Tag: The Iron Sheik

Athletes and sports figures who have died in 2023

The notable athletes, broadcasters, and sports figures we’ve lost so far in 2023.

Twitter reacts to the death of wrestling icon The Iron Sheik

A number of fellow wrestlers and industry personalities shared their thoughts and memories of WWE Hall of Famer The Iron Sheik.

Pro wrestling lost one of its truly beloved figures on Wednesday when the official social media accounts for The Iron Sheik shared the news that he had died at age 81.

The Iron Sheik was a WWE Hall of Famer, former world champion and tag team champion with Nikolai Volkoff. But his impact on pro wrestling — not to mention amateur wrestling, where he once helped coach the U.S. Olympic team — touched many, many more lives than just the people with whom he shared the ring.

Check below for the top Twitter reactions as tributes and remembrances poured in throughout the day.

WWE legend, Hall of Famer The Iron Sheik dies at 81

WWE Hall of Famer and pro wrestling icon The Iron Sheik has died, according to posts on his official social media accounts.

Though he was one of the most despised heels during his heyday in the WWF, The Iron Sheik became a beloved figure in the pro wrestling community later in life. He’ll now have to take care of ridding the afterlife of jabronis, as he has died at age 81.

A multi-part message posted to the Sheik’s official social media accounts confirmed his death.

Born Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri, The Iron Sheik was born in Iran in 1942 and pursued amateur wrestling from an early age. He attempted to make Iran’s wrestling team for the Mexico City Olympics in 1968, and then became an assistant coach for the U.S. Olympic wrestling team.

Legendary wrester and promoter Verne Gagne was the person who gave The Iron Sheik his start in pro wrestling, and he adopted the gimmick that he’d make famous — inspired by that of the original Sheik, Edward Farhat — and his signature look early on. His first stint with the WWE in 1979-80 was brief but included a title match with Bob Backlund and a program with Bruno Sammartino.

After several years wrestling in other promotions, The Iron Sheik returned to the WWF in 1983 and defeated Backlund for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship, becoming the first and to date only Iranian to ever hold that title. But it was in the mid-80s that he reached his peak level of fame as tag team partner to Nikolai Volkoff, with the duo managed by “Classy” Freddie Blassie and winning tag team gold while playing upon their heat-drawing anti-American gimmick.

Though The Iron Sheik’s days as a full-time wrestler ended in 1992, he made several in-ring appearances for various companies in the 21st century. His last match was on the March 10, 2008 episode of Raw, teaming with Volkoff against a duo they knew well from their glory days, Barry Windham and Mike Rotundo.

It’s fair to say, however, that The Iron Sheik was best known over the last 15 years or so for his humorously combative (and profane) presence on social media. Always tweeting in all caps, his Twitter feed was a constant stream of cursing people he disliked — often targeting Hulk Hogan — and praising the few that he did. Sheik often threatened to make his enemies humble (or worse), though the sense was that the whole world was in on the joke, and it was his managers that reportedly actually composed his tweets.

The Iron Sheik was also a family man, survived by Caryl, his wife of 47 years, two children and five grandchildren. Wrestling Junkie joins the entire pro wrestling community in offering them our condolences.