History Main / ForeignWrestlingHeel

** TheIronSheik (Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri, born in Iran) set the standard for the obnoxious ForeignWrestlingHeel type, and his famous "Camel Clutch" has become the standard finisher for many Evil Arabs since.

During the Cold War, many (perhaps most) {{Foreign Wrestling Heel}}s were Soviets, and spoke proudly of Communism and Mother Russia. It was difficult to find a wrestling promotion that ''didn't'' have an Evil Russian or three kicking around. Perhaps the best known of these was Nikita Koloff, and he also became the biggest subversion of the trope; when his arch-nemesis, Magnum T. A., [[WrittenInInfirmity suffered a career-ending injury in a car accident]], Nikita decided Magnum was a WorthyOpponent, gained a new found respect for him, and all Americans by extension, and dedicated the remainder of his wrestling career to his fallen foe; he thus became the first Russian {{face}}... well, ''ever'', and did it without renouncing Communism or Russia.

* Kaientai subverted this trope, as they turned {{face}} by ''[[CrossesTheLineTwice turning up]]'' the ForeignWrestlingHeel gimmick.

** Claudio Castagnoli got signed by WWE and became Antonio Cesaro, an evil rugby-playing German speaker from Switzerland who really doesn't like Americans.

* ''South Park'' also had their fun with this trope in episode:"Wrestling Is Awesome". Among other things, no one in the kid's league was from the country they were billed from.

* Played straight with Chikara's current rudo (bad guy) stable, die Bruderschaft des Kreuzes (BDK), a group of malcontents and traitors, led by Swiss wrestlers Ares and Claudio Castagnoli. They come out to Rammstein's "Engel," and are introduced by their own personal ring announcer, Jakob Hammermeier, in German.

* Antonio Cesaro, an evil German speaker from Switzerland who really doesn't like Americans, which leads to chants of "USA, USA" often, even though most of the people he's wrestled haven't been from the USA.

* Antonio Cesaro, an evil German speaker from Switzerland.

If a ForeignWrestlingHeel is particularly hated by the crowd, look for them to piss him off with a chant of "USA! USA! USA!" Even if his opponents that evening aren't Americans. A ForeignWrestlingHeel [[AHeroToHisHometown may end up popular in the nation he hails from]] if his only negative trait is to praise said location.

* Antonio Cesaro, an evil German.

* Vladimir Koslov's was pretty much the bad guy because he was a native of the Soviet Union (born in Ukraine billed from Russian) even though he came to the WWE long after the Soviet Union had dissolved.

*** In his days with World-Class Championship Wrestling, UltimateWarrior was known as "Dingo Warrior" and tried to play up an assumed Australian origin for heel heat. It didn't last, partly because he signed with the [[{{WWE}} WWF]] soon after.

* As was Nikolai Volkoff, a Russian heel until he teamed with with the Iron Sheik, then he was also a heel for his atrocious singing (always of the Soviet National Anthem). When paired with the Iranian Iron Sheik, the two formed arguably the most hated duo in the WWF, if not all of professional wrestling, particularly for their anti-American promos. (Surprisingly, two avowed Americans -- "Classie" Freddie Blassie and Slick -- went right along with their promos.)

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* Parodied in the ''AvatarTheLastAirbender'' episode "The Blind Bandit": Among the line up of Earth Kingdom wrestlers in ''Earth Rumble VI'', there is one Fire Nation fighter, naturally named "Fire Nation Man", whose only purpose was to go on stage with a Fire Nation flag, declare loudly his allegiance to [[EvilOverlord Fire Lord Ozai]], ask the audience to stand for the "Fire Nation National Anthem", and be thrown across the room by the Earth Kingdom contender "The Boulder" (voiced by actual wrestler Mick Foley). His parody of a heel goes as far as having a Russian accent that violates everything known about people in the Asian-influenced Avatar world. Moreover, his over-the-top performance and his entry in an Earthbending contest make his Fire Nation nationality amusingly suspect (especially when he ''actually earthbends'' in the mega fight against Toph). On the DVD commentary they mention that he is actually an immigrant from ''the desert''.

