Sgt. Slaughter

Robert Rudolph Remus (born August 27, 1948), better known as Sgt. Slaughter, is an American voice actor and retired professional wrestler. He is 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. He won the WWF 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. 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 character.

Remus was born on August 27, 1948, in Detroit, Michigan, and grew up in a farm in Minneapolis, Minnesota. At a young age, he became a fan of professional wrestling after watching it on television with his father. He attended Eden Prairie High School in nearby Eden Prairie, where he wrestled and played football, graduating in 1966.

After training with Verne Gagne and Billy Robinson in Minnesota in 1972, he began working for the American Wrestling Association (AWA) under his real name. He wrestled as "Beautiful" Bobby Remus, competing in Portland and Vancouver. Remus held numerous regional titles early in his career and experienced major success in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). However, he briefly stopped wrestling when his mother was diagnosed with cancer, going back home to run his father's roofing company.

During his time off, Remus came up with the gimmick of a drill sergeant, Sgt. Slaughter, inspired by the 1957 film The D.I. and named after Jackie Gleason's character from the 1963 film Soldier in the Rain. He pitched the idea to Gagne, who liked the idea as it reminded him of his own drill instructor. Harley Race then called Remus to compete as Bob Slaughter in Kansas City.

In 1978, Remus returned to the AWA under a mask as Super Destroyer Mark II. He was initially managed by Lord Alfred Hayes, whom he dismissed and replaced with Bobby Heenan, leading to a feud between the two managers with Hayes as the babyface.

In 1980, Sgt. Slaughter signed with the WWF after receiving a call from Vincent J. McMahon and was pushed as a villainous character. Under the guidance of the Grand Wizard, he 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 WWF World Heavyweight Championship across the WWF territory in 1980, earning two-of-three falls main event matches in most markets, but failed to win the title. He also wrestled Bruno Sammartino in his final match in Madison Square Garden.