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Iron Sheik

The Iron Sheik
Iron Shiek Milwaukee WI 031008.jpg
Birth name Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri
Born (1942-03-15) March 15, 1942 (age 74)
Tehran, Iran
Residence Fayetteville, Georgia, United States
Spouse(s) Caryl Peterson
Children Marissa Jeanne Vaziri
(1976–2003)
Tanya and Nikki
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s) Ali Vasari
Col. Mustafa
Great Hossein Arab
The Iron Sheik
Billed height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Billed weight 258 lb (117 kg)
Billed from Tehran, Iran
Baghdad, Iraq (as Col. Mustafa)
Trained by Verne Gagne
Billy Robinson
Debut 1972
Retired 2010
Khosrow Vaziri
Medal record
Greco Roman Wrestling
Gold medal – first place National AAU Championships 1971 180.5lb Weight Class

Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri (Persian: حسین خسرو علي وزیری‎‎; born March 15, 1942) is an Iranian American former professional wrestler, amateur wrestler and actor better known by his ring name The Iron Sheik. Vaziri is a one-time world champion, having won the WWF World Heavyweight Championship in 1983. He was what is referred to as a transitional champion, which saw him end the nearly six-year reign of Bob Backlund as champion only to lose the belt four weeks later to Hulk Hogan, who began a four-plus year reign himself. Coming off the Iranian hostage crisis, The Iron Sheik, an Iranian citizen who praised his home country and bashed the USA, is considered to be one of the greatest heels of all time. His villainous character peaked during the 1980s WWF wrestling boom and his rivalry with Hulk Hogan turned Hogan into one of the greatest television heroes of the decade. He would later form a tag team with Nikolai Volkoff, with whom he won the WWF Tag Team Championship at the inaugural WrestleMania event. In 2005, he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

A heel throughout the 1980s, he later gained popularity on Kidd Chris, The Howard Stern Show, and on the internet due to his shoot interviews, vulgar language, and his intense dislike for some of his fellow professional wrestlers.


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