Sgt. Slaughter

Robert Rudolph Remus (born August 27, 1948), whose ring name is Sgt. Slaughter, is an American voice actor and retired professional wrestler.

He is currently 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.

Remus was trained by Verne Gagne in Minnesota for American Wrestling Association (AWA) territory in 1972.

In 1974, he made his debut in Portland, Oregon and Vancouver.

Then he made his first tour in Japan in January 1975 for International Wrestling Enterprise and July 1975 for All Japan Pro wrestling.

Remus held numerous regional titles early in his career and experienced his second major success in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA).

In 1978, Remus returned to the American Wrestling Association under a mask as Super Destroyer Mark II with manager Lord Alfred Hayes, whom he dismissed and replaced with Bobby Heenan, leading to a feud between the two managers with Hayes as the babyface.

He then signed with the WWF and was pushed as a villainous character.

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.

Remus himself never served in the military.

He received several draft deferments and even opposed the war, often protesting and demonstrating within the antiwar movement.

This has caused controversy because, at times, Remus has talked about military service while seeming to be speaking as himself, and not in kayfabe character.

This has led to accusations of cowardice and stolen valor.

Remus was born in Detroit, Michigan, and grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

He attended Eden Prairie High School in nearby Eden Prairie, where he wrestled and played football.

Between 1980 and 1981, Slaughter wrestled in the WWF under the guidance of the Grand Wizard.

He very 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 World Wrestling Federation World Heavyweight Championship across the WWF territory in 1980, earning two-of-three falls main event matches in most markets.

Slaughter was the only WWF-based challenger not to do the honors for Backlund at MSG (Backlund defeated him at the Meadowlands, but never in the Garden).

Slaughter then engaged in a feud with Pat Patterson, which stemmed from Slaughter calling Patterson "yellow" and offering him $10,000 (double the usual amount) 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, starting a hot feud which culminated in an "Alley Fight" in New York, New York's Madison Square Garden between the two

In September 1981, Slaughter joined the National Wrestling Alliance, mainly wrestling for its flagship territory Jim Crockett Promotions.

In October 1981, he took part in a tournament to determine a new NWA United States Heavyweight Champion; he defeated Johnny Weaver, Jay Youngblood, and Rick Steamboat in the tournament to win the vacant title.

He would hold onto the title for over seven months, before losing the title to Wahoo McDaniel in May 1982.

In September 1982, 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.

During this period, Slaughter also toured Germany and Austria for the Catch Wrestling Association, twice (in 1982 and 1983) unsuccessfully challenging CWA World Heavyweight Champion Otto Wanz.

They would be in a heated rivalry with the team of Rick Steamboat and Jay Youngblood, which culminated on March 12, 1983, losing the titles to Steamboat and Youngblood in a steel cage match in Greensboro, North Carolina.

After the rivalry ended, Slaughter left JCP.

Slaughter returned to the WWF in March 1983, and again took on the Grand Wizard as his manager.

He immediately targeted Backlund, who was still the reigning WWF World Heavyweight Champion.

Slaughter turned up the feud another notch when he attacked Backlund at a television taping; Backlund was in the process of completing the Harvard step test before Slaughter beat him repeatedly with his riding crop, 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.

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.

He won the WWF World 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.