* The ''{{Futurama}}'' episode "Raging Bender", where the page quote comes from, has a similar parody. "The Foreigner" is shown as part of a [[{{Montages}} montage]] of stock {{heel}} stereotypes who are quickly vanquished in turn by Bender.

* As was Nikolia Volkoff, until he teamed with with the Iron Sheik, then he was also a heel for his atrocious singing. The same applies to Nikolia's kafaybe brother Ivan, who was really from Canada. Nikita Koloff mentioned above also counted before his face turn.

* This was averted by Bull Nakano, who was a monster heel but didn't bring up any national issues. Then inverted when WWF was in Japan. She emulated the [[HulkHogan Unstoppable]] All American Face, and Alundra Blaze the hopeless foreigner.

*** Played very much straight for LanceStorm in WCW and WWE, leading a Team Canada in WCW and going so far as to rename the US, Cruiserweight and Hardcore titles the Canadian, 100kg And Under and [[FunWithAcronyms Saskatchawan Hardcore International Title]]s respectively. In the WWE he formed a similar stable called the Un-Americans.

During the Cold War, many (perhaps most) {{Foreign Wrestling Heel}}s were Soviets, and spoke proudly of Communism and Mother Russia. It was difficult to find a wrestling promotion that ''didn't'' have an Evil Russian or three kicking around. Perhaps the best known of these was Nikita Koloff, and he also became the biggest subversion of the trope; when his arch-nemesis, Magnum T. A., [[WrittenInInfirmity suffered a career-ending injury in a car accident]], Nikita decided Magnum was a WorthyOpponent, gained a newfound respect for him, and all Americans by extension, and dedicated the remainder of his wrestling career to his fallen foe; he thus became the first Russian {{face}}... well, ''ever'', and did it without renouncing Communism or Russia.

!!Examples

* In the early days of wrestling in Japan, during a time where hatred and fear of the US is legendary (mostly due to the use of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki), white wrestlers were brought in to be beat by Japanese wrestlers, the pioneer being Rikidozan, himself Korean born, and later continued in the legendary New Japan Wrestling (created by Antonio Inoki) and All Japan Wrestling (created by Giant Baba.) This was averted hard eventually and many wrestlers have obtained fame and respect in Japan ( as fan favorites, no less) who wouldn't get it otherwise, way more than vice versa .

-->-- '''The Foreigner''', ''{{Futurama}}'', "Raging Bender"

Note that it is possible to be foreign and not an {ForeignWrestlingHeel}}; however, [[DoubleStandard the instant one shows any pride in being from a country that is not the US]], he starts down the path to becoming one. Canada's Bret Hart, for example, wrestled most of his career as a face with his Canadian-ness being treated as an afterthought (unlike, say, the obviously Canadian heel The Mountie), until his 1997 heel turn, when he became proudly Canadian and launched a feud with all American fans and wrestlers. This led to him being a hated heel in in the States, but unsurprisingly led to his becoming loved even more by Canadian fans. Also, it's not necessary for the ForeignWrestlingHeel to be an ''actual'' foreigner. Simply ''looking'' foreign or having foreign ancestry is often enough for a wrestler to be given an ForeignWrestlingHeel gimmick (don't think too hard about this when it comes to American wrestling).

* In fact, Americans often play the Evil Foreigner abroad, particularly in Mexican wrestling. The WWF even did a "USA vs Canada" feud in the mid-90s where the {{face}} and {{heel}} roles were switched according to the country the matches were taking place in.

* Wrestling has a long history of the Evil Arab (which may even be a trope in and of itself.) Most of them are of the silent mysterious type instead of the obnoxious evil foreigner type however.
** TheIronSheik (Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri, born in Iran) set the standard for the obnoxious evil foreigner type, and his famous "Camel Clutch" has become the standard finisher for many Evil Arabs since.

