The Iron Sheik
| The Iron Sheik | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Birth name | Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri |
| Born |
March 15, 1942 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 |
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Greco Roman Wrestling | ||
 |
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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