WWF 1991: America-Iraq Battle; Hogan Beats Sgt. Slaughter; Slaughter Iraqi Turncoat; "Match Made in Heaven and Hell"; Savage "Retires" and Gets Snake Bit; Ultimate Warrior Leaves; Ric Flair Comes to the WWF but No Flair-Hogan Match; Undertaker's "Monster" First Year; Bret Hart Establishes Himself as a Singles Wrestler; WBF

Entering 1991, America was involved in the Gulf War with Iraq over Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. Vince McMahon and the WWF played out the angle of the Gulf War. Late in 1990, Sgt. Slaughter (who was actually in the Marine Corps) returned to the WWF as he was mad at the United States for being "too soft" as they forgave and easily accepted Russian Nikolai Volkoff as he was now proud to be an American.

Slaughter's response was to become an American turncoat as he joined forces with Iraqi manager General Adnan. Slaughter storyline supported and backed Iraq and was a follower of then-Iraqi President Saddam Hussein due to the Iraqi government being too brutal and the U.S. being too soft and weak. This was a serious attempt by Vince McMahon to get Slaughter over as his number one heel.

Slaughter talks about how uncomfortable he was with his anti-American angle considering he is a true patriot and was in the military. He mentioned how he used to get death threats when he did this pro-Iraq, anti-American angle and could not go anywhere without a bullet proof vest, that's how much heat he generated as one of wrestling's greatest heels ever.

Slaughter took on WWF World Heavyweight Champion The Ultimate Warrior for the title in January at the Royal Rumble. During the match, "Macho King" Randy Savage and "Queen" Sherri interfered on behalf of Slaughter as Savage nailed Warrior in the head with his scepter. Slaughter pinned Warrior and the American-turncoat was now the WWF Champion.

The reason for the Warrior-Savage feud was because Warrior constantly refused to give Savage a WWF Championship match so Savage took it upon himself to cost the Warrior the title. Slaughter told Savage he would have a title match if he won. However, Savage was not the number one contender as he was now in a feud with the Warrior.

The new number one contender to Slaughter's WWF Championship was none other than Hulk Hogan. Hogan won the Royal Rumble match for the second year in a row and was celebrating and being interviewed backstage by Mean Gene Okerlund. Word got out that Slaughter and General Adnan were "defacing" the American Flag. Hogan, who was an All-American Patriot, promised to put a stop to Slaughter's reign of terror.

Hogan was scheduled to take on Slaughter for the WWF Title at WrestleMania VII on March 24, 1991 from Los Angeles. The Ultimate Warrior would take on Randy Savage in a "Retirement" match also at WrestleMania. Hogan and Warrior co-headlined WrestleMania for the second year in a row but for different reasons than the year before.

Hogan defeated Slaughter to win back the WWF World Heavyweight Championship for the third time. After the match, Slaughter managed to throw a fireball in Hogan's face backstage as the feud continued.

Hogan would face Slaughter at house shows across the country and was forced to deal with the returning Iron Sheik, known as Col. Mustafa, who was aligned with Slaughter and General Adnan. The three called themselves the "Triangle of Terror."

The Warrior defeated Savage in a thrilling match to force Savage to "retire" from wrestling. Savage's former valet Miss Elizabeth was shown sitting in the front row and they kept showing her during the match. After the match, "Queen" Sherri yelled and screamed at an unconscious Savage and began to kick him. Elizabeth ran into the ring to attack Sherri to get her off of Savage. Savage and Elizabeth celebrated as they reunited.

Despite being forced to retire, Savage was still on WWF TV as a color commentator for WWF's then-flagship show WWF Superstars and even during an episode of Saturday Night's Main Event. Savage was now a babyface and no longer "The Macho King" but simply back to "The Macho Man."

During an episode of Superstars in the summer of 1991, Savage called Elizabeth to the ring and got down on one knee and proposed to her and asked for her hand in marriage. Elizabeth simply replied "Oh yeah!" and the two embraced and celebrated. Savage and Liz have been married since 1984 but this was actually the first time it would be included in the story.

Their storylinw marriage would take place at SummerSlam '91 at Madison Square Garden where they would be married in the middle of the ring. This would be dubbed "A Match Made in Heaven." Meanwhile, Hulk Hogan teamed with The Ultimate Warrior to take on The Triangle of Terror in a 3-on-2 Handicap match in the match dubbed "A Match Made in Hell."

Sid Justice, who came over from WCW changed his name from Sid Vicious to Sid Justice, would be the special guest referee for the Match Made in Hell at SummerSlam. Even though he was a babyface as he made sure "Justice was served", Justice took no shit from anyone and even showed he would not favor Hogan or the Warrior during the match over the heels.

