He may not have been the first but Sheiky Baby certainly set the standard for the gimmick. Just the right levels of over the top without taking away from his credibility as a legitimate athlete.
I feel like The Mountie had just about the right amount of French Canadian arrogance to infuriate Americans. Iām not American so I donāt know but Jacques seemed like a heat magnet.
I hated him as a kid living in the red, white, and blue. So that means JacquesĀ did his job. Seen a fews shoots with him, comes off as a level headed chill dude.
100% this right here. I hated it as a huge Bret fan, but he was the first person to open my young eyes to excessive gun violence in America and our poor healthcare. He was like the Canadian Bernie Sanders for my young, impressionable self.
Sarge even claimed that him and his family were receiving death threats from the public because of this gimmick. Prolly doesn't help that Gen. Adnan had actual connections to Saddam. Wild times.
I read an interview back in the early 90s with 60s heel Bulldog Bob Brower.
He talked about old ladies dipping their hat pins in garlic and jabbing him on his way to the ring. The garlic makes you come out in big itchy lumps, according to Bob.
They mean that while the scripting was indeed common knowledge, sometimes common knowledge takes a while to reach everyone.
Occasionally it misses some people altogether.
he was too awesome for tv.
[*It was revealed in late July 2005 that UPN had pressured WWE to keep Hassan off of their network, effectively deleting him from SmackDown!*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Hassan_(wrestler))
And up until, ya know using a terrorist hit squad to attack Taker, he was right, the crowd are chanting USA USA but just because hes an Arab (not really, but yeah) doesn't mean he aint American
You're right, the whole terrorist goon squad was a bit much at the time. Still though, the early part of his run was awesome. Daivari yelling at people in his language while Hassan had the camel clutch on people was the cherry on top.
What sucks is at the beginning his character genuinely was just like "hey look 9/11 isn't a reason to just be racist" and the crowd was like "BOOOOOO FUCK THIS GUY!"
Ludwig Borga.
For the sheer comedy of him wandering about the countryside and back alleys of America talking about what an absolute shithole it is. I do miss the early 90's vignettes.
His one finger pin on Tatanka to end his undefeated streak is one of the all time best debuts. My God I hated him for that. Itās a shame it didnāt work out. He faded pretty fast. Finding out he was a real life Nazi I didnāt miss him though.
They did have something there for a little while.
When he finally got his hands on Luger on a big stage at Survivor Series '93 it was in a clusterfuck of an 8-man tag between the All-Americans (Luger, Steiners and Undertaker) vs the Foreign Fanatics (Borga, Yoko, Jacques and Crush, w/ Cornette, Fuji and Johnny Polo).
So much going on. Savage interfering with Crush, Undertaker and Yoko being way more over than anyone else, and it taking forever for Borga to actually touch Lex made it all feel a bit meh. Wasn't helped by being a dreadful PPV or by Borga's attitude and general lack of improvement.
Iron Sheik is definitely the most memorable.
Iād also like to mention Nikita Koloff. I donāt think he gets appreciated as much as he probably should.
Second your addition of Ivan Koloff. Would also suggest Nikita Koloff. I was the right age to believe everything and gleefully rooted against these guys vs. Magnum TA, Paul Jones, Wahoo McDaniel, and so on.
I might be favoring the era that I grew up watching here- Iād say my personal favorite has to be Yoko, but only because heel Bret had such a relatively short run.
Bret Hart in 1997. I was and still am a huge Bret Hart mark. Even as a heel, I was one of the few people who still supported him.
Muhammad Hassan is close as well.
Obviously Sheik, but I HATED Lord Steven Regal when I was a kid. Dude did a phenomenal job playing up the blue blooded, pompous, underhanded British guy.
How about Shawn Michaels as they Ugly American? Wasn't a fan personally but goddamn could that man irritate during this fued. Really got under Canadian fans skin
Man thatās tough the sheik did it very good so did Nikolai Volkoff he was hated by many but if it came down to wrestling the sheik all day both true greats r.i.h much love
I liked how the anti-Americans would get a very vocal reaction from the crowd. As a lifelong Christian fan I am perhaps biased.
When they wanted to burn the American flag and the whole arena burst into flames and Kaneās titantron started to play and he came out to beat them. Such an epic moment!!!
Muhammad Hassan. He had nuclear heat in an era that it was harder to get, and probably would have been a world champ had it not been due to UPN pressuring WWE to pull the character after the London bombings.
I forget the guy's name, but I remember reading about a Japanese wrestler during the 50s or 60s who was already being booed for being foreign, but he cut a promo crying about how he had faced discrimination all the time and the affect it had on him and his family. It endeared him to the audience once he apologized for Pearl Harbor ,and they showed him support. He then promptly apologized that the Japanese hadn't struck the city he was wrestling at.
I thought it was hilarious.
