Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri
(born March 15, 1943) is a retired Iranian
professional wrestler and actor 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.
Typecast as a
heel in
the
1980s, he later gained additional
popularity on
The Howard Stern
Show due to his infamous outbursts on the wrestling
industry and the hatred he expressed for various wrestlers while in
character.
Early life and amateur wrestling
Khosrow
was born in Tehran
, Iran.
He made a name for himself as an amateur wrestler and also worked
as a bodyguard for Shah
Mohammad
Reza Pahlavi and his family for several years.
Khosrow competed to become part of the Iranian Olympic Greco Roman
team for the
1968 Summer
Olympics held in Mexico but was eliminated during his country's
trials. Nonetheless, wrestling promoters later billed him as having
won a medal at these Olympics. Khosrow actually won the 1968 Pan
American games.
After this, he moved to the United States and became the assistant
coach of two US Olympic squads in the 1970s. In 1971, he was the
Amateur Athletic Union
Greco-Roman wrestling champion
at 180.5 pounds. On April 30, 2009, he claimed to have participated
in the
1972 Olympic Games in
Munich.
Pro wrestling career
Beginnings (1972–1983)
In 1972, Khosrow was invited into becoming a professional wrestler
by promoter
Verne Gagne. Khosrow trained
at Gagne's wrestling camp under trainer Billy Robinson (in the same
class as
Ric Flair) and then wrestled for
Gagne's
American
Wrestling Association. He also worked as a trainer, teaching
Ricky Steamboat,
Greg Gagne and
Jim Brunzell.
Khosrow first wrestled as a
face in preliminary matches
before a promoter suggested that he adopt a
heel gimmick similar to that
of the notorious
Sheik.
Khosrow obliged and adopted what came to be his signature look: he
shaved his head bald, 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 an idea from
Jimmy Snuka ). He also introduced the
Persian clubs, a sport in his native Iran, and challenged
wrestlers to do as many swings as him. His Iranian gimmick received
attention due the events of the
Iranian revolution.
Taking the name
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 made his debut in 1979 and won the first-ever Battle Royal in
Madison Square
Garden
, New York
City
. 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.
Khosrow 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 had notable matches with
Dusty Rhodes,
Dick Murdoch, and
Tommy
Rich, and traded the National TV title with
Ron Garvin.
World Wrestling Federation (1983-1987)
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 for the WWF World championship. Sheik
also injured 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, now
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 would 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 World tag team title
from the
U.S. Express at the first
WrestleMania. During his stint in the
WWF, he appeared in the music video for
Cyndi Lauper's "
Goonies 'R' Good Enough" as a part
of the
Rock 'n' Wrestling
Connection.
In 1987,
"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan (an
on-screen rival) and Khosrow were pulled over by New Jersey police
after a WWF event, suspecting Duggan of
DUI. 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 the
WWF.
Independent circuit (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 reigniting 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 1988, he had a brief return to the WWF. In 1989, he had 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.
Return to the WWF (1991-1992)
He returned to the WWF again in early 1991 and wrestled a few house
shows as the Iron Sheik before making his televised re-debut on
Wrestling Challenge as
Colonel Mustafa,and was aligned with former enemy
Sgt. Slaughter.
Along with
Iraqi
General Adnan,
Slaughter and Mustafa were portrayed as Iraqi sympathizers 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.
Return to the independent circuit (1993-1994)
The Iron
Sheik wrestled independently afterward, 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 second champion of "Boston Bad Boy" Tony Rumble's Century Wrestling
Alliance, originally winning the title from Tommy Dreamer in Burlington,
Vermont
on March 21, and dropping the championship to
Vic Steamboat on October 23, 1993 in
Wakefield,
Massachusetts
.
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 appearances (1996-present)
In late 1996, the Sheik would team up with his old nemesis Bob
Backlund to manage WWF wrestler
The
Sultan, who had a Middle Eastern
gimmick, however he
once again failed a drug test (he refers to this as a "medicine
test" in various shoot videos) and was excluded from the
federation.On April 1, 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 for several years
afterwards and he still appears at independent events today.
In 2005, the Iron Sheik was inducted into the
WWE Hall of Fame by his old rival,
Sgt. Slaughter.
