The Iron Sheik, a star of professional wrestling and a staple of popular culture who embraced his status as “one of the most notorious villains” in the history of the entertainment industry died on Wednesday at the age of 81.
The wrestler’s Twitter account, which has more than 640,000 followers, posted the announcement. Sheik, whose real name was Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri, was not described in the statement in any further detail.
With “his larger-than-life persona, incredible charism, and unparalleled in-ring skills,” which “captivated audiences around the globe,” the Iron Sheik “transcended the realm of sports entertainment,” according to the statement.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, an actor and former wrestler, reminisced about his early years with his wrestler-dad and the Iron Sheik, a close family friend. Johnson was called aside by “Uncle Sheiky” when he first entered professional wrestling and instructed on how to conduct himself as a fledgling wrestler.
“‘Let me tell you something,’” Johnson said, mimicking the Sheik’s distinct accent. “‘You come into the locker room, you sit down, you shut your mouth, you don’t say anything and you just watch and you learn. And then you [will] understand who the good people [are] and who the jabronis [are].'”
Johnson added: “As simplistic as that sounded, it was true.”
Iron Sheik was an Iranian-American professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and actor.
He was the only Iranian champion in WWE history, having won the WWF World Heavyweight Championship in 1983.
Khosrow was raised in a working-class home with limited money and no running water. He was born in Damghan, Iran. He had his birthday on September 9 even though his passport said March 15 since his family alternated between the Gregorian calendar and the Solar Hijri calendar.
He was inspired by Iranian Olympic gold medalist wrestler Gholamreza Takhti as a young man, and he went on to become well-known as an amateur wrestler. He also spent a number of years serving as Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and his family’s bodyguard.
In order to make Iran’s Greco-Roman wrestling team for the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Khosrow had to participate.
Following his relocation, he worked as an assistant coach for two American Olympic teams in the 1970s. At 180.5 pounds (81.9 kg), he won the gold medal in amateur athletic union greco-roman wrestling in 1971. Later, he was appointed assistant coach of the United States Olympic squad for the 1972 Munich Games.
Promoter Verne Gagne recruited Khosrow to join the professional wrestling industry in 1972. Khosrow competed for Gagne’s American Wrestling Association (AWA) after receiving instruction from Billy Robinson at Gagne’s wrestling camp (they were in the same class as Ric Flair).
