Everything about Iron Sheik totally explained
Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri (حسین خسرو وزیری), born
March 15 1943, in
Tehran,
Iran, is a retired
Iranian
professional wrestler better known by his
ring name The Iron Sheik. He is known for ending the near six year
World Wrestling Federation Championship reign of
Bob Backlund and for being the man
Hulk Hogan defeated for his first WWF Championship, setting off the Golden Age of professional wrestling. He was also a
bodyguard for the
Shah of Iran's family several years while they still lived in Iran. In 2005, Khosrow was inducted into the
WWE Hall of Fame.
Career
Amateur wrestling
Khosrow was the 1971
AAU Greco-Roman wrestling champion at 180.5 pounds. Khosrow also was the assistant coach of two US Olympic squads in the 1970s.
Although the Iron Sheik was billed as having been a
1968 Olympic medalist, Khosrow was actually eliminated during his country’s trials.
World Wrestling Federation (1979-1988)
After moving to other territories, Khosrow was turned into a heel and would do a few things that would complete his signature look. First, he grew a traditional "buffo" style mustache, added wrestling boots with the toe curled up (a nod to his ethnic background which, according to Khosrow, was
Jimmy Snuka's idea), and shaved his head bald. In addition to adding the
Persian clubs (Iron Sheik - Persian Club Demo)
and challenging wrestlers to do as many or more swings than him as part of his gimmick (a sport in his native Iran), he'd also change his ring name. Now known as
The Great Hossein Arab, he won his first title, the Canadian Tag Team Championship, with partner the Texas Outlaw. He caught the eye of the
WWF where he debuted in 1979 and won the first-ever
Battle Royal in
Madison Square Garden. This earned him a title shot at then-champion
Bob Backlund, who pinned him later that night in a 30-minute battle. He later feuded with
Chief Jay Strongbow and
Bruno Sammartino before leaving in 1980.
He would resurface as
The Iron Sheik in the NWA territories. Playing on real-life political matters (notably the
Iran hostage crisis) and the animosity Americans had for the country of Iran, he moved on to the Mid-South and Mid-Atlantic territories, capturing the Mid-Atlantic title from Jim Brunzell before moving to
Georgia Championship Wrestling. There, he'd notable matches with
Dusty Rhodes,
Dick Murdoch, and
Tommy Rich, and traded the National TV title with
Ron Garvin.
Khosrow would return to the WWF in 1983 as The Iron Sheik and challenged Backlund once again; he defeated him on
December 26,
1983 at
Madison Square Garden in
New York City for the World Wrestling Federation Heavyweight Championship. Sheik also injured Bob Backlund during a Persian club challenge prior to this title match.
During his title reign, The Iron Sheik held memorable bouts against Backlund, Chief Jay Strongbow,
Pat Patterson, and
Tito Santana before dropping the belt just four weeks later to
Hulk Hogan. The WWF's owner
Vince McMahon, Jr. had wanted to take the WWF in a different direction as part of his plan to turn the WWF from a regional promotion into a national one. Part of his plan involved taking the title from Backlund and putting it on the charismatic Hogan, who had left the AWA to wrestle for McMahon, (in the process making an enemy of the AWA's owner
Verne Gagne). He would then engage in a bitter feud with
Sgt. Slaughter, to whom he'd eventually lose a "Boot Camp Rules" match. The Iron Sheik would go on to team with
Nikolai Volkoff as the "Foreign Legion", and under the management of
"Classy" Freddie Blassie, won the
WWF Tag Team Championship from the
U.S. Express at
WrestleMania.
WCCW, AWA, WWC, NWA, and WCW (1987-1990)
In 1987, the Iron Sheik competed in Dallas'
World Class Championship Wrestling. He stayed with that organization for only a few months, followed by brief stints with the AWA, where he attacked Sgt. Slaughter during a match, and Puerto Rico's
World Wrestling Council. In addition to re-igniting his feud with Slaughter and teaming with
Col. Debeers, his main opponent during this time period was
Tony Atlas, who he feuded with in both WCCW and WWC.
In 1989, he'd a short stint in the
National Wrestling Alliance, where he feuded with
Sting over the
NWA World Television Championship. He left after about half a year into his stint with the company.
