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The Iron Shiek at WWE Raw, photo by Mshake3.

Top 10 Astonishing Facts about The Iron Sheik

Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri, famously known as the Iron Sheik, is one of the greatest wrestlers. He was born in Iran in 1942 and in the 1970s and 1980s he was among the greatest in pro wrestling. At the beginning of his career, he wore a singlet, carried his Olympic medals with him, and presented himself as a straight-shooter of an Olympic wrestler.

Despite all his anti-American rhetoric and all of his pro-Iran promos during the 1980s, he moved to the United States of America. He got married to the love of his life and started a family, and made tons of money doing what he loved. He has deep admiration for America’s values and is often seen carrying a miniature American flag with him when in public.

 He loves the United States, and his intelligent wrestling fans are aware that his condemnations of the U.S. were all part of the show. The Iron Sheik; he loves the United States, and is thankful for the opportunities he got as an American citizen. Here are to 10 astonoshing facts about the Iron Sheik.

1.He Started in Amateur Wrestling

The Iron Sheik was born in Iran in 1942 and spent most of his childhood in Iran. It was in Iran where he would take up amateur wrestling. His amateur wrestling days were initially inspired by Olympic wrestler Gholamreza Takhti, who won gold and silver medals for Iran in the Olympics

When he moved to America to pursue wrestling he participated in some amateur competitions, winning some of them. Unfortunately, he was not able to compete in the Olympics but Vaziri would go on to be involved with the US Olympic wrestling team, working as a coach for several iterations of the team.

2.He was trained by Verne Gagne & Billy Robinson

Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri was first scouted by wrestler and promoter Verne Gagne, who ran the Midwest promotion American Wrestling Association around 1972. While in Minnesota, Vaziri would train in the sport alongside Jim Brunzell and Ken Patera.  He would also train with Ric Flair under the tutelage of not only Gagne and most importantly Billy Robinson. Billy Robinson is a British wrestling legend.

3.The Iron Sheik is an Olympian

The Iron Shiek in the early 80’s, photo by Ethan.

Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri competed in the 1968 Olympics held in Mexico City. He competed in Greco-Roman wrestling for his home country, Iran. Sheik did not get the medal but being an Olympian is an accomplishment few other pro wrestlers can claim. Sheik’s amateur acumen carried over to his professional career, leading him to be one of the original ‘human supex machines.

4.He’s the only Iranian champion in WWE History

WWE corporate headquartersphoto by John O’Neill (jjron).

The Iron Sheik was born in Iran in 1942 and has participated in various pro wrestling championships.  He is the only Iranian-born WWE Champion in history. He accrued a lot of accolades over his long tenure in sports entertainment. As of 2022 no one has claimed his title, Sheik therefore takes pride in this as it is the one thing nobody else can say.

5.He was arrested

One night in New Jersey, while Duggan and Sheik were having fun, they got pulled over by the police.  They used to hang out as they often travelled together between house shows and would cause trouble when having a little bit too much fun.

The two were arrested on minor charges and later released. However, the incident was reported in the media, and WWE was upset that two hated rivals had been ousted as being friends. Both wrestlers were disciplined, with Sheik seeming to get the worse end of it.

6.He Once got Fired for Breaking Kayfabe

In 1987, the internet was filled with the slogan Kayfabe which the Professional wrestling thrived on was at stake when the two, Duggan and Sheik, got arrested. During this era in WWE, The Iron Sheik and Hacksaw Jim Duggan were booked into a feud. Hacksaw the pro-America patriot vs. nefarious foreigner The Iron Sheik.

The phenomenon of wrestlers at this time was pretending that the sport was a legitimate athletic contest, rather than a performance with a pre-planned result. Mr Wrestling II once wrestled a match with a broken back to prove that he was on a plane with hated rival Ric Flair.

7.The Iron Sheik appeared on the Howard Stern show

The logo for The Howard Stern Show photo by the Howard Stern Show.

The Iron Sheik’s sense of humour and propensity to shoot from the hip made him a natural for shock jock Howard Stern’s nationally syndicated program. Sheik became a fan favourite guest and was asked back frequently to the show. He was able to adapt to the changing media landscape and has become internet famous in addition to being renowned in the wrestling world.

8.He defeated one of WWE’s longest-reigning champions to win the world title

Professional wrestler Iron Sheik, photo by Nightscream.

In modern times, it’s considered a huge feat if a champion keeps their title for a full year. However during Sheik’s era it was different as a championship title would be held by a person for over 3 years or more. The Iron Sheik had a brief stint with WWE in 1979 through 1980 challenging Bob Backlund for the WWE Championship on several occasions as well as Ted DiBiase for the North American Title.

In 1983, Sheik challenged Bob Backlund for the WWE World Championship who held the title for over six years. In addition; he had been the face of the company for as long as many fans had been watching. Iron Sheik dethroned the legendary champion Backlund at Madison Square Garden. He lost the title after 28 days to Hulk Hogan in what would be Hogan’s coronation as WWE’s top star.

9.His World Championship Wrestling Run

After a brief return to WWE in 1988 and after he dethroned the legendary champion Backlund, he moved on to the competition in World Championship Wrestling debuting for the promotion in 1989.

He did a couple of televised matches, including a TV Title match with champion Sting at Wrestle War ‘89 and a loss to Mike Rotunda at The Great American Bash ’90. His run in WCW lasted until 1991 and mostly amounted to house show matches including World Title matches against Lex Luger and later Ricky Steamboat.

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10.Colonel Mustafa

The Iron Sheik returned to WWE in 1991 for another run, albeit in a bizarre fashion. Instead of playing his iconic character, he was now Colonel Mustafa, an Iraqi military heel just in time for The Gulf War.

Mustafa formed a villainous trio with General Adnan, an actual Iraqi and Sheik’s old rival Sgt. Slaughter, newly turned heel as an Iraqi sympathizer. While learning the sport of wrestling, Vaziri worked a day job for a roofing company owned by Sgt. Slaughter’s father.

Truly, The Iron Sheik has made his county men proud with his great achievements. Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri could barely speak any English when he came to the US. All he knew was wrestling but his shortcomings did not stop him from pursuing his dream. He is the best example of seeking the American Dream, where people from other countries come to the US to make it big.