At the end of the match, Warrior chased General Adnan and Col. Mustafa to the back with a steel chair. Hogan threw white powder in Sgt. Slaughter's eyes and gave him the leg drop to win the match. After the match, Hogan asked Sid to celebrate and pose with him, which he would to an overwhelmingly positive crowd response as Hogan and Sid would form an alliance.

Shortly after SummerSlam, Slaughter severed his ties with Adnan and Mustafa and aired several vignettes that he was sorry for turning his back on America and "wanted his country back." This got Slaughter back over with the fans as he turned babyface.

That would be the last time we would see The Ultimate Warrior in 1991. He would leave the WWF following SummerSlam due to a dispute with Vince McMahon over money. Warrior apparently threatened to no-show the event so McMahon initially agreed.

The Warrior would be given a letter written by McMahon that suspended Warrior for unprofessional conduct. Warrior refused the suspension and left the company. Warrior believed he was the biggest in the company, even bigger than Hulk Hogan, and should be paid like the top in the company.

Now it's time for the Match Made in Heaven, where Randy Savage and Elizabeth tied the knot and were married in a ceremony in the middle of the ring. They had the reception after and there was a surprise visit from two unwanted wrestlers: Jake "The Snake" Roberts and The Undertaker.

Liz opened one of the presents and there was a live King Cobra snake that scared the crap out of her. Roberts and Undertaker attacked Savage before being run off by Sid Justice. This started an intense feud between Savage and Roberts.

Roberts was supposed to be in a feud with The Ultimate Warrior before he left. Roberts helped Warrior in his battle with The Undertaker. Roberts had Warrior go through three tests to get knowledge of the dark side in order to help him with The Undertaker.

Roberts first had Warrior locked in a coffin, which happened to the Warrior by The Undertaker previously. Then Roberts had Warrior "buried alive." Finally, he had Warrior enter a room full of live snakes and open the chest to find "the answer." Instead, a King Cobra (which was actually a toy snake) bit Warrior in the face as Roberts turned heel and told Warrior to "never trust a snake."

Since Warrior left, Randy Savage now entered a feud with Roberts. For months, Roberts taunted Savage, who was still considered retired and could not wrestle. Finally on an episode of Superstars in November, Savage had enough of Roberts as he went into the ring to go after him.

However, Roberts ambushed him when he entered the ring. Roberts then tied Savage to the ropes as Roberts took his snake out of his bang and out came this gigantic King Cobra. Roberts put the snake by Savage as the snake bit Savage's arm. The snake was devenomized and was only supposed to bite Savage for a few seconds.

However, the snake would not let go as Roberts tried to get the snake off of Savage. Finally the snake was off and the crowd at the arena as well as everyone watching around the world were in complete shock. The snake actually died as the blood of The Macho Man killed the snake. To explain the snake's death, WWF President Jack Tunney "banned" Roberts from bringing the snake to the ring.

Savage would be reinstated as a wrestler to go after Roberts. The two met at the one and only This Tuesday in Texas PPV on December 3, 1991 from San Antonio, TX. Savage defeated Roberts and was trying to further destroy Roberts after the match with a steel chair and the ring bell, only for the officials to stop him. Yeah the guy got bit by a snake from him and he wants revenge how dare he!!

Anyway, Roberts would hit Savage with the DDT out of nowhere and would give him a couple more, knocking Savage unconscious. Miss Elizabeth ran down to the ring to prevent further damage to her husband. Roberts made Elizabeth beg for him to stop hurting Savage. It did not matter as Roberts slapped Liz across the face.

There were two memorable promos following the match by Roberts and Savage. Roberts told Gene Okerlund he enjoyed slapping Liz in the face and then Savage was upset at himself for letting Liz get hurt and vowed to do whatever it takes to destroy Roberts once and for all. The two continued to feud until early 1992 when Roberts left the company.

Perhaps the biggest news for the WWF was they signed multi-time NWA and WCW World Heavyweight Champion The Nature Boy Ric Flair to the WWF from their rival WCW. Flair left WCW in July after a bitter contract dispute.

Flair notified Vince McMahon and the WWF after he left and they immediately signed him. Flair brought along with him the NWA and WCW World Heavyweight Championship Big Gold Belt to the WWF as he still owned possession of the belt until his deposit was paid back to him, which it wasn't.

Flair would be billed as "The Real World Heavyweight Champion" since he never lost the WCW World Title and would bring the WCW belt on TV. The WWF blurred it out on TV. Eventually, the belt would be returned to WCW after some sort of settlement.