World Wresting Federation (1991-1992)
He returned to the WWF again in 1991 and was aligned with former enemy
Sgt. Slaughter, and began calling himself Col. Mustafa. Along with
General Adnan, the three played Iraqis (or, in Slaughter's case, an Iraqi sympathizer) during the first
Gulf War and feuded with
Hulk Hogan. Following Slaughter's
face turn after
SummerSlam 1991, he teamed with General Adnan until the middle of 1992, when he left the promotion again.
Wrestling tours (1993-1994)
The Iron Sheik wrestled independently afterwards, and went on a wrestling tour to Nigeria in 1994, promoted by
Chris Adams and co-sponsored by
Pepsi, and featuring former WWF stars
Jimmy Snuka,
Greg Valentine,
Demolition Ax, and World Class wrestler/owner
Kevin Von Erich.
The Sheik was the first champion of "Boston Bad Boy" Tony Rumble's Century Wrestling Alliance, dropping the championship to Vic Steamboat on October 23rd, 1993 in Wakefield, MA.
In 1994, the Sheik tried his hand at
strong style professional wrestling in the
UWFi in Japan. He lost by tap-out to Yoji Anjoh in about 5:30 (the in-ring action of the UWFi, though tailored to resemble an actual competitive bout, was in fact made up of predetermined outcomes).
Sporadic wrestling appearances (1996-present)
In late 1996 Sheik would team up with his old nemesis Bob Backlund to manage WWF wrestler
The Sultan, who was doing a Middle Eastern gimmick, until the Sultan was taken off TV in mid 1997. In
2001, at
WrestleMania X-Seven, the Iron Sheik was the victor of the Gimmick Battle Royal, a match between other popular wrestlers from the 1980s and 1990s. Rather than being booed for winning, he was cheered as a fan favorite. He went on to wrestle in various independent promotions to age 60.
In 2005, the Iron Sheik was inducted into the
WWE Hall of Fame by his old rival,
Sgt. Slaughter.
On the
June 18,
2007 episode of
WWE Monday Night RAW, the Iron Sheik approached
Jonathan Coachman about having his own interview show (like
Piper's Pit) to show on
RAW. Coach replied saying, "I like the idea and I'll really take some time to consider it."
On
August 13,
2007 the Iron Sheik appeared on an episode of
WWE RAW held at
Madison Square Garden for a WWE version of
American Idol. Sheik came out with
Nikolai Volkoff while Volkoff sang the
Soviet anthem.
The
March 10th,
2008 edition of
WWE Raw, featured rematches from previous
WrestleManias. Iron Sheik appeared along with
Nikolai Volkoff to face off against the
U.S. Express in a rematch from the
first WrestleMania. The match was cut short however by
Jillian Hall, who came out to sing "
Born in the USA".
Personal life
In
1987,
"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan and Khosrow were pulled over by New Jersey police after a WWF event, suspecting Duggan of driving under the influence. After a search of the vehicle and the persons, police discovered that Duggan was under the influence of marijuana and alcohol, while the Sheik was high on cocaine. Small amounts of cocaine were also found in the vehicle. Duggan received a conditional release while the Sheik was placed on probation for a year. The mini-scandal that erupted after two in-ring enemies were found drinking and doing drugs together led to the end of the angle, the Sheik's release, and Duggan's temporary departure from WWE.
On
May 5,
2003, Iron Sheik's 27-year-old daughter, Marissa Jeanne Vaziri, was found strangled to death in her apartment. Marissa's live-in boyfriend, Charles Warren Reynolds, 38, confessed to the crime and was charged with murder.
Conflicts
Throughout the last few years, Khosrow has expressed intense dislike for many wrestlers, wrestling promoters, and celebrity figures, including
Brian Blair, Nikolai Volkoff, the
Ultimate Warrior, Hulk Hogan,
Michael Richards, and a slew of others.
During his infamous studio shoot interview conducted in 2004 with Dan Mirade of the Boston, Massachusetts based Millennium Wrestling Federation, the Sheik was asked about his appearance at WrestleMania III, where he teamed with
Nikolai Volkoff against the
Killer Bees, Brian Blair and
Jim Brunzell. During the three hour DVD, the Sheik's drug induced tirade became a Youtube legend and his popularity has soared ever since.
