History Wrestling / SgtSlaughter

* CatchPhrase: '''"...AND THAT'S AN ORDER!"'''. Worked as this and as bottom line for his bold promos.
** "Cobra can run... [[YouCanRunButYouCantHide BUT THEY CAN'T HIDE!]]" and "AWE-SOME!" on his toy ads and the cartoon.

* {{Eagleland}}: The incarnation of this trope turned into a [[TheGimmick/ProfessionalWrestling gimmick]], either as face (Flavor 1) or heel (Flavor 2).

* ImprobableWeaponUser: When he started up as one of the most red-hot heels of his day, fans were told by the announcers that he was going into the ring wearing non-official combat boots for the match.

** By his own confession, he attempted to get drafted but a lazy right eye prevented him to serve his country. Nevertheless, much of his fans are ''actually'' in the Marine Corps. The man is possibly be the best recruitment tool ever created!

* LastOfHisKind: While he never actually served in the military, he's the very last wrestler from the "Golden Era" maintaining his own kayfabe outside of the ring, that said, he frequently mixes and matches U.S.M.C. and Army parafernalia (E.G. The chevrons on his gear/hat are CLEARLY the Army version.)

** The wrestler he's talking about was [[Wrestling/TheUndertaker later known as...]]

* AlliterativeName: Both his stage name and real name.

** As a heel in WWE: Hogan and The Wrestling/UltimateWarrior.

* CombatPragmatist: He didn't commit the mistake made by many others before him of trying to over-power or cheat on Wrestling/AndreTheGiant, he just went right up to deliver a beating for the ages onto {{The Big Guy}}. Sarge lost, true... but he was one of the first wrestlers (heel or face) to give "The 8th Wonder of the World" a run for his money.

* LastOfHisKind: While he never actually served in the military, he's the very last wrestler from the Golden era maintaining his own kayfabe outside of the ring, that said, he frequently mixes and matches U.S.M.C. and Army parafernalia (E.G. The chevrons on his gear/hat are CLEARLY the Army version.)

** The Cobra Clutch.
** During his Iraqi heel run, he also used the Camel Clutch.
** and...a move often referred to as the "Atomic Noogie", a modified Tongan Death Grip.

** By his own confession, he attempted to get drafted but a lazy right eye prevented him to serve his country. Nevertheless, most of his fans are ''actually'' in Marine Corps. He might be the best recruitment tool ever created!

* {{Acrofatic}}: For a man of his frame, it was quite a show to watch him perform sunset flips, turnbuckle evations and missile top-rope big boots.

* BigBad: He was the Top Heel in NWA Mid-Atlantic from 1981 to 1983. As the man revealed on his ""A&E Biography"'' episode, that is the trait of his character he enjoys the most.

* DeathFromAbove: "The Slaughter Cannon", his top rope lariat.

** "The Cobra Corps," which had a few different versions:

* BigBad: He was the Top Heel in NWA Mid-Atlantic from 1981 to 1983.

--> '''Wrestling/BretHart''': "One of the ''biggest'' names in history."

** We are talking about the wrestling career of a man Wrestling/RicFlair levels here. A performer who has literally spilled blood and guts for every brand he worked for. [[TheatricsOfPain Sold]] like a god, [[TheAce in-roped enough]] to open his own school and a world-wide known gimmick for the ages.
** As a matter of fact, you can count on the fingers of one hand the wrestlers that have beaten the Large Sarge clean. That's because he can, and rest assured he will be, as [[KnightTemplar face]] or [[BloodKnight heel]] as he needs.

* SemperFi: Sometimes is hard to tell the difference between the character and the man. While he never actually served in the military, he's one of the last wrestlers to attempt to maintain his own kayfabe outside of the ring, so one just can't deny this is his thing. That said, he frequently mixes and matches Marine Corps and Army terminology (the chevrons on his gear/hat are CLEARLY the Army version, for example.)

* AceCustom: He actually had two {{Thememobil|e}}es on G.I. Joe, the ''"Triple T Tank"'' and the ''"Slaughter's Warthog"''.

* AceCustom[=/=]{{Thememobile}}: He actually had two on G.I. Joe, the ''"Triple T Tank"'' and the ''"Slaughter's Warthog"''.

* TheChewToy: From mid-[[TurnOfTheMillennium oughties]] to this date, every time you see him wearing his fatigues and walking down the aisle, he is heading to a [[SquashMatch 6 minutes-or-less beat-up]] in order to put over some new talent (Your heel of the week, more often than not).

* WhipOfDominance: He frequently carries a riding crop (when not a swagger stick) with him as a prop to denote his [[TheGimmick gimmick]] as an authoritative and strict DrillSergeantNasty and he'd often talk about his "whipping people into shape" training method involved quite literal whipping.