Flair would be led by his "financial adviser" Bobby "The Brain" Heenan and his "executive consultant" Mr. Perfect Curt Hennig. Flair would be the company's top heel and he feuded with "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and then-current WWF World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan.

Many wrestling fans in the 1980s and early 1990s dreamed of a Flair vs. Hogan match since both men were tops in their respective companies. Now that seemed to be a reality. However, there would never be a televised match between Flair and Hogan during Flair's first stint in the WWF for some reason even though the two fought many times at house shows.

Flair would help The Undertaker defeat Hogan to win the WWF World Heavyweight Championship at the Survivor Series when he put a steel chair in the ring and Undertaker gave Hogan the Tombstone Piledriver onto it. Hogan regained the title six days later at This Tuesday in Texas despite Flair once again interfering in the match.

The Undertaker would have a monster first year in the WWF. Mark Calaway joined the WWF late in 1990 after a stint in WCW and he was ultimately cast as The Undertaker. This is considered by many as Vince McMahon's greatest creation and The Undertaker is one of the WWF's greatest wrestlers ever, maybe the greatest ever depending on who you ask.

The Undertaker made his WWF TV debut as a heel at the 1990 Survivor Series. He was portrayed as a western mortician who had supernatural powers thanks to an urn that was carried by his manager Paul Bearer. Undertaker drew strength from the urn as he showed he was impervious to pain as he no sold opponent's attacks. This made him the most unstoppable monster in the WWF.

The Undertaker easily destroyed WWE Hall of Famer Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka at WrestleMania VII in his WrestleMania debut. This was the start of The Undertaker's legendary streak of 21 straight victories at WrestleMania, the WWF/E's premier event, that came to an end in 2014.

The Undertaker was next involved in a major feud with The Ultimate Warrior, where he locked Warrior in a casket during an episode of the Funeral Parlor, a talk segment on WWF TV hosted by The Undertaker and Paul Bearer. The Warrior left the WWF and Undertaker needed a new feud.

The Undertaker was named number one contender to Hulk Hogan's WWF Championship, taking him on at Survivor Series in November. Hogan was in for the battle of his life as no one could come close to defeating The Undertaker as he was easily undefeated in his first year in the company.

The Undertaker dominated Hogan like no one ever did and defeated him at Survivor Series to win the WWF Championship, one year after he made his debut. Undertaker conquered Hulkamania. That would not last long, however, as he lost the title back to Hogan six days later at This Tuesday in Texas. The WWF Title would be held up as a result of these two matches, but more on that in 1992.

One wrestler who really stepped into the spotlight and put a footprint on his legendary career was Bret "The Hitman" Hart. Hart was already an established star as a member of the Hart Foundation with his brother-in-law Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart winning the WWF Tag Team Championship twice.

After losing the titles to The Nasty Boys at WrestleMania VII, the Hart Foundation split up and went their separate ways. Hart went on to become a star in singles competition. Neidhart teamed with Hart's baby brother Owen Hart to form the New Foundation.

Bret quickly climbed the ranks as a singles superstar as he would become the number one contender to Mr. Perfect's Intercontinental Championship. Hart defeated Perfect in a very classic match to win the Intercontinental Championship, his first WWF singles title, at SummerSlam '91 with his new finishing move, the Sharpshooter submission move.

Unfortunately, Curt Hennig had to step away from the ring following SummerSlam due to a back injury. Hennig stayed on screen being Ric Flair's "Executive Consultant" as well as being an announcer for WWF Superstars and being on WWF Prime Time. Hart would defend the title for the rest of 1991 as he would further establish himself as a major superstar in the company in 1992.

On a side note, the AWA closed its doors in May 1991 after owner Verne Gagne declared bankruptcy. The AWA had been inactive since the fall of 1990. The WWE owns the AWA video library. In 2006, the WWE inducted Verne Gagne into its Hall of Fame.

Vince McMahon created the World Bodybuilding Federation (WBF) as competition to the International Federation of Body Builders (IFBB). McMahon signed bodybuilders, including several from the IFBB that were dubbed the "WBF BodyStars."

The WBF held its first competition on June 15, 1991, live from Atlantic City, New Jersey on pay-per-view. Regis Philbin was brought in to host the event along with McMahon and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan. Gary Strydom won the first WBF Championship. The event was met with mixed reviews as the WBF continued into 1992.

In the middle of 1991, company doctor George Zahorian was sentenced to three years in jail for illegally selling steroids to wrestlers. Vince McMahon announced that he would be conducting his own drug testing policy, but the worst was yet to come if I can quote 2008 Chris Jericho.