Pro Wrestling Stories
Former WWE Champion Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri, more commonly recognized as The Iron Sheik, had a storied career in both amateur and professional wrestling. Sadly, he passed away at the age of 81 on June 7, 2023, leaving behind a legacy that included his reputation for engaging in provocative trolling on Twitter.
However, outside the public persona of former WWE Champion The Iron Sheik lies a dark and unimaginable tragedy: the murder of his eldest daughter. And while dealing with what no parent should ever have to, he devised a plan to seek vengeance: he was going to kill his daughter's murderer.
Whether you recall his beginnings as “The Great” Hossein Arab, his transformation into The Iron Sheik during the '80s wrestling boom, his appearances on Howard Stern and Jerry Springer in the late 2000s, or his status as the “King of Heat” on Twitter, Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri has consistently presented a multifaceted personality.
Before becoming a despised foreign bad guy on TV, Khosrow came from a humble background in what he calls “the old country.” He helped on the family farm outside of the Iranian capital of Tehran along with his three brothers and sister. They cultivated pistachios, grapes, and watermelons to subsist.
In that period, Greco-Roman and Freestyle wrestling reigned as the nation's most cherished sports, drawing in numerous talented Persian athletes who entered the club and ultimately reached the status of world champions.