** Muhammad Hassan character, an Evil Arab--excuse me, Evil Arab-''American''--who appeared in the wake of the 9/11 attacks (ethnically Italian and Jordanian). Despite completely averting this trope, people accuse him and Davari of playing an evil foreigners. His gimmick was so controversial that he was fired after the July 2005 terrorist bombings in London. Then they turn around praise TNA treatment of Davari (aka Sheik Abdul Bashir), even though he played the pretty much the exact same character that he did in WWE, only speaking more English.

* Subverted by the dual Evil Foreigner feud between Fit Finlay (Irish heel) and Steven Regal (British heel) in {{WCW}}, one of the few times in wrestling history where the "USA vs the World" cliche was avoided, and some sense of the conflicts and hatred between other countries was actually recognized and addressed.

** Any attempt to use Canadians or Mexicans for cheap Evil Foreigner heat has never lasted. The Hart Foundation, EddieGuerrero, ChrisBenoit, Gino Hernandez, and others have had some heel turns, but the majority of their careers were as faces.

** Australian wrestlers are virtually ignored, or if their immigrant status is known, it is not used as a source of Evil Foreigner heat. The Bushwackers, a prominent WWF team in the 80's and 90's, was mainly a novelty or comedy duo who used a brawler style, and generally were faces.

** The Mountie (Jacques Rougeau), who later teamed with Carl "Pierre" Ouelette as The Quebecers, and even had a theme song that spoofed The Mountie's, played the Evil Foreigner for laughs.

* {{TNA}} stable World Elite was a gang of Evil Foreigners from all over the world who had come together as a global community to all hate America together.
* Kaientai subverted this trope, as they turned {{face}} by ''[[CrossesTheLineTwice turning up]]'' the evil foreigner gimmick.

* Often subverted in the Pro Wrestling themed anime ''Kinnikuman'', where many characters start out as Evil Foreigners, but later become allies of the title character. Strangely, they even had a few Japanese Evil Foreigners (since, while the series is made in Japan, the protagonist is a space alien), with Rikishiman, who wasn't evil so much as arrogant & later became a good guy & also The Ninja. Also subverted in that they have characters from numerous different nations whose gimmick has little if anything to do with their background, like Stecasse King, a living tape recorder who happens to be Belgian.

The EvilForeigner is one of the major stock characters of ProfessionalWrestling. He's from another country, and loves his own country and hates America. Usually, the reason for this is because Americans (and American wrestling fans specifically) lack something that his country has in spades (or so he believes). For example, Brits and Frenchmen may look down on Americans because they lack class and sophistication; Japanese, because Americans lack honor; and Canadians, because Americans lack respect for wrestling tradition. These are the most common varieties of Evil Foreigner, but far from the only ones; one particular instance, Ludvig Borga, was an evil Finn who hated Americans because Americans lacked respect for the environment.

An Evil Foreigner will often feud with an AllAmericanFace; the typical climactic match to this feud is a Flag Match, where the flags of the two nations of the participants are placed upon opposite turnbuckles, and the winner is the first man to recover his own flag and wave it. Clashes with the evil foreigner generally cause [[InternationalShowDownByProxy International Showdowns by Proxy]] like this, as he is usually the villain in those situations.

During the Cold War, many (perhaps most) Evil Foreigners were Soviets, and spoke proudly of Communism and Mother Russia. It was difficult to find a wrestling promotion that ''didn't'' have an Evil Russian or three kicking around. Perhaps the best known of these was Nikita Koloff, and he also became the biggest subversion of the trope; when his arch-nemesis, Magnum T. A., [[WrittenInInfirmity suffered a career-ending injury in a car accident]], Nikita decided Magnum was a WorthyOpponent, gained a newfound respect for him, and all Americans by extension, and dedicated the remainder of his wrestling career to his fallen foe; he thus became the first Russian {{face}}... well, ''ever'', and did it without renouncing Communism or Russia.

