Happy 4th of July, everyone. Before I grill up some burgers and hot dogs, I thought it would be good idea to look at some of the star spangled fashion choices made by wrestlers over the years.
Some wrestlers, like our cover model Kurt Angle is always clad in the stars and stripes. Others break out their patriotism on special occasions.
Let’s look at eight wrestlers who in one form or another, applied old glory to their in-ring aesthetic.
Sting: The hero of WCW wore this iconic American flag jacket and face paint at The Great American Bash in 1990. Sting would return from a knee injury and beat Ric Flair to win his first world heavyweight championship. Even if you don’t remember much about the match, you certainly remember Sting’s patriotic couture.
Mr. America: In 2003, Vince McMahon felt Hulk Hogan was old news, made him sit out his contract, and threatened to fire him if he showed up. Hogan returned under the guise of a masked wrestler, Mr. America. Of course, the gag was everyone knew it was Hogan, but McMahon couldn’t prove it for several months. Eventually, he caught Hogan with the mask off and fired him. It was fun while it lasted and a unique way to use the stars and stripes to thwart McMahon’s abuse of power.
Macho Man Randy Savage: The Madness broke out this spangly number a few times in 1993. However, this night was a cause for celebration. Monday Night Raw, July 5th, one day removed from the Stars & Stripes Challenge where Lex Luger body slammed Yokozuna aboard the U.S.S. Intrepid. A month later, Savage would wear this exact outfit in a match on Raw against Doink the Clown. Talk about patriotism under the big top.
Ultimate Warrior: In 1991, WWE milked the Gulf War until the wheels fell off. American hero turned Iraqi sympathizer Sgt. Slaughter challenged the Ultimate Warrior for the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble. Warrior was known for wearing colorful ring gear and went with a red, white, and blue motif of Warrior insignias. It is one of the Warrior’s more iconic looks, but he would lose the title to the Iraq-supporting Slaughter, thanks to an eye-shattering assist from the Macho King.
Undertaker: Chalk this one up to things we thought we’d never see. Undertaker joined The Americans, filling in for the injured Tatanka at the 1993 Survivor Series against the Foreign Fanatics. It was cool to see the Undertaker teaming with Lex Luger and the Steiner Bros; however, he didn’t exactly fit the patriotic narrative of the match. Eleven words addressed that problem as “The Phenom” proclaimed, “Let freedom reign and let these Foreign Fanatics rest in peace” as he unveiled the Betsy Ross flag lining the inside of his black trench coat.
The Sandman: The cigarette-smoking, cane-swinging, beer-drinking kingpin of Extreme Championship Wrestling wore American flag pants during his heel run in the promotion because…Look, I have no idea why the Sandman wore these pants. Pro wrestling gear is expensive and takes weeks to arrive in the mail. It’s much easier to swing over to Walmart and pick up the comfort, style, flexibility, and intimidation power only American flag pants provide. The hardcore icon’s pants-wearing patriotism also made him a trendsetter nearly a decade before Napoleon Dynamite’s Rex Kwon Do.
Los Gringos Locos: “Love Machine” Art Barr and Eddie Guerrero were one of the most hated tag teams in the history of Lucha Libre. Barr was American and didn’t care about Mexican customs and culture. In contrast, Guerrero, a Mexican American from a legendary wrestling family, forsook his Mexican heritage for all things USA while throwing it in the face of fans. Usually a symbol of pride and county, the duo’s striking American flag jackets and ring gear were used as a heat magnet that drew the immense ire of wrestling fans all over Mexico by throwing Americana in their face simply because they could.
The Patriot: We end our list with Del Wilkes, an All-American football standout from the University of South Carolina who wrestled as the American-clad mask-wearing southpaw, The Patriot. Wilkes adopted the persona after wrestling the first three years of his career as The Trooper. Standing at a chiseled 6’2″ and 275 lbs., the Patriot gimmick complemented his superhero physique. While the Patriot had several patriotic wrestling moves, such as the Patriot Missile pictured above and his trademark finisher, the Uncle Slam, he wasn’t a hokey flag-waving character getting the crowd to join him in a USA chant.
Most masked wrestlers rely on their colorful garb and the mystery of who’s under the mask to accentuate the gimmick. The Patriot took the opposite approach, as Del Wilkes’ identity was never a mystery. Commentators mentioned his name openly, citing the Patriot persona is how Wilkes expresses his proud patriotism. His application flipped the script as his character allowed the audience to get to know him better instead of telling them how to feel. The approach ingratiated Wilkes with the audience everywhere he worked, including All Japan Pro Wrestling.
The final stop on Wilkes’ ten-year career brought him to WWE, where he was immediately inserted into the Hart Foundation storyline in 1997. One month in, Patriot scored a rare pinfall victory over Bret Hart. The rematch occurred a month and a half later. This time, it was on pay-per-view and for the WWE Championship. Hart would submit the Patriot with the Sharpshooter, but the challenger earned even more fans in a losing effort. Wilkes injured his tricep in late 1997, and WWE released him in 1998, effectively ending his career.
Epilogue: Last week, while providing commentary for an independent wrestling show, I stumbled upon a Patriot action figure. There were only two Patriot figures ever released, both of which were produced by WWE. I’d never seen one in the wild before, and it brought me back to an indie show I attended at my local high school in 1999. The Undertaker, Doink the Clown, and The Patriot were all advertised to wrestle on the show. That night, I got a sobering reality check about the carny world of wrestling.
Strike One: It was Brian Lee, who wrestled as the fake Undertaker at SummerSlam 1994.
Strike Two: It was an indie wrestler who said he was Doink, but the fans killed him, and he tragically became the Hardcore Clown.
Strike Three: It was the Patriot! Or, so it seemed until I realized he never once used his left hand, and Del Wilkes is a noted southpaw.
Following the show, I learned it was Tom Brandi, who used to wrestle in WWE as the pink fedora-wearing Salvatore Sincere, and claimed Del Wilkes sold him the Patriot gimmick. A few years later, Wilkes confirmed he never sold or permitted Brandi to use the gimmick.
Once the flashback ended, I quickly snatched the Patriot figure (WWF Bend-Ems Series 7) and asked the promoter, “How much?” Mr. Graham looked at me with a slight smile and replied, “It’s yours.”
Sadly, Del Wilkes passed away two years ago. He reportedly spent his post-wrestling days heavily involved with his church and charity work in his hometown.
There is not a lot of merchandise featuring Wilkes’ Patriot. I’ve been scouting the wrestling section of various toy stores and conventions for as long as I can remember. Finally, seeing a figure of one of my favorite wrestlers with my own eyes was something I wasn’t going to pass up. Thank you, Mr. Graham.
Trivia Question: Who was the first wrestler to use Kurt Angle’s iconic entrance music? Hint: It wasn’t Kurt Angle.
Well, time to burn some burgers. Be safe, everyone!
RingsideLogic.com 