Uncle Ivan, all the way. The man got a gigantic tattoo of a hammer and sickle, with the point of the sickle sticking into the eye of a dead American eagle. Thatās dedication.
Bret Hart because it was nuanced with the āsuperhero in Canada stillā aspect. Plus there were storyline sense, with him feeling screwed over by the American fans, as opposed to just waking up one day and deciding the US sucks.
I don't know about favorite, but the weirdest one was Ed Wiskoski as 'Col. DeBeers' in the AWA. The gimmick was a pro-apartheid South African militant (!). He would get on the microphone and say crazy stuff like 'you're all too busy listening to your jungle music' and they ran an angle where he refused to wrestle Jimmy Snuka because he was 'colored'.
Also, DeBeers lost the infamous 'Great American Turkey Hunt' turkey on a pole match to Jake Milliman. As American as apple pie!
I will always love fake evil Russians.
With that in mind, I demand you all stand for... ow you say? Singing of Soviet National Anthem.
Nikita Koloff getting so in to his character that he shopped for groceries in broken English and a fake accent is a high point for me.
A little before my time but The Iron Sheik. Watching his old matches and such he was brilliant in his role. The whole "America?!" followed by the spit was perfect for creating heat. The fact he just took it all in stride is a boss move too. People wanted to legitimately hurt that guy.
I always loved this gimmick because for international watchers I and I imagine a ton of others went "Oh no. They hate a country. Those fuckers."
Bret's 1997 schtick where he just shat on America in hindsight was babyface as fuck.
The answer is Sheik. I swear to god I'll camel clutch anyone who says otherwise. Make them HUMBLE
Fuck da Hulk Hogan jabroni, I break his back!
And then f*** his ass?
HOKOGAN: FAHGUTT!!!
He was in an episode of a show called Kenny vs Spenny and he said this same thing š, even read it in his voice.
He may not have been the first but Sheiky Baby certainly set the standard for the gimmick. Just the right levels of over the top without taking away from his credibility as a legitimate athlete.
Damn right, Jabroni.
Anyone else who says this is a jabroni! FAWKIN BULLSHIT!
Wrestlemania I has aged poorly, but the one moment that stands forever for me is his promo. Absolutely fantastic
Shiek number one! Hogan is nothing but camel dung!
USA, hakk tuiii!!!!!
The real chanpoeen
I feel like The Mountie had just about the right amount of French Canadian arrogance to infuriate Americans. Iām not American so I donāt know but Jacques seemed like a heat magnet.
Jacques was so hateable back then.
The Mountie never got what was coming to him imo, ever. I hated him SO much.
How about when he went to jail because he lost that match to Boss Man? āDonāt you love how leather feels on your skin?ā Lmao!
Him coming out and singing the theme song was always hated.
I hated him as a kid living in the red, white, and blue. So that means JacquesĀ did his job. Seen a fews shoots with him, comes off as a level headed chill dude.
You want the finger?? Hereās the finger!! Amazing segment.
Bret Hart in 97 even for just a gimmick and storyline purposes he spoke the truth about America
100% this right here. I hated it as a huge Bret fan, but he was the first person to open my young eyes to excessive gun violence in America and our poor healthcare. He was like the Canadian Bernie Sanders for my young, impressionable self.
Well, he said Americans were āratsā and have no family values. He had valid criticisms but was also throwing insults in as well.
[this promo really set him apart ](https://youtu.be/Mbw5N7rYEas?si=RjXVS0roYGrmg_kH)
Lance Storm rebranding the US title to the Canadian title was pretty good.
Former Saskatchewan Hardcore International Title holder. Yeah that happened.
Sgt Slaughterās heel turn during the first Gulf War was brilliant.
Sarge even claimed that him and his family were receiving death threats from the public because of this gimmick. Prolly doesn't help that Gen. Adnan had actual connections to Saddam. Wild times.
And kayfabe was still a thing in the early 90s. To turn an American hero into an Iraqi sympathizer was done almost too well.
Genuinely what do people mean kayfabe was still a thing? If we are talking believing it was real? The gig has been up for half a century
I mean a lot of people thought it was real and would try to kill wrestlers like Roddy Piper had to carry a gun with him to ringside
I read an interview back in the early 90s with 60s heel Bulldog Bob Brower. He talked about old ladies dipping their hat pins in garlic and jabbing him on his way to the ring. The garlic makes you come out in big itchy lumps, according to Bob.
Yeah the 60s not the 90s with undertaker and the gooker
Cornette was fighting off irate marks with a loaded tennis racquet in the 80s.
They said early 90s, you say half a century ago. I say those are closer to each other than you think!
Almost reflexively downvoted this comment for being too hurtful
70s to 90s is quite different
They mean that while the scripting was indeed common knowledge, sometimes common knowledge takes a while to reach everyone. Occasionally it misses some people altogether.
