Khosrow Vaziri

Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri (حسین خسرو وزیری in Farsi), born on March 15 1943 in Tehran, Iran, is an Iranian professional wrestler better known by his stage name The Iron Sheik.

Career

Promoters claimed that this onetime bodyguard for the Shah of Iran was discovered at the 1972 Olympics by AWA promoter Verne Gagne. (Although he was billed as having been a 1968 Olympic medalist, this is untrue.) Known as The Great Hossein, he won his first title, the Canadian Tag Team Championship, with partner the Texas Outlaw.

This victory caught the eye of the WWF where he debuted in 1979 and won the first-ever Battle Royal in Madison Square Garden, earning him a title shot at then-champion Bob Backlund, who pinned him later that night in a 30-minute battle. Arguably the best remembered transitional champion in pro wrestling history, Vaziri would return to the WWF in 1983 as the Iron Sheik and challenged Backlund once again, defeating him on December 26, 1983 for the World Wrestling Federation Heavyweight Championship.

One of the greatest legitimate wrestlers to ever hold a World title, Vaziri held memorable bouts against Backlund, Chief Jay Strongbow, Pat Patterson, and Tito Santana before dropping the belt just four weeks later to Hulk Hogan. AWA promoter Verne Gagne reportedly offered the Iron Sheik $100,000 to break Hogan's leg during the match, but the Sheik refused the offer and informed Hogan, Pat Patterson, Vince McMahon Sr. and Vince McMahon Jr. of the offer after the match. After engaging 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 Tag Team Championship defeating the US Express at WrestleMania I. He was eventually fired from the WWF after he was arrested whilst travelling with fellow wrestler "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, and found to be in possession of marijuana and cocaine. Duggan and Sheik happened to be feuding with one another at the time.

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 1989, he had a short stint in the National Wrestling Alliance, when he feuded with Sting over the NWA World Television Championship. However, his age had caught up with him and he didn't have the workrate he once did or what WCW official were expecting. He was turned into a jobber, but he couldn't fill that role to the bookers' expectations, either. About half a year into his stint with the company, despite having a multi-year contract, he was sent home with pay.

He returned to the WWF again in 1991 as Col. Mustafa and was aligned with former enemy Sgt. Slaughter (though it was rarely acknowledged on-camera that Mustafa was in fact the Iron Sheik). 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.

He went on to wrestle in various independent promotions to age 60, and is now retired.

In 2001, at Wrestlemania 17 The Iron Sheik was the victor of the Gimmick Battle Royale a match between several other popular wrestlers from the 1980s and 90s.

In 2005, the Iron Sheik was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by his old rival, Sgt. Slaughter.

Odds and Ends

The Iron Sheik made an appearance on The Jerry Springer Show. He was introduced under his stage name, The Iron Sheik. During the segment, he came out wearing his trademark pointy boots. The audience broke out numerous times into spontaneous chants of "Sheik! Sheik! Sheik!". The link below is the full Video of the Iron Sheik on The Jerry Springer Show: http://youtube.com/watch?v=m9Cqm7tN1cA.

WWE 24/7 chose the Iron Sheik as their featured Hall of Fame wrestler for October 2005. Selections from the video-on-demand service included a biography on his life and career, an episode of All-Star Wrestling in which the Sheik assaulted Bob Backlund with his "Persian clubs," singles matches against Sgt. Slaughter and Tito Santana, and his Tag Team Title victory with Nikolai Volkoff at WrestleMania. Volkoff and the Sheik were good friends in real-life until their friendship reportedly ended over $2.

The Iron Sheik's favorite quote was "USA hack-ptooey."

During the mid-1980's, he made a pass at WWE Women's Champion Wendi Richter, but was turned down. In retaliation, he told everyone in the locker room she was a lesbian. Both Richter and Sheik admit the incident took place.

In 1987, the Iron Sheik was arrested for marijuana and cocaine possession in New Jersey when he was pulled over riding in a car with fellow wrestler Hacksaw Jim Duggan. This came as a huge shock at the time to a public where many were still under the impression that the two were enemies. Duggan was charged with possession of marijuana and drinking alcohol while driving, and Sheik was charged with possession of marijuana and cocaine. Duggan received a conditional discharge and Sheik received one year probation for the incident.

He once cut liners for the Opie and Anthony show. He also mispronounced "Opie" as "Opium."

Despite his heel (villain/antagonist) status for most of his professional career, The Iron Sheik has, in later years, often spoken kindly of "smart" fans, who he refers to as "intelligent wrestling fans" — apparently a Sheik transliteration from wrestling industry slang into proper English of the wrestling term "smart mark".

The Iron Sheik actually wrestled as a babyface for Insane Clown Posse's Juggalo Championshit Wrestling promotion, and appears on JCW's first DVD release.

In an August 2005 interview with Dan Mirade of the Millennium Wrestling Federation, the Sheik revealed that he was formerly illiterate.

The Sheik has become a regular (or "friend of the show" as they like to call it) on the Kidd Chris show on Philadelphia's 94.1 FREE FM WYSP and one of the running gags is a recording from an interview that The Sheik did with show personality "Open" Mike of The Sheik spouting off his "Pleasure for me..." phrase. In another segment constantly played between the two, "Open" Mike simply asks Sheik if he knows where Natalie Halloway is, where Sheik simply replies "Natalie Halloway?" And the interview ends right there. Both segments are very popular with the show's listeners. (http://www.kiddshow.com)

The B. Brian Blair Situation

The Sheik has displayed hatred towards former wrestler B. Brian Blair, once a member of the tag team the "Killer Bees." The Sheik has expressed his desire to break Blair's back and then sodomize him. The Sheik clearly views the sodomization of B. Brian Blair as a means to the ends of making Blair a humble man. Other times, the Sheik has referred to the sodomization of Blair as giving it to him "the old country way" or, bluntly, by stating that he shall "break his back and then fuck his ass, make him humble." Why he did not "break ^* ass" at Wrestlemania is the subject of much discussion and perhaps rests on the critical intervention of Hacksaw Jim Duggan. Iron Sheik claims he did not sodomize Blair out of respect for his sport and "for God and Jesus and Mr. McMahon". In the same interview, the Sheik also expresses sentiments of disdain for fellow WWE Hall Of Famers Andre the Giant and the Fabulous Moolah aswell as former Tag Team partner Nikolai Volkoff for not paying the tip in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Quotes

"Iran, number one! USA, hack-ptooey!"

"Otherwise was ready to do it to him, old country way, make him humble!" - shoot interview

"Pleasure for me..."

"Iron Sheik is a man, have heart, even if I'm a heel, even if I'm a villain, even if I'm a bad guy. But any of my wrestling fans-little baby, little mother, father-anyone come to me ask for my autograph copy, my picture, 8"x10", made to my wrestling fans."

"Nobudy sold out Puntiac Muchugan except wrestling." -- Here he is referring to the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan.

"Sheik he vas ready, and still I am vready!"

"...and besides that everything was great"

"I'm a shooter, man"

"You are punk, you are fag little gay"

"He was a punk, I can break his fuckin' back, BREAK his back, make him humble and THEN fuck his ass" - shoot interview

http://youtube.com/watch?v=9K-wEUCCvE0&search=iron%20sheik

Finishing Move

Camel Clutch

Championships and accomplishments

National Wrestling Alliance

1-Time NWA National Television Champion
1-Time NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Champion
1-Time NWA 2000 American Heritage Champion

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

PWI ranked him # 134 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003. He was also ranked # 96 of the best tag teams of the "PWI Years" with Nikolai Volkoff.