Media appearances
Khosrow was injured and allegedly hospitalized twice in recent months. In December, the Sheik was poisoned after filming his second Millennium Wrestling Federation Studio Shoot Interview with Dan Mirade in Melrose, Mass. This was actually recorded on a cell phone and aired on the January 2007 edition of MWF Ultra. The Sheik was the third victim of the MWF "stalker."
In winter 2007, Khosrow was hospitalized after making several appearances in
Toronto at a
Wal-Mart, sports bar, and independent wrestling show for his friend's sons. Khosrow claims he was to be paid $12,000 for the appearances but was only given $1,000. On his way to the
airport, his driver stole his $1,000. Khosrow was able to get the man's driver's license and bring it to the police in the airport. The police called an ambulance for him, as it appeared he was going to have a
heart attack. Khosrow spoke about the incident on the February MWF Xtra.
Howard Stern Appearance and The Sheik Show
Beginning in July 2007, the comments made by Khosrow regarding Brian Blair during the MWF Studio Shoot Interview became a regular topic of discussion on
Howard Stern's
show. The staff spent time almost daily talking about the Iron Sheik, and each day contained Artie Lange's impression of him. The Sheik appeared on the Stern Show on
August 2,
2007. Fellow radio personality Bubba the Love Sponge, appearing as one of Stern's guests, challenged the Sheik's Gold Medal as fake, although it's a valid 1971
AAU National Championship Medal. Comments made during Iron Sheik's appearance on Stern regarding financial compensation have led to rumors that the bit was staged for publicity. Guests on
The Howard Stern Show are not paid; however, Iron Sheik alluded that he'd receive $10,000 from Howard Stern, and actually won $2,500 in a contest referred to as "Anal Ring Toss."
Prior to the contest, the Iron Sheik was involved in a shouting match with the Ultimate Warrior, Randy Savage, and Killer Bees look-alikes (portrayed by Stern staff members
Richard Christy and
Sal "the Stockbroker" Governale), who both appeared via satellite in the studio to "insult" the Sheik. Artie Lange also wore a costume, including a fake beard, and performed his impression, calling himself the new WWE wrestler "The Real Iron Sheik" (even though he was firstly alluded by Stern as being the "Iron Sheik Jr.").
The Sheik has since gone on to make appearances with
The Killers of Comedy alongside several Stern regular comedians including Christy and Governale. Artie Lange has added his popular impression of the Sheik to his stand-up comedy routine.
On October 15th, 2007, The Iron Sheik made his debut on
Howard 101 with
Shuli Egar, hosting the one hour
The Iron Sheik Show. His most recent appearance on The Howard Stern Show was on March 31, 2008; where he discussed problems with fellow Wack-Packer Beetlejuice, and apologized to Stern for his anti-semitic comments. During his visit, he was served a bottle of Beck's beer which he threw at staff member
Will Murray as he'd apparently questioned his sexual orientation during their pre-interview; both parties would apologize soon afterwards.
He is scheduled to be roasted (in an event independent of The Stern Show) on October 10, 2008 by his colleagues from
The Killers Of Comedy Shuli,
Sal Governale,
Beetlejuice and
Bob Levy (who will be serving as roastmaster) as well as fellow wrestlers
B. Brian Blair and
Nikolai Volkoff.
In wrestling
Finishing and signature moves
Championships and accomplishments
Georgia Championship Wrestling » *NWA National Television Championship (1 time)
International Association of Wrestling » *IAW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
*IAW Tag Team Championship (3 times) - with Brian Costello
Maple Leaf Wrestling » *NWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship (Toronto version) (2 times)
Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling » *NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
NWA All-Star Wrestling » *NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship (Vancouver version) (1 time) - with the Texas Outlaw
NWA New Zealand » *New Zealand British Commonwealth Championship (1 time)
NWA 2000 » *NWA 2000 American Heritage Championship (1 time)
Pacific Northwest Wrestling » *NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Bull Ramos
World Wrestling Federation | World Wrestling Entertainment » *WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2005)
*WWF Championship (1 time) » *WWF World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Nikolai Volkoff
Pro Wrestling Illustrated » *PWI ranked him # 134 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003.
*PWI ranked him # 96 of the 100 best tag teams of the "PWI Years" with the Nikolai Volkoff in 2003.
Wrestling Observer Newsletter » *Most Underrated Wrestler award in 1980
Further Information
Get more info on 'Iron Sheik'.
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