G.I. Joe: 2 Real Athletes Who Joined The Joes (And 1 Who Joined Cobra)

In response to Mattel's Barbie, Hasbro developed and released the world's first action figure, G.I. Joe, which would eventually spawn multiple animated series and live-action films. While the heroes and villains are mostly made up of fictional characters with names like Duke and Snake Eyes (for the heroic G.I. Joes) and Destro and Zartan (for the villainous Cobra), they didn't rely solely on fiction as they went out and pulled prominent personalities like professional wrestlers Sgt. Slaughter and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and NFL star William "The Refrigerator" Perry to sell toys and deepen the rosters of their respective teams.

The real-life personas that crossed over into the fictional world fit in perfectly with the over-the-top and flamboyant personalities in the G.I. Joe and Cobra units. Slaughter kicked it off when he joined the Joes, Piper evened the score by joining Cobra, and finally, Perry bolstered the good guys' cause by joining Slaughter as one of the "All-American Heroes." This wasn't Dwayne Johnson or Channing Tatum playing a Joe; these were real-life athletes joining the ranks to go toe-to-toe.

Sgt. Slaughter burst on the wrestling scene in 1980 as a former Marine, calling his adversaries "maggots" and using more demeaning names to tempt them into matching muscles. While he used his real name, Robert Remus, for six years before that, it was his hard-edged militaristic personality that propelled him to the WWE Hall of Fame in 2004. He went head-to-head with legends like Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant, Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, The Iron Sheik, and The Ultimate Warrior.

The fictional version of Sgt. Slaughter made his first appearance as a G.I. Joe in the June 1986 issue, "Slaughter." He went on to become the hard-nosed trainer of Joes, pushing them beyond their usual limits and finding how much they can actually handle before they come face-to-face with the worst that Cobra has to offer. His appearance in the comics, the animated series, and the animated film mirrored his wrestling gear, which usually included a tank top and a drill instructor's hat. Furthermore, Slaughter also got to voice himself on the "G.I. Joe" animated projects.

Slaughter became a legendary member of the Joes, someone charged with ensuring the team remained full of only the best of the best. He is known for some of his catchphrases such as "There are two ways out of my command. On your feet like a man or in a ditty bag. An itty... bitty... ditty bag." He also likes to tell his soldiers, "Either we all go home, or nobody goes home." If you can survive him, you're tough enough for the Joe team.

"Rowdy" Roddy Piper was, by his own admission, born to controversy. Even though he is one of the most beloved personalities in the history of professional wrestling, he became that way by stirring controversy every step of the way. Whether he was breaking Cyndi Lauper's gold record or extinguishing Morton Downey Jr. at WrestleMania, Piper seemed to antagonize every prominent personality in his sights. He even began his own interview segment, "Piper's Pit," where he would fire question after question at his guests until he had complete control over them. The chaotic segment was often unpredictable and became some of the more engaging moments of the then-WWF.

Of course, while the Joes prided themselves on the stellar training of Sgt. Slaughter, Cobra looked to even the score by recruiting their own wrestler in 2007. The oftentimes chaotic villainous personality of Piper in the wrestling ring translated perfectly to the Cobra side of the aisle. Donned in his wrestling gear, Piper trained the Cobra assassins, soldiers, and officers to stand against the Joes, wreaking havoc on the good guys and giving the evildoers a fighting chance.

Although he didn't become a full-time actor like Dave Bautista, Dwayne Johnson, and John Cena did after him, Piper did a fair bit of acting on the big and small screen alike. Most notably, he starred in John Carpenter's "They Live," where he uttered the legendary quote, "I've come here to chew bubble gum and kick ass. And I am all out of bubble gum," followed by the equally quippy "Mama don't like tattle tales." Other wrestlers may have had more successful movie careers, but not one of them was good enough for Cobra. 

William "The Refrigerator" Perry was more than just big from the moment he was born at 13 pounds. He was also a natural athlete as he could throw down a 360 dunk on the basketball court and was one of the fastest in his high school. By the time the Chicago Bears drafted him, he was coming into a team that was a year removed from a playoff spot. He then played an integral part as the Bears routed the New England Patriots at Super Bowl XX.

The G.I. Joes recognized this personality and recruited "The Fridge" into their ranks in 1986 to oversee the physical training of their recruits. Same as Sgt. Slaughter would train them for combat, Perry was all about fitness; He got them ready to face the trials and obstacles that Slaughter would inevitably throw at them. While real-life soldiers in the military go through obstacle courses with rope ladders, low crawls under barbed wire, and mud pits, the G.I. Joes only have one obstacle to get through, and that's "The Fridge." Donning his trademark number 72 jersey number and carrying a football-shaped mace, "The Fridge" was the embodiment of who William Perry was in real life.

The "All-American Heroes" and their adversaries, Cobra, took some of the most unique and formidable personalities to go at each other to strive for dominance in the world. While there were countless fictional characters to give us numerous stories in comics, TV, and film, there were real-life athletes that threw their talents into the mix to make them all the more engaging.