On the June 11, 2007 episode of
Raw, he along with Jimmy Snuka appeared in a
taped segment showing their appreciation of WWE owner Vince
McMahon. On the June 18 episode of
Raw, he approached
McMahon's executive assistant
Jonathan
Coachman about having his own interview show (like
Piper's Pit and
The Brother Love Show) to show on
Raw. Coach replied saying, "I like the idea and I will
really take some time to consider it."
On August 13, he
appeared on an episode of 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 10, 2008 edition of
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. Before the bout
could begin, however, they were interrupted by
Jillian Hall, who came out to sing the
Bruce Springsteen song "
Born in the USA." On October 2,
2009, on the 10th aniversary of
Smackdown, he appeared backstage arguing
with Sgt. Slaughter, choking on a shrimp, then helped by
Hurricane Helms.
Recent resurgence in popularity and Howard Stern Show
appearances
In recent years, the Iron Sheik has expressed intense dislike for
many wrestlers, wrestling promoters, former friends, and celebrity
figures, including
Brian Blair,
Nikolai Volkoff,
The Ultimate Warrior,
Hulk Hogan,
André
the Giant,
Michael Richards,
and others. In various interviews conducted with the Sheik, he has
lashed out at these and other figures, using extremely profane
language and often threatening to "humble" them by means of anal
rape. As clips of these interviews made their way to
YouTube, the Iron Sheik began to experience a
cult following among a new generation
of fans.
Beginning in July 2007, the Sheik and his tirades became a regular
topic of discussion on
The
Howard Stern Show. The staff, amused by his controversial
outbursts as well as his frequent profane threats to "humble" those
who anger him, spent time almost daily talking about the Iron
Sheik.
Artie Lange began impersonating
him after their first playing the audio clips, since adding the
impression to his stand-up comedy act, pointing out the redundancy
of the Sheik's insult "you are gay and faggot!" 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
"Olympic" gold medal as fake, although it is a valid 1971
AAU National Championship
Medal.
Prior to the contest, the Iron Sheik was involved in a shouting
match with the Ultimate Warrior,
Randy
Savage,
George Foreman, and
Killer Bees
look-a-likes (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
"Iron Sheik Junior". The Iron Sheik later realized that Lange was
portraying "Iron Sheik Junior" and joked that he would "rape" him,
even "if he's fat."
On October 15, 2007, The Iron Sheik made his debut on
Howard 101 with
Shuli Egar, hosting the
one hour
The Iron
Sheik Show. In a recent appearance on
The Howard Stern
Show (March 2008) he discussed problems with
Beetlejuice (whom he did not
realize was mentally retarded), 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
had apparently questioned his sexual orientation during their
pre-interview; both parties would apologize soon afterward.
Sheik has since gone on to make appearances with
The Killers of Comedy alongside
several Stern regular comedians including Christy and Governale. In
a 2008 tour, the Sheik was involved in an altercation with fellow
performer Beetlejuice that resulted in Khosrow being suspended from
the tour.
He was
roasted on October 10, 2008 by
fellow wrestlers
Brian Blair and
Nikolai Volkoff, and others.
However, the Sheik abruptly ended the roast when he slapped Blair.
He appeared on an episode of the television show
Kenny vs. Spenny, entitled "Who's the
Best Pro Wrestler?," where he repeatedly called Spenny's favorites
wrestlers Hulk Hogan and Ultimate Warrior "faggots". In the late
2008 he was briefly shown on TMZ bad mouthing Hulk Hogan at the LAX
airport in Los Angeles.
In 2009 the Sheik appeared on
The Opie
& Anthony Show, where according to the show's hosts he
urinated himself as a result of drinking 8
beers in an hour.
Acting Career
Sheik made his film debut in 2005's The Tale of the 3 Mohammads and
appear alongside
Daniel Baldwin and
Corey Feldman in 2009's
The Adventures of Belvis
Bash.
Personal life
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.
In wrestling
Championships and accomplishments
- International Association of Wrestling
- IAW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- IAW Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Brian Costello
- NWA
2000
- NWA 2000 American Heritage Championship (1 time)
- 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
References
Further reading
External links
Wikis
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