The Man, The Myth, The Legend Vol. 4: Nikolai Volkoff

#9. Volkoff, the patriotic American?

As the cold war thawed, the WWE decided to do away with its Russian heel characters. They decided that Volkoff would keep his name and heritage, but would turn babyface and embrace the USA. This was explained in kayfabe that Volkoff was from Lithuania, which had been the sight of oppression and unrest from the Moscow government. Volkoff was angry at the USSR for harming his homeland according to the storyline.

He turned on his partner Zhukov, singing the Star Spangled Banner rather than the National Anthem. Volkoff would remain babyface for the rest of his WWE tenure, even when forced to join Ted Dibiase's Million Dollar Corporation.

After 1995, Volkoff retired from full-time wrestling, only taking the occasional date.