|
The Iron Shiek
is a man truly rich in wrestling history. He won a gold meld in the
1968 Olympics in Wrestling representing Iran, he also placed third
in the 1969 World Cup competition.
He was discovered and trained by Verne Gange. He rose steadily through
the ranks and debuted in the WWWF in 1979. His matches were classics
in the art of wrestling. In the course of a match it would not be
unusual to see four to five variations of the suplex used by Hossien.
Here was a man who could scientifically wrestle with anyone, yet was
also a great brawler.
Also introduced by the Sheik was the demonstration of Iranian clubs.
Weighing 75 lbs. each they are twirled behind the head in a continuous
motion. There has been no one to this day in or out of the ring that
has matched the Sheik's challenge to duplicate his repetitions.
His career rocketed as he toured the south and feuded with the various
faces there. He then returned to the WWF in 1983 and challenged champion
Bob Backlund. It was during the Iranian Club challenge on TV that
the Sheik attacked Backlund and injured his left shoulder and arm.
Soon after that, he defeated the World Champion with the dreaded Camel
Clutch submission hold. The Wrestling World was in a state of shock.
But many that knew of the Sheik's background were not. Here was the
most scientific wrestler in the ring, unencumbered with the weaknesses
of pity or compassion.
On the next card in the garden, Backlund was deemed unfit to wrestle
due to the arm and shoulder injury and the Sheik was scheduled to
face the recently returned Hulk Hogan. Hogan won the belt from the
Sheik that night, but for the next year these two waged an all out
war with the WWF belt at stake.
Also during this time a feud erupted with Sgt. Slaughter. This feud
has been called one of the greatest in the history of wrestling. Blood
flowed in almost every match and both men fought with every ounce
of strength that they had.
Then, Nikolai
Volkoff returned to the WWF in 1984 and the Sheik formed an alliance
with his Russian friend. Now Slaughter had both the Sheik and Volkoff
to contend with. Many times they attacked the Sgt. with his various
partners and a new phase of the war was on. But after Slaughter decided
to leave the WWF, the Sheik and Volkoff continued to excel as a team,
and at the first Wrestlemania, won the WWF tag team championship.
Title
Summary:
WWF
Tag Team Champion w/ Nikolai Volkoff
WWF Heavyweight Champion
|
