He was possibly the best villain of all time wrestling world … now in heaven he wrestles his opponents down.
The legendary Iron Sheik has passed away. He was 81 years old.
In the early ’80s, Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri (his real name) became wrestling’s biggest villain.
Born and raised in Iran, his passion for Olympic wrestling grew early. This led to immense popularity in his home country – and a bodyguard job for the Shah.
However, fearing for his life, he left Iran in the early 1970s and moved to the USA. There he became an assistant coach of the Olympic wrestling team.
Already in 1972 he started his career as a wrestler – initially with little success. It wasn’t until he grew a beard and played the evil Iranian that his breakthrough came. From now on he was the Iron Sheik. In the ring he taunted his opponents, the USA, and swore by Iran.
In times of the cold war and the clear image of the enemy, the sheik became the ultimate villain.
The high point: The Iron Sheik defeated WWE Champion Bob Backlund (he held the title for many years) in December 1983. He didn’t stay champion for long – because Hulk Hogan overran the world and the WWE.
But it was the Iron Sheik who lost the title to Hulk Hogan. The hated Iranian passed the baton to Hogan on January 23, 1984. It was the perfect opponent for Hogan, who launched a world career as a result.
The Sheik stayed with WWE for many years to come. However, his drug problems only got worse (he once got caught in the car with “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan – a mega scandal in the 80s). In 2007, he revealed on The Howard Stern Show that at one point he was spending $20,000 a week on cocaine.
His last ring appearance was in 2001 at the Legends Battle Royal. Since the Sheik was physically unable to fly out of the ring, he was allowed to win the match!
In 2005, he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri is survived by his wife Caryl and three children.