run as the WWE champion.

 

[MrMojoRisin]

If Sarge never left... I don't think they ever would have had him work with Hogan. He would have been more of a B show main event guy and worked angles that didn't involve the title. Maybe an IC run, but that's about it for championships in the WWF. Not everyone got titles back then because in a lot of cases... they simply weren't needed.

Without him being away for so long, I don't know that they even do the Iraqi sympathizer angle during the Gulf War either, because part of what made that so effective was the fact that he'd been gone for so long that it was believable that this once great, patriotic American hero could have changed so drastically.

You don't turn Slaughter heel to work with Hogan in the mid-80's because Slaughter was merchandising gold back then. If I remember right, the entire reason that Slaughter got fired in the first place was because he cut a deal for those GI Joe dolls that didn't include Vince. If Sarge can get that type of deal without Vince McMahon, imagine the possibilities with him. They don't get that revenue stream with a heel Sgt Slaughter at the height of his popularity.

Plus on a personal level, I think Sarge was a little burnt out from working for so many years in the territories prior working a style that was heavy on the bumping. You gotta keep in mind his schedule in the AWA. It was very light, and most feel that during his time there, he was basically just phoning it in. There is a reason that Verne never went with him as champ when he was easily the most recognizable draw he had (well besides the fact that Verne had lost it by then). Had Sarge never been fired... he probably would have retired not too long after anyways, not wanting to have to keep up with the insane WWF travel schedule back then.