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Both a
legitimate Olympic athlete and a former bodyguard for the shah
of Iran, Khosraw Vasiri has achieved considerable success in
professional wrestling ever since he defected to the United
States. His trademark boots, use of the
Camel Clutch, and foreign menace gimmick made him a
hated heel for many years.
Vasiri wrestled at both the 1968
Olympics and won a medal for the Iranian team. He then
defected to the United States where he trained athletes as an
assistant coach to the U.S. Olympic team. In 1972, he
caught the eye of Verne Gagne who invited him to train at his
notoriously brutal wrestling camp. Vasiriagreed and he
was part of the same class that "Nature
Boy" Ric Flair trained with. Vasori's experience in
the camp was not pleasant thanks to trainer Billy
Robinson After
his training, Vasiri worked in the American Wrestling
Association (AWA) both as a wrestler and as a trainer for
Gagne. Vasiri trained notables such as Ricky
Steamboat, Greg Gagne, and Jim
Brunzell.
Vasiri wrestled as a babyface in
preliminary matches before a promoter suggested that he
wrestle as a heel similar to the notorious Sheik. The
gimmick didn't take off but political events would change that
soon enough.
In 1979, Vasiri traveled to the
World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) where he challenged
WWWF champion Bob Backlund but was unable to wrest the title
from him. He then began wrestling in southern
territories such as Mid-South Wrestling (MSW) and Mid-Atlantic
Championship Wrestling (MSW). Around this time he also
began going by the name of the Iron Sheik.
One of the Iron Sheik's trademarks
was the exotic wrestling boots with curled tips on them (Boots
that opponents suspected he often loaded to give them extra
effect). Another was the Persian Clubs with which he
exercised. Each club was purported to be 75 pounds each
and the Iron Sheik often challenged other wrestlers to see if
they could perform the same exercise routine as he did with
the clubs. Many wrestlers were lucky to even pick them
up, let alone perform the exercise routine.
MACW babyface Blackjack Mulligan
took the Iron Sheik up on his offer. However when he
looked like he was going to succeed at working the clubs, the
Iron Sheik attacked him and whipped Mulligan with a
belt. The two then began a feud with Mulligan attempting
to get revenge and whip the Iron Sheik both figuratively and
literally.
During his time in MACW, the United
States' embassy in Iran was taken over by Iranian
revolutionaries, launching the Iranian hostage crisis.
As a result of this, the Iron Sheik became even more of a
hated heel as he capitalized on fans' hatred of Iran and
launched into anti-American tirades during interviews.
The Iron Sheik had to avoid fans outside of arenas who
sometimes waited for him, hoping to lynch him.
The Iron Sheik teamed with Jimmy
"Superfly" Snuka in a four team tournament held for the MACW
Tag Team Titles but lost in the finals to the team of Matt
Borne and Buzz Sawyer. The Sheik then began feuding with
Jim Brunzell over Brunzell's MACW Title. At one point,
Brunzell managed to capture one of the Iron Sheik's
boots. However in the end, the Sheik regained his boot
and captured Brunzell's title.
Wrestling as the Great Hossein Arab, he
captured the Canadian Heavyweight Championship in Frank
Tunney's Maple Leaf Wrestling promotion. Hossein feuded
with hometown hero Angelo Mosca over the belt. Hossein
managed to hold the belt by any means (including running away)
until Mosca challenged him to a cage match. After a
bloody battle, Mosca gave him an Oklahoma Slam for the pinfall
victory, ending Hossein's reign.
In 1983 the Iron Sheik returned to New
York and wrestled in the World Wresting Federation (WWF) where
he worked his way through contenders before getting a WWF
title shot at Bob Backlund. A week before the match, the
Iron Sheik challenged Backlund to perform the Persian Clubs
workout. While he was working the clubs, the Iron Sheik
attacked Backlund, injuring his neck and shoulder.