* SemperFi: Sometimes is hard to tell the difference between the character and the man. While he never actually served in the military, he's one of the last wrestlers to attempt to maintain his own kayfabe outside of the ring, so one just can't deny this is his thing.

** We are talking about the wrestling career of a man Wrestling/RicFlair levels here. A performer who has litteraly spilled blood and guts for every brand he worked for. [[TheatricsOfPain Sold]] like a god, [[TheAce in-roped enough]] to open his own school and a world-wide known gimmick for the ages.
** As a matter of fact, you can count on the fingers of one hand the wrestlers that beated the Large Sarge clean. That's because he can, and rest assured he will be, as [[KnightTemplar face]] or [[BloodKnight heel]] as he needs.

* CoolShades: ...and when they [[TheGlassesComeOff come off]], his opponent will have [[BoisterousBruiser only two ways outta]] the match, [[FanWink ON HIS FEET LIKE A MAN, OR IN A DITTY BAG...]] [[OverlyLongGag AN ITTY, BITTY, DITTY BAG!!!]]

[[caption-width-right:288:"...you're goin' nowhere space-case, you're here ´cause you´re '''AN INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH FOUL UP!!!''' My job is to whip you into shape, and I mean '''[[WhipOfDominance WHIP!!!"]]''' ]]

[[caption-width-right:288:"...you're goin' nowhere space-case, you're here ´cause you´re '''AN INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH FOUL UP!!!''' My job is to whip you into shape, and I mean '''[[WhipItGood WHIP!!!"]]''' ]]

* AllAmericanFace: He first debuted in WWF using his old DrillSergeantNasty gimmick, but as a legit leatherneck he was in a good position to stand up for the [[MyCountryRightOrWrong US of A]] against Iron Sheik and turn face.

* BurningTheFlag: The unthinkable was definitely just that during Slaughter's face runs, as anyone who even so much as verbally insulted the American flag [[{{Eagleland}} was in for a major beating]]. That said, this was considered -- briefly -- by the WWF's writing team during Slaughter's heel run, as an effort to build tremendous heel heat for his Iraqi sympathizer persona, during his stint as the WWF World Heavyweight Champion while America was engaged in the Persian Gulf War with Iraq. Fortunately, he [[OnlySaneMan nixed the idea]] deciding that doing so in an arena, even during a house show, would have very negative (to put it mildly) consequences for both him and WWF; it was bad enough that (off-camera) Slaughter[[note]]In a time he and his family had been target of very frightening death threats.[[/note]] was said to have "defaced the American flag." After some convincing by him and a few others, the writing team decided that [[ClosestThingWeGot burning a Hogan's T-shirt attached to a flagpole]] would draw the desired heat and make its point: America was weak and everything they stand for [[note]]...namely [[AllAmericanFace "The Real American"]].[[/note]]would have no chance against his "Triangle of Terror" at ''Wrestling/WrestleMania VII''.

* CoolShades: ...and when they [[TheGlassesComeOff come off]], his opponent will have [[BoisterousBruiser only two ways outta]] the match, [[MythologyGag ON HIS FEET LIKE A MAN, OR IN A DITTY BAG...]] [[OverlyLongGag AN ITTY, BITTY, DITTY BAG!!!]]

* EvenEvilHasStandards: He wanted to beat the daylights out of the New Age Outlaws when they threw a dumpster that had Wrestling/TerryFunk and Wrestling/MickFoley. Keep in mind, he's one of VKM's top henchmen and they were shocked on what happened.

* ImprobableWeaponUser: When he started up as one of the most red-hot heels of his day, we were said by the announcers that he was going up the ring wearing non-official combat boots for the match.

** The fact that his TagTeam was called "The ''Cobra'' Corps" and his FinishingMove ''Cobra'' Clutch, being himself a member of Franchise/GIJoe, whose opposing force goes by the name [[RuleOfThree Cobra]].

** ...and lets not forget [[WesternAnimation/GIJoeTheMovie G.I. Joe: The Movie]], prime example of [[CharacterDevelopment character development]] for a professional wrestler [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jqxYHB-Ijg in another media]] a full year before "[[Film/TheyLive They Live!]]".

* MeaningfulName: His second [[Franchise/GIJoe G.I. Joe action figure]] came as driver of the ''Triple T'' tank. The vehicle's name stands for ''[[TagTeam Tag Team Terminator]]''.

