WWE Hall of Famer Sgt Slaughter recently spoke with the Dallas Observer while he was in Dallas to promote Wrestlemania Fan Axxess.
Slaughter talked about his career highlights, this year’s Wrestlemania 32 in the Dallas area, and much more. You can read a few excerpts below:
Sgt Slaughter talks about the Von Erichs, WCCW memories:
The only time I got to wrestle The Von Erichs was in St. Louis at the Kiel Auditorium and I went up against Kerry Von Erich. I never performed in WCCW and never got the chance to wrestle in the famous Sportatorium, but I did watch a few shows there as a fan. It was quite the exciting atmosphere and I know people were sad when it was torn down. The Sportatorium was very hot and it was a place that a lot of the guys enjoyed, but the guys knew that they’d lose five or 10 pounds in a match if they worked more than 45 minutes (laughs). Back then there were only four or five matches on a card so the matches would be longer.
His own Dallas wrestling memories:
Dallas was always a place you enjoyed to come and perform at because the fans always understood what we were doing. So you always worked a little bit harder for them to remember your match. When we did the USA vs Iran angle, the chants were so loud. A lot of good memories and ones that are still with me.
Sgt Slaughter talks about his heel run leading up to Wrestlemania 7:
Around the time of the 1st Wrestlemania, Hasbro Toys wanted me to be the spokesperson and the first living G.I. Joe for their cartoon and toy line. WWE was elated but said they couldn’t let me be in the WWE if I went with Hasbro because the toy companies would be conflicting. So it was a big decision and I knew I could always be a wrestler but couldn’t pass up being the first living G.I. Joe. I missed the first six Wrestlemanias but when I came back I figured that Vince McMahon would want to take Sgt. Slaughter the American Hero and make him an even bigger American hero. McMahon had other ideas (laughs). He had planned to hold Wrestlemania 7 in the LA Coliseum and sell over 100,000 seats, and that was what we worked for. We wanted to break the WrestleMania 3 record. We started the program and I defeated the Ultimate Warrior for the title and then went into the feud with Hulk Hogan. We started to light things on fire and Vince gave me full reign. We did a lot of things to provoke the fans. I asked people to stand up and sing “Happy Birthday” to Saddam Hussein when it was his birthday. It got pretty rough — the fans would try to jump over the barriers. The music of my opponent would come on right before the crowd went into a frenzy. I don’t think there will ever be another gimmick like the Sgt. Slaughter Iraqi sympathizer; it’s just too over-the-line.
I would get death threats every night as we got closer to Wrestlemania. Vince called me and said someone called the office and threatened he would blow up Vince’s house, WWE headquarters and Sgt. Slaughter’s house. Vince didn’t take those threats lightly so WWE would give me extra security. I never flew on the same planes as the rest of the talent and I’d be escorted with more security. I never thought much of it, but it only takes one person who lost somebody in the war. We were careful. I wouldn’t arrive to the arena until right before my match so that nobody really saw me coming and going.
The FBI asked me to wear a bulletproof vest while I wrestled because of all the death threats. It was suggested that I burn the American flag, but there was no way I was going to do that. Instead I burned Hulk Hogan’s shirt and that may have caused an even bigger uproar than anything that we did. The threats kept coming so they told Vince that he had to up security at the Coliseum. Vince instead moved the event indoors to the LA Arena.
At Wrestlemania there were all these celebrities I was excited to meet and they wouldn’t even talk to me. Willie Nelson just shook his head when he saw me and said, “I can’t believe you Sarge.”
Does he have any predictions or hopes for this year’s WWE Hall of Fame class?
It is my favorite night of the weekend. I’d like to see Ray Stevens and the Fabulous Freebirds and Undertaker be inducted this weekend, although I’m not sure The Undertaker is done wrestling just yet. I’m a fan myself.