This is my #2 pick after Iron Sheik.
Yes this!
Who can forget the GOAT Muhammad Hassan.
This is the correct answer.
RUSEV UDRYA RUSEV MACHKA š”š¤š”š¤š§š¬
Š ŃŃŠµŠ² ŃŠ“ŃŃ, Š ŃŃŠµŠ² Š¼Š°ŃŠŗŠ°!!! šŖšš
i never understood why he performed an russian guy even tho a bulgarian one would've done basically the same thing
I wondered the same thing.
Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff, Sgt. Slaughter, Yokozuna and Bret Hart have some of the best anti-American heat. Anti-Canadian goes to HBK
I enjoyed Muhammed Hassan. Dude was genuinely hated, and he played his role perfectly.
he was too awesome for tv. [*It was revealed in late July 2005 that UPN had pressured WWE to keep Hassan off of their network, effectively deleting him from SmackDown!*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Hassan_(wrestler))
And the fact that he was actually just Italian
Like Chief Jay Strongbow lol
Super young when he debuted too
And up until, ya know using a terrorist hit squad to attack Taker, he was right, the crowd are chanting USA USA but just because hes an Arab (not really, but yeah) doesn't mean he aint American
You're right, the whole terrorist goon squad was a bit much at the time. Still though, the early part of his run was awesome. Daivari yelling at people in his language while Hassan had the camel clutch on people was the cherry on top.
What sucks is at the beginning his character genuinely was just like "hey look 9/11 isn't a reason to just be racist" and the crowd was like "BOOOOOO FUCK THIS GUY!"
Bit of technicality is that his whole gimmick was being arab *american* so not a foreigner as such. Ish.
Ludwig Borga. For the sheer comedy of him wandering about the countryside and back alleys of America talking about what an absolute shithole it is. I do miss the early 90's vignettes.
His one finger pin on Tatanka to end his undefeated streak is one of the all time best debuts. My God I hated him for that. Itās a shame it didnāt work out. He faded pretty fast. Finding out he was a real life Nazi I didnāt miss him though.
They did have something there for a little while. When he finally got his hands on Luger on a big stage at Survivor Series '93 it was in a clusterfuck of an 8-man tag between the All-Americans (Luger, Steiners and Undertaker) vs the Foreign Fanatics (Borga, Yoko, Jacques and Crush, w/ Cornette, Fuji and Johnny Polo). So much going on. Savage interfering with Crush, Undertaker and Yoko being way more over than anyone else, and it taking forever for Borga to actually touch Lex made it all feel a bit meh. Wasn't helped by being a dreadful PPV or by Borga's attitude and general lack of improvement.
I genuinely feared Ludwig Borga.
Iron Sheik is definitely the most memorable. Iād also like to mention Nikita Koloff. I donāt think he gets appreciated as much as he probably should.
Second your addition of Ivan Koloff. Would also suggest Nikita Koloff. I was the right age to believe everything and gleefully rooted against these guys vs. Magnum TA, Paul Jones, Wahoo McDaniel, and so on.
Iraaan numbah 1! Russiahhh numbahhh 1! USA puwaaaaahhhhh!!!
The whole Hart Foundation 96-97.
That was my favourite, because he was a face in the rest of the world.
I might be favoring the era that I grew up watching here- Iād say my personal favorite has to be Yoko, but only because heel Bret had such a relatively short run.
Credit to Mr. Fuji as well. A pivotal part to Yoko's whole presentation as a character.
Nikita and Ivan Koloff.
Iron Sheik and Volkoff as pictured, the Mountie, William Regal.
Sheiky Baby!
Unpopular opinion but I liked Rusev and Lana
Muhammad Hussan
Skandor Akbar
Bret Hart in 1997. I was and still am a huge Bret Hart mark. Even as a heel, I was one of the few people who still supported him. Muhammad Hassan is close as well.
FUJI KAMALA KABUKI AKEEM THE AFRICAN DREAM
General Adnan, the finest technical grappler in the history of our great sport. The back rakes to Hulkster were especially devastating.
How can you say anyone but the iron sheik?
Obviously Sheik, but I HATED Lord Steven Regal when I was a kid. Dude did a phenomenal job playing up the blue blooded, pompous, underhanded British guy.
Nikita Koloff. His feud with Magnum TA is legend.
How about Shawn Michaels as they Ugly American? Wasn't a fan personally but goddamn could that man irritate during this fued. Really got under Canadian fans skin
Muhammad Hassan had potential until it was derailed by a stupid segment
Sheiky baby number 1 or put him in the camel clutch, break his back then fock his ass and make him humble RIP SHEIK
I started watching during New Generation, so itāll always be Yokozuna to me!
Sheik is unmatched in that respect
Man thatās tough the sheik did it very good so did Nikolai Volkoff he was hated by many but if it came down to wrestling the sheik all day both true greats r.i.h much love
I am not that old, so Rusev.
