WWE Hall of Famer and professional wrestling legend The Iron Sheik has passed away at the age of 81, according to a statement posted to his Twitter account on Wednesday.
In the statement, he called The Iron Sheik a “cultural phenomenon” and “pop culture icon” that has transcended the world of professional wrestling:
WWE paid tribute to The Iron Sheik on Twitter and offered condolences to his loved ones:
The Iron Sheik starred in WWE throughout the 1980s and into the early 1990s, holding the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and WWE Tag Team Championship once before inducting into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005.
Born in Iran in 1942 as Hossein Khosrow Ali Waziri, Sheikh trained as an amateur wrestler and attempted to qualify for the 1968 Olympics before moving to the United States and working as an assistant coach for the US wrestling team in the 1972 Olympics.
Sheik broke into the world of professional wrestling in 1972 in the Minnesota-based AWA, and got his first break with WWE in 1979.
In 1983, Sheik joined WWE on a full-time basis and defeated Bob Backlund for the WWE Championship on December 26, 1983, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, ending Backlund’s reign of 2,135 days, the second-longest in WWE history. WWE title history.
After just 28 days, The Sheik dropped the WWE Championship to Hulk Hogan, marking the beginning of Hulkamania and one of the most successful periods in WWE history.
While Sheik would never win another singles title in WWE, he was involved in the first title change in WrestleMania history, as he and Nikolai Volkoff defeated Barry Windham and Mike Rotundo of The US Express for the WWE Tag Team Championship at the inaugural WrestleMania in 1985 .
After leaving WWE near the end of the decade, The Sheik returned in 1991 under the name Colonel Mustafa, forming an alliance with General Adnan and Sgt. Slaughter, who had recently turned heel due to his sympathy for Iraq during the Gulf War.
Slaughter held the WWE Championship during that period before dropping it to Hogan at WrestleMania 7. A few months later at SummerSlam 1991, Sheik teamed with Slaughter and Adnan in a losing effort against Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior in the main event.
The Sheik left WWE back in 1992, and his career began to pretty much decline. However, in one of his final matches, he won the Gimmick Battle Royal at WrestleMania 17 in 2001.
In recent years, Sheikh has become well known for his social media presence, with his Twitter account garnering more than 600,000 followers.
Sheik’s account became an internet sensation for his idiosyncratic musings, foul language, and disdain for Hogan, the man who defeated him for the WWE Championship.
. “Professional creator. Lifelong thinker. Reader. Beer buff. Troublemaker. Evil problem solver.”