Amazingly, Backlund was able to wrestle
the Sheik in Madison Square Garden. Led by his manager,
Ayatollah Blassie, the Iron Sheik capitalized on Backlund's
injuries and he dominated Backlund for most of the match,
applying suplexes to further weaken Backlund's neck, shoulder,
and back. The Iron Sheik then applied his fearsome Camel
Clutch finisher and while Backlund would not submit, his
manager Arnold Skaaland threw in the towel, fearing that
Backlund's refusal to quit would lead to permanent
injury.
While Bob Backlund was entitled to a
return match, he reinjured his shoulder during a match with
the Wild Samoans and so his title shot went to WWF newcomer Hulk Hogan. The WWF's owner
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 off of Bob Backlund (who McMahon felt was too
bland) and put it on the charismatic Hulk Hogan.
The Iron Sheik
made his title defense in Madison Square Garden where the
capacity crowd exploded with excitement when Hogan entered the
arena. After a shaky start, the Iron Sheik took control
and managed to place Hogan in his Camel Clutch finisher.
However Hogan broke the hold and made short work of the Iron
Sheik. Hulk Hogan had left the AWA to wrestle for
Vince McMahon, making an enemy of the AWA's owner Verne
Gagne. Gagne reportedly offered the Iron Sheik $100,000
to break Hogan's leg during the match but the Iron Sheik
refused the offer.
After the Iron Sheik's brief
run with the WWF Heavyweight Championship, he began feuding
with Sgt. Slaughter. The former Marine had heard enough
of the Iron Sheik bashing the United States and he soon found
himself in a brutal feud with the former WWF Heavyweight
Champion. The two battled in arenas everywhere including
a famous series of matches in Madison Square Garden (MSG) that
culminated in a Boot Camp Match which Slaughter
won.
The arrival of
Nikolai Volkoff, a feared Soviet wrestler led to the Iron
Sheik switching to tag team competition. Freddie Blassie
managed the Iron Sheik and Volkoff, leading them to a title
shot at Wrestlemania I against the WWF Tag Team Champions Mike
Rotunda and Barry WIndham (The U.S.
Express). The Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff captured
the WWF Tag Team Championship after their manager broke a cane
over Barry Windham's head. The duo held the tag titles
for three months before losing them back to the U.S.
Express.
The
Iron Sheik continued to team with Volkoff. During a
match on Saturday Night's Main Event, they teamed up with
George "The Animal" Steele against the U.S. Express and Ricky
"The Dragon" Steamboat. After losing the match, the Iron
Sheik and Volkoff attacked Steele, which led to Steele
turning babyface.
The
Iron Sheik then began working a program with the patriotic
wrestler "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan. The program ended though
after Duggan and the Iron Sheik were arrested by the police
for drug possession. The media spotlight on two
wrestlers who were supposed foes being caught in a car doing
drugs together led to both men being let go by the WWF (albeit
only for a short time for Duggan).
After leaving the
WWF, the Iron Sheik wrestled for World Class Championship
Wrestling (WCCW) as well as World Championship
Wrestling. In 1991, the Iron Sheik appeared in the WWF
as Colonel Mustafa, a member of the "Triangle of Terror" made
up of Iraqi General Adnan and Iraqi sympathizer Sgt. Slaughter. When the Triangle
of Terror lost a tag match at SummerSlam to Hulk Hogan and the
Ultimate Warrior, Mustafa and Adnan turned on
Slaughter.
In 1997,
the Iron Sheik returned to the WWF where he managed the
Sultan. The Iron Sheik participated in the Gimmick
Battle Royal at Wrestlemania X-7, winning the event. In
2005, the Iron Sheik was inducted into World Wrestling
Entertainment's (WWE) Hall of Fame.
Recently
the Iron Sheik appeared on an interview in which he expressed
total disgust and disdain for wrestler B
Brian Blair. The video found its way to the Internet
where it has delighted many
fans. | 
