Wrestling's 10 greatest flag wavers

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

Listen to the podcast

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

June 14 is Flag Day, so I figured what better way to honor the stars and stripes than with a post about the men and women of wrestling who have shown love for Old Glory. I know my post about veterans who are now wrestlers caused some hurt feelings on Memorial Day. One Facebook friend even unfollowed and blocked me as a result. I'm hoping this post isn't taken out of context or the wrong way. I just want to celebrate the American flag and honor those who wave it proudly in the ring.

Hulk Hogan
Courtesy: WWE

Hulk Hogan may go down as the most American loving wrestler in the history of the business. While some will argue Hacksaw Jim Duggan or Sgt. Slaughter, I don't ever recall Hogan turning his back on the USA and sympathizing for another country like Duggan did for Canada and Slaughter did with Iraq. None the less, Hacksaw and Sarge are up there in terms of their mostly loyal actions toward this great country. How could you go wrong with Hulk? His theme was Real American (originally for Barry Windham and Mike Rotunda) and he's strumming an American flag guitar.

Hacksaw Jim Duggan
Courtesy: WWE

Sgt. Slaughter
Courtesy: WWE

Cpl. Kirchner
Courtesy: WWE

When Sgt. Slaughter left WWE in the mid-80s he was replaced by Cpl. Kirschner. No knock to the Superstar, he just wasn't up to the Sarge's level. He carried on the love of country gimmick and even beat Nikolai Volkoff in a flag match at WrestleMania II. But he never had that same level of charisma Slaughter had. The connection with the fans wasn't there either.

Kurt Angle
Not sure if this is TNA or WWE

Kurt Angle represented the U.S. in the 1996 Summer Olympics. He won gold with a broken freakin' neck. He's a real American, a tough guy and a man's man to boot. Angle's love of country and gear to prove it makes him a no-brainer for this post.

Lex Luger
Courtesy: WWE

Lex Luger tried filling Hogan's patriotic void after the Narcissist gimmick fell flat. Personally, I always thought Luger was a better heel, but I can't blame a guy for trying. The flag waving gimmick just didn't seem to work for Lex though, but I don't completely blame him for that.

The Patriot
Courtesy: WWE

The Patriot started off showing his love for country in Global. It wasn't long before he wrestled for both WCW and WWE. For whatever reason, the gimmick never soared like many thought it should have. Perhaps in a different era, it would have had a better result.

"Farmer" Billy Hills
Courtesy: Tom Harness

The picture above is one of my favorites of "Farmer" Billy Hills. You can't see his face in it, but Farmer is a star on the Stride Pro Wrestling and Cape Championship Wrestling rosters. In Stride, he's one of the most popular talents you'll find. He carries the flag to the ring with him and the fans adore him for it.

"We the people..."
Courtesy: WWE

Jack Swagger is another real-life athlete who made the transition to pro wrestling. His nickname in WWE was the All-American American. Even though he spent most of his time as a heel, he still showed fans he loved the United States. At one point, he even employed Vietnam veteran Zeb Coulter as his manager.

John Cena
Courtesy: WWE

And last but not least, John Cena. He too is a guy who never turned his back on his fans or his country. While he doesn't always wave the flag as part of his gimmick, he has pulled out the stars and stripes from time to time much to the delight of fans.

The Bully, The Aussie, & The Corporal

Busick, Jack, & Kirchner
Photo by WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents

Keep in mind as you read this, I'm writing this from the perspective of a teenager in the late 1980's.  Wrestling was a different beast back then.  I'm exploring three gimmicks that got a lot of buildup on WWF programming, but fell flat with fans and soon disappeared.  And no, I'm not including Beaver Cleavage, but I had thought about it.  These are three characters I was interested in for a short period of time.

In 1991, long before the Be A Star campaign was underway, the WWF had a wrestler on the roster named Big Bully Busick.  His whole gimmick was to pick on wrestlers, announcers, even fans.  Busick and his manager Harvey Wippleman would get heat by popping a young fan's balloon, pushing around smaller wrestlers, and getting in the face of female announcer Mike McGuirk.

Harvey Wippleman & Big Bully Busick
Photo by WWE

I knew of Busick from what I had read in the Apter magazines prior to his arrival in the WWF.  He was a power lifter and an okay wrestler. However, he just never caught on with the fans in the big leagues.  I think he may have been around about three months total before fading into obscurity.  While I wouldn't say I was a fan of the Bully's, I was willing to give him a chance, but unfortunately for him, it was not meant to be.

Someone I had really high hopes for was an Australian wrestler by the name of Outback Jack.  It was 1987, and the buzz of the Paul Hogan (no relation to Hulk) film Crocodile Dundee was at a fever pitch.  So in his infinite wisdom, Vince McMahon tried to capitalize on the popularity.  Vignettes featuring a big, burly man in the Australian Outback started airing on WWF Superstars. He was seen with the Aborigines and told fans he was ready to come and take on the best of the World Wrestling Federation.

Outback Jack
Photo by WWE

When he first arrived, he beat the likes of the typical crop of prelim stars, Barry Horowitz, Steve Lombardi, and Iron Mike Sharpe.  I thought he had potential.  The WWF made a tshirt for Jack and LJN produced a wrestling figure in his likeness. It wasn't long though before Jack was on the losing end to guys like Killer Khan.  I still remember their match on Superstars and thinking this was going to be Jack's biggest win.  I was nearly stunned (remember I was only 13) when Khan blew his green mist into Jack's eyes and eventually pinned him.

Outback Jack lasted longer in the company than the Bully.  I think he was there a couple of years.  I really wanted Jack to succeed, and I don't think he did a whole lot of wrestling after that.  Now I've read that he's legally blind.  Sorry to hear about his misfortune, I really was a fan of his.

After Sgt. Slaughter, the Real American Hero, left the

Cpl. Kirchner
Photo by WWE

WWF, the company needed  a new patriot.  They found that person in the form of Corporal Kirchner.  He was a rough and tumble military man, who was a real paratrooper in the U.S. Army.  Kirchner engaged in battle with Nikolai Volkoff and the Iron Sheik, just as his predecessor had.  Only in most cases, Kirchner ended up on the losing end.  I'd say his one big claim to fame was a victory over Volkoff at Wrestlemania II. The two had wrestled each other in a Flag Match.  I remember watching them go at it again on Saturday  Night's Main Event and Volkoff winning.  I would imagine trying to fill the shoes of Slaughter was a daunting task and fans just didn't take to Kirchner.

I've read Kirchner left the WWF for alleged drug use, I don't know if that's true, but I do know he went on to Japan and had a successful career as the sadistic Leatherface.  A few years ago, the WWE made a gaffe and printed an obit for the former Superstar on their website. They later retracted it, after obviously getting some bad information.  He's now on the "Where Are They Now?" section of the site.

So there you have it. Three wrestlers. Three gimmicks.  Three shots at glory that never really went anywhere.