-->"He was a wrestler already, but stuck in a no man's land. I saw his tape and took it to Wrestling/VinceMcMahon and said, 'I think this is someone you should look at.' He said to me, 'I believe in you, sign him up for a shot. He had real short red hair. Tall guy, almost 6'9" and from Rochester, N.Y. I brought him in for a tryout and said, 'Welcome, find a locker, go to catering, we'll tape your match. It won't air but we'll see how you do against an opponent.' "

* TheNicknamer: In a more family-friendly way, but one that would made SelfDemonstrating/RLeeErmey proud of, he used to call his opponents and fans alike in TermsOfEndangerment like ''Greaseball'', ''Slime'', ''Sleeze'', ''Puke'' and more famously ''Maggot''.
** Hell, just ask [[Wrestling/PaulOrndorff "Mr. Wonderful"]] how so well that went for him!

* ThePowerOfRock: Odd enough, in 1985 and as means of self-promotion, Slaughter and some friends recorded an LP, produced through an independent record label called ''[[Main/MeaningfulName Cobra Records]]''. The release of the album "Sgt. Slaughter & Camouflage ROCKS AMERICA" led Sarge to New York City to meet with a RCA producer who wanted to insert him into the existing lineup of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autograph_(American_band) Autograph]] (of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8CcTYsMHYU "Turn Up The Radio"]] fame.). Despite assurances from the producer, Sarge declined.

* SemperFi: Sometimes is hard to tell the difference between the character and the man. One just can't deny this is his thing.

** "The Cobra Corps", which had a few different versions:

* HeelRealization: Defeated by Hogan, the Large Sarge [[TheQuisling realized how much of a traitor he was]] and after a deep and hard soul search he started to claim '''[[IFightForTheStrongestSide "I want country back!"]]'''.

* {{Acrofatic}}: For a man of his frame, it was quite a show to watch him perform (...or at least, attempt to) sunset flips, turnbuckle evations and missile top-rope big boots.

* AndKnowingIsHalfTheBattle: Back when The Sarge was made the sponsor and face of Creator/{{Hasbro}}'s Franchise/GIJoe franchise, WWF made him resign since the promotion had a contract with Creator/LJNToys. Oh yes, that was the reason why he missed the first six ''[[Wrestling/WrestleMania WrestleManias]]''... and, well... '''now you know!'''
** This came with a hefty price. Once back in WWF Vince gave him the "Iraqi sympathizer" stint that almost cost him more than his career.

* BigDamnHeroes: Besides every instance he did so in G.I. Joe, a RealLife example occurred when a crazed fan stabbed [[Wrestling/RoddyPiper "Rowdy" Roddy Piper]]. It was The Large Sarge who swiftly made the save and took his partner to the hospital.

** ...or what, you thought that [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQV_2TNSlWw riding crop]] of his was to direct a marching band?
** The point is... the man was '''[[GarbageWrestler HARDCORE]]''' before it was [[Wrestling/AttitudeEra a thing]].
* BoisterousBruiser: ...man, that goes without saying!
* BurningTheFlag: The unthinkable was definitely just that during Slaughter's face runs, as anyone who even so much as verbally insulted the American flag [[{{Eagleland}} was in for a major beating]]. That said, this was considered -- briefly -- by the WWF's writing team during Slaughter's heel run, as an effort to build tremendous heel heat for this Iraqi sympathizer, during his stint as the WWF World Heavyweight Champion and America was engaged in the Persian Gulf War with Iraq. Fortunately, he [[OnlySaneMan nixed the idea]] deciding that doing so in an arena, even during a house show, would have very negative (to put it mildly) consequences for both him and WWF; it was bad enough that (off-camera) Slaughter[[note]]In a time he and his family had been target of very frightening death threats.[[/note]] was said to have "defaced the American flag." After some convincing by him and a few others, the writing team decided that [[ClosestThingWeGot burning a Hogan's T-shirt attached to a flagpole]] would draw the desired heat and make its point: America was weak and everything they stand for [[note]]...namely [[AllAmericanFace "The Real American"]].[[/note]]would have no chance against his "Triangle of Terror" at ''Wrestling/WrestleMania VII''.

* CelebrityToons: Not only was he made into a Franchise/GIJoe character[[note]]Bonus point for being '''THE VERY FIRST''' character from [[RealLife our universe]].[[/note]], he voiced all his cartoon appearances.

* NiceHat: Sometimes a helmet, sometimes a beret, but most of the times his trademark campaign hat.

** Once he made up his mind to become a wrestler, he got his very fist [[TheGimmick/ProfessionalWrestling gimmick]] from his wife (beautician by trade) who bleached his hair and he debuted in december of 1973 as [[AgentPeacock "Beautiful" Bobby Remus]] (Yet another Wrestling/SuperstarBillyGraham {{Expy}}), a flamboyant and tidy character wearing tie-dye clothing.

* GeneralRipper: Slaughter couldn't accept that [[TheGreatPoliticsMessUp the Cold War ended peacefully]] and thought it was an evil trick by the USSR. He was infuriated that the United States fans would accept Nikolai Volkoff's face turn. He ended up turning heel over it.