Sgt. Slaughter

Sgt. Slaughter was the loud, no-nonsense drill instructor who could turn an arena into a parade ground. As Robert Remus in that role, he stood out as both a proud patriot and a daring villain, able to lead a crowd in the Pledge one year and challenge national pride the next. His career stretches from the territory locker rooms of the 1970s through the WWF boom of the 1980s to the title picture in 1991.

Remus trained in Minnesota under Verne Gagne and Billy Robinson in 1972, then worked the AWA and Pacific Northwest before shaping the tough, sunglasses-and-campaign-hat persona that stuck.

He wrestled under a mask as Super Destroyer Mark II, even linking with Bobby Heenan, before the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) called in 1980 and pushed him as a top heel with a $5,000 “Cobra Clutch challenge.” That run produced a famous blood feud with Pat Patterson and the no-referee Madison Square Garden Alley Fight on May 4, 1981, where Patterson won by towel stoppage after a brutal, weapon-littered brawl.

He moved to Jim Crockett Promotions in September 1981, winning the NWA United States Heavyweight Title in October by defeating Ricky Steamboat in a tournament final. Teaming with Don Kernodle, he later held the NWA World Tag Team Championship and anchored a heated program with Steamboat and Jay Youngblood.

That rivalry peaked in the “Final Conflict” steel cage match on March 12, 1983, when Steamboat and Youngblood took the titles in Richmond before a raucous crowd.

Slaughter returned to the WWF in 1983 and, after a turn to the fan side early in 1984, swung into a fiery U.S. versus Iran program with The Iron Sheik. Their famous Boot Camp Match at Madison Square Garden on June 16, 1984, was the violent capstone of the feud and one of that era’s most celebrated arena main events.

By mid-1984 he left WWF over a well-covered merchandising dispute tied to signing on as a real-person member of Hasbro’s G.I. Joe franchise. The AWA welcomed him as a top good guy from 1985 into 1990 while the G.I. Joe partnership made him a pop-culture figure beyond the ring.

He came back to the WWF in mid-1990 as an on-screen Iraqi sympathizer during the Gulf War period, managed by General Adnan. The story drew widespread anger from fans and led to his biggest win, when he defeated The Ultimate Warrior at the Royal Rumble on January 19, 1991, for the WWF Championship, with the help of Randy Savage.

Two months later, Hulk Hogan beat him for the title in the WrestleMania VII main event on March 24, 1991, closing the loop on one of WWE’s most controversial storylines.

After further programs that summer, Slaughter drifted from the ring and returned in a different role during the Attitude Era.

On August 4, 1997, he was introduced on Raw as WWF’s on-air Commissioner, soon locking horns with D-Generation X and even wrestling Triple H at In Your House: D-Generation X on December 7, 1997. He then slid into an authority and ambassador presence for the company.

In the ring, he worked like a bruising sergeant. He hit hard, kept a steady pace, and wore opponents down before finishing them. His main move was the Cobra Clutch, a choke-style hold applied from behind. During his 1990–1991 villain run, he also used the Camel Clutch, where he sat on an opponent’s back, leaned his weight forward, and pulled their head up to apply pressure. Short clotheslines and heavy stomps set up his finish, and he often carried a riding crop to the ring as part of his act.

He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2004 and continues to be a regular guest on television and at conventions related to both WWE and G.I. Joe. Today, he is widely recognized as a WWE ambassador and serves as a living connection to multiple eras of the industry.