How The Real Life Gulf War Made WrestleMania 7's Main Event One Of The Most Controversial In WWE History
Mia Phillips
Updated on September 25, 2026
Quick Links
Whether he was a big nasty heel drill Sergeant that would give Full Metal Jacket’s Gunnery Sergeant Hartman a run for his money, or he was a cartoon version of himself bodyslamming Nemesis Enforcer in the original G.I. Joe movie, one thing was for certain. Sgt. Slaughter was and All-American Hero. There was a moment where Vince McMahon wanted to put WWE solely on Slaughter’s back before signing Hogan. Being a part of G.I. Joe was what squashed that idea and Sarge would exit the company, spending the next several years working for the AWA as well as the popular 80s cartoon.
Related: 5 Biggest Allies Of Hulk Hogan's Wrestling Career (& 5 Biggest Enemies)
But shortly after WrestleMania 6, Slaughter would give Vince McMahon a congratulatory call, as well as fish for some work at a time that would change everything. It wasn’t long before Sgt. Slaughter was brought back to the company. In the fall of 1990, vignettes started to air showing a disgusted Slaughter angered by the once strong American empire and how its citizens became soft. If that wasn’t bad enough to get Sarge some serious heel heat, he began espousing the glory of the despot Saddam Hussein. It all led up to the most patriotic WrestleMania of all time, WrestleMania 7, Superstars And Stripes Forever.
WrestleMania 7 Had To Be Held In A Smaller Arena
At WrestleMania 3, WWE established the largest indoor attendance record, over 93,000. It was a marker they have sought to surpass several times since, finally succeeding at WrestleMania 32. But the company’s first attempt came during WrestleMania 6 when it was announced that WrestleMania 7 would be held at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Now at over 100 years old, the LA Coliseum could house well over one hundred thousand fans easily. It seemed to be the perfect spot to house the WWE Universe for the seventh annual Showcase of the Immortals.
Several factors would cause the company to shift gears and instead bring the event to the smaller nearby venue, the LA Memorial Sports Arena. The attempt to break WrestleMania 3’s record was abandoned due to poor business and the rising costs of security in the wake of the impending and eventual Iraq War.
Sgt. Slaughter Becomes A Heel As An Iraqi Sympathizer
Thanks in part to the massive success of WrestleMania 6, Sgt. Slaughter gave his then-former employer, Vince McMahon, a call to congratulate him on the massive success of the event. It would be several months later that Sgt. Slaughter was called back into service. WWE had come up with a wild angle. At first, it was to be revealed that Hulk Hogan’s old friend Tugboat had adopted the ways of the evil Iraqi society, where he would be rebranded Sheik Tugboat and ready himself for a battle against Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania 7.
Related: 10 Matches That Would Have Main Evented WrestleMania If It Was Two Nights
With all due respect to “Uncle Fred,” thankfully Slaughter wound up being called upon to make the heated storyline idea even more heated. What if the American hero turned turncoat instead? Slaughter returned and burned Hulk Hogan’s shirt in effigy. He would also challenge for and win the WWE title at the 1991 Royal Rumble which took place eerily and coincidentally two days after President George H.W. Bush declared war on Iraq. This made the white-hot heel heat of the new WWE Champion even crazier.
Hulk Hogan Beats Sgt. Slaughter At WrestleMania 7
If Sgt. Slaughter was an actor on a television and this was the storyline, no one would bat an eye. But in wrestling, the turncoat storyline got Slaughter a ton of heat, and it spilled over into his real life as well. He and his family received death threats. Those same threats and others were coming to the WWE Corporate Headquarters as well, so much in fact that Vince McMahon ordered police and security guards to keep Mrs. Slaughter safe. The company reviewed the kind of costs for security it would take to keep the entire roster and the one hundred thousand plus they planned on having at WrestleMania 7 safe. Combined with exorbitant costs that they would have to foot the bill for and poor ticket sales, Vince decided to move to the indoor venue.
Related: 11 Highest Rated WrestleManias, According To IMDb
The event is actually one of best out of the first decade of WrestleMania. The crowd was on fire the whole night. Randy Savage carried Ultimate Warrior to his best match ever and fans got one of the most emotional moments because of it.
While it wasn’t an official “Tribute To The Troops” special that would start years later, WWE are huge supporters of the USAF, and that made WrestleMania 7 all the more special. The entire arena was decked out in red, white, and blue as WWE fans cheered on Hulk Hogan in his quest to win back the WWE title for a then unprecedented third time. He would succeed, as once again, WWE's true American hero, Hulk Hogan, was the victor over Sgt. Slaughter.