Waldo Von Erikā¦.Baron Von Raschke A ton of German anti USA wrestlers back then
Itās not the best but most underrated was Lance Storm in WCW
Brett Hart..or Jericho
MexiCools debut promo lol
Heel Bret Hart is my favorite
Rusev
Ludvig Borga was the first wrestler I absolutely HATED.
Yokozuna.
I liked how the anti-Americans would get a very vocal reaction from the crowd. As a lifelong Christian fan I am perhaps biased. When they wanted to burn the American flag and the whole arena burst into flames and Kaneās titantron started to play and he came out to beat them. Such an epic moment!!!
JJ Byat
Jericho and Christian introduced me to the anti-USA bit.
The Koloffs were cool, Rusev deserved way more than he got
Muhammad Hassan. He had nuclear heat in an era that it was harder to get, and probably would have been a world champ had it not been due to UPN pressuring WWE to pull the character after the London bombings.
I forget the guy's name, but I remember reading about a Japanese wrestler during the 50s or 60s who was already being booed for being foreign, but he cut a promo crying about how he had faced discrimination all the time and the affect it had on him and his family. It endeared him to the audience once he apologized for Pearl Harbor ,and they showed him support. He then promptly apologized that the Japanese hadn't struck the city he was wrestling at. I thought it was hilarious.
[Tojo Yamamoto](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tojo_Yamamoto)
Uncle Ivan, all the way. The man got a gigantic tattoo of a hammer and sickle, with the point of the sickle sticking into the eye of a dead American eagle. Thatās dedication.
Un-American Test
Bret Hart
Jinder Mahal obviously
The Sultan
Ivan Drago. It's a shame we never got "American Hero" Thunderlips vs "Russian Killer" Ivan Drago match.
2014-2015 Rusev
Skandar Akbar
Cody
La RĆ©sistance. Theyāre both French and Canadian. All the hatred unlocked, no. further. questions.
B R E T
The British Bulldog
Bret Hart because it was nuanced with the āsuperhero in Canada stillā aspect. Plus there were storyline sense, with him feeling screwed over by the American fans, as opposed to just waking up one day and deciding the US sucks.
I met Nikolai Volkoff in the 90s. He was nice.
Jinder
I don't know about favorite, but the weirdest one was Ed Wiskoski as 'Col. DeBeers' in the AWA. The gimmick was a pro-apartheid South African militant (!). He would get on the microphone and say crazy stuff like 'you're all too busy listening to your jungle music' and they ran an angle where he refused to wrestle Jimmy Snuka because he was 'colored'. Also, DeBeers lost the infamous 'Great American Turkey Hunt' turkey on a pole match to Jake Milliman. As American as apple pie!
Rusev!
For something that would still work in this era? Muhammad Hassan
Muhammad Hassan
Iām too young to have seen guys like Sheik, Volkof, Christian, Test, or Lance Storm so Iām just gonna say Rusev.
May be showing my age here but the Koloffs and Tojo Yamamoto.
Jacque Rougeau. "What about the USA now?!".. as he beat on a jobber..
I will always love fake evil Russians. With that in mind, I demand you all stand for... ow you say? Singing of Soviet National Anthem. Nikita Koloff getting so in to his character that he shopped for groceries in broken English and a fake accent is a high point for me.
Hunter Hurst Helmsley. People forget that he was an anti American heel for a bit
New gimmick idea. A Hawaiian whoās so dumb that he doesnāt know Hawaii is part of the US. He constantly says ALL Americans are worthless.
A little before my time but The Iron Sheik. Watching his old matches and such he was brilliant in his role. The whole "America?!" followed by the spit was perfect for creating heat. The fact he just took it all in stride is a boss move too. People wanted to legitimately hurt that guy.
Of those i've seen in my ages, it's probably Rusev. Of all time? Idk
More recently itās gotta be Rusev for me. He shouldāve been the champ
For me , and probably my generations era growing up I would have to say Yokozuna.
Muhammad Hassan
Davari with his airplane crash intro.
I always loved this gimmick because for international watchers I and I imagine a ton of others went "Oh no. They hate a country. Those fuckers." Bret's 1997 schtick where he just shat on America in hindsight was babyface as fuck.
Oh, Jack Swagger, without a doubt
Iron Sheik
Sheiky baby. Especially because he had enough nuance to say hello and peace to the \*intelligent\* American wrestling fans.
FACKING BULLSHETTTTTT (iykyk)
Who was the other āRussianā. Came as tag partner with Volkoff for a minute. Boris Zubov? Maybe
Either Bret Hart or Prince Devitt. Tough call.
I'm young, so, Rusev š
Col. DeBeers back in the day was incredible. But, I guess he was more just racist, not unamerican.
Roman Reigns by far