Note that it is possible to be foreign and not an Evil Foreigner; however, [[DoubleStandard the instant one shows any pride in being from a country that is not the US]], he starts down the path to becoming one. Canada's Bret Hart, for example, wrestled most of his career as a face with his Canadian-ness being treated as an afterthought (unlike, say, the obviously Canadian heel The Mountie), until his 1997 heel turn, when he became proudly Canadian and launched a feud with all American fans and wrestlers. This led to him being a hated heel in in the States, but unsurprisingly led to his becoming loved even more by Canadian fans. Also, it's not necessary for the Evil Foreigner to be an ''actual'' foreigner. Simply ''looking'' foreign or having foreign ancestry is often enough for a wrestler to be given an Evil Foreigner gimmick (don't think too hard about this when it comes to American wrestling).

Lest the gentle reader think this is solely a gimmick for culturally insensitive Americans, consider the team of Art Barr, Eddie Guerrero, and Louie "Madonna's Boyfriend" Spiccoli, who wrestled as Los Gringos Locos in Mexican federation AAA, and were Evil ''American'' Foreigners. Likewise with most Japanese media having Evil Foreigners. Also, no jokes about any news outlets.

If an Evil Foreigner is particularly hated by the crowd, look for them to piss him off with a chant of "USA! USA! USA!" Even if his opponents that evening aren't Americans. An evil foreigner [[AHeroToHisHometown may end up popular in the nation he hails from]] if his only negative trait is to praise said location.

The ForeignWrestlingHeel is one of the major stock characters of ProfessionalWrestling. He's from another country, and loves his own country and hates America. Usually, the reason for this is because Americans (and American wrestling fans specifically) lack something that his country has in spades (or so he believes). For example, Brits and Frenchmen may look down on Americans because they lack class and sophistication; Japanese, because Americans lack honor; and Canadians, because Americans lack respect for wrestling tradition. These are the most common varieties of Evil Foreigner, but far from the only ones; one particular instance, Ludvig Borga, was an evil Finn who hated Americans because Americans lacked respect for the environment.

If an ForeignWrestlingHeel is particularly hated by the crowd, look for them to piss him off with a chant of "USA! USA! USA!" Even if his opponents that evening aren't Americans. An evil foreigner [[AHeroToHisHometown may end up popular in the nation he hails from]] if his only negative trait is to praise said location.

* In fact, Americans often play the ForeignWrestlingHeel abroad, particularly in Mexican wrestling. The WWF even did a "USA vs Canada" feud in the mid-90s where the {{face}} and {{heel}} roles were switched according to the country the matches were taking place in.

* Sgt. Slaughter played the AllAmericanFace through most of his WWF career, but he FaceHeelTurn into the ForeignWrestlingHeel by becoming an Iraqi sympathizer amidst the Gulf War. Shortly after ending his Feud with HulkHogan, Slaughter did a HeelFaceTurn back into the AllAmericanFace using a series of ultra cheesy "Winning America back" vignettes.

** The Mountie (Jacques Rougeau), who later teamed with Carl "Pierre" Ouelette as The Quebecers, and even had a theme song that spoofed The Mountie's, played the ForeignWrestlingHeel for laughs.

** [[FridgeBrilliance Which is pretty well fitting too,]] considering the whole thing was a send-up of Pro Wrestling, with 'Fire Nation Man' being a send-up of the ForeignWrestlingHeel stock character, right down to him being not of the nationality he plays.

** British wrestlers, on the other hand, have had mixed success maintaining heel status. The British Bulldogs (singles or doubles) were always brought back as faces. Steven/William Regal has been a heel for most of his career (though he did have a brief face turn when he gained "special" wrestler Eugene as a tag-team partner and MoralityPet), as well as Fit Finlay. "Gentleman" Chris Adams started as a face and then took a long turn as a heel.

* {{TNA}} stable World Elite is a gang of Evil Foreigners from all over the world who have come together as a global community to all hate America together.

The EvilForeigner is one of the major stock characters of ProfessionalWrestling. He's from another country, and loves his own country and hates America. Usually, the reason for this is because Americans (and American wrestling fans specifically) lack something that his country has in spades (or so he believes). For example, Brits and Frenchmen may look down on Americans because they lack class and sophistication; Japanese, because Americans lack honor; and Canadians, because Americans lack respect for wrestling tradition. These are the most common varieties of Evil Foreigner, but far from the only ones; one particular instance, Ludvig Borga, was an evil Finn who hated Americans because Americans lacked respect for the environment.

If an EvilForeigner is particularly hated by the crowd, look for them to piss him off with a chant of "USA! USA! USA!" Even if his opponents that evening aren't Americans. An evil foreigner [[AHeroToHisHometown may end up popular in the nation he hails from]] if his only negative trait is to praise said location.

* In fact, Americans often play the EvilForeigner abroad, particularly in Mexican wrestling. The WWF even did a "USA vs Canada" feud in the mid-90s where the {{face}} and {{heel}} roles were switched according to the country the matches were taking place in.

* Sgt. Slaughter played the AllAmericanFace through most of his WWF career, but he FaceHeelTurn into the EvilForeigner by becoming an Iraqi sympathizer amidst the Gulf War. Shortly after ending his Feud with HulkHogan, Slaughter did a HeelFaceTurn back into the AllAmericanFace using a series of ultra cheesy "Winning America back" vignettes.

** The Mountie (Jacques Rougeau), who later teamed with Carl "Pierre" Ouelette as The Quebecers, and even had a theme song that spoofed The Mountie's, played the EvilForeigner for laughs.

** [[FridgeBrilliance Which is pretty well fitting too,]] considering the whole thing was a send-up of Pro Wrestling, with 'Fire Nation Man' being a send-up of the EvilForeigner stock character, right down to him being not of the nationality he plays.

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* In fact, Americans often play the EvilForeigner abroad, particularly in Mexican wrestling. The WWF even did a "USA vs Canada" feud in the mid-90s where the {{face}} and {{heel}} roles were switched according to the country the matches were taking place in.
* Stampede Wrestling in the 80s had manager J.R. Foley, who dressed up as Hirohito and ''Hitler'' on the sidelines.

** Subverted later when the psychology of professional wrestling asserted itself, and the Japanese fans began to appreciate good ring workers like Bruiser Brody, holding a parade in his honor at his funeral.

** To this day, Van {{Vader}} (Leon White) is a legend in Japan.

** {{ROH}} averted this trope for a long time with Japanese wrestlers like the silent badass KENTA and guest stars from DragonGate (who were face or heel due to having pre-established gimmicks, rather than due to being Japanese). Then they brought in NOAH's Takeshi Morishima, a 300 lb. LightningBruiser who menaced the fans, disrespected his opponents, and aggravated BryanDanielson's eye injury [[ILied after promising not to]]. The xenophobia was never played up, but Morishima was very clearly an outsider (if only due to not working for ROH full-time).

** British wrestlers, on the other hand, have had mixed success maintaining heel status. The British Bulldogs (singles or doubles) were always brought back as faces. Steven/William Regal has been a heel for most of his career (though he did have a brief face turn when he gained "special" wrestler Eugene as a tag-team partner and MoralityPet), as well as Fit Finlay. "Gentleman" Chris Adams started as a face and then took a long turn as a heel.

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*** When {{Wrestler/Sting}} and the UltimateWarrior debuted in the WCW, they originally were tag team (and thus the similarity in their face paint for many years.) After the team split, the UltimateWarrior changed his name to the Dingo Warrior and tried to use the Evil Foreigner gimmick.