The Iron Sheik

Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri, known by his ring name the Iron Sheik, was an Iranian-American professional wrestler, amateur wrestler and actor, born on March 15, 1942 and died on June 7, 2023. He is the only Iranian champion in WWE history, having won the WWF World Heavyweight Championship in 1983. His career peaked during the 1980s WWF wrestling boom, when his rivalry with Hulk Hogan turned Hogan into one of the great television heroes of the decade. He later formed a tag team with Nikolai Volkoff that won the WWF Tag Team Championship at the inaugural WrestleMania event, and he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005. He worked as a heel through the 1980s and later gained a new following through shoot interviews and appearances on radio and online shows, where his vulgar language and open dislike of some fellow wrestlers, particularly Hogan and Brian Blair, became part of his public image.