![]() ![]() Vaziri maintained that Takhti was murdered for his anti-government views, although the government maintained it was suicide. Vaziri told Yahoo Sports in 2013 that he fled Iran in the late 1960s after the death of the famous wrestler Gholamreza Takhti. He later served as a bodyguard for the last shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. So I was a fan of the Iron Sheik as a villain.”īorn in Damghan, Iran, to a working-class family, Vaziri gained local prominence as an amateur Greco-Roman wrestler and competed nationally. So you can kind of fight back in some ways through who you choose to support. ![]() “As a young Arab American, the negative stereotypes are all around us. “It’s not as simple as: There’s a negative stereotype and then I’m going to be crushed by that,” Youmans explained, reflecting on what the Iron Sheik meant to him personally. Nevertheless, in a time when US popular culture was defined by cardboard cutouts of Middle Eastern and Russian baddies, the Iron Sheik’s charisma and more developed back story had its own beguiling appeal, said Youmans. His career flourished in the wake of the 1979 Iranian revolution and the US hostage crisis in Tehran, when he often faced off against the “All American” wrestler Hulk Hogan. Vaziri had first entered professional wrestling as the perhaps even more crassly named “The Great Hossein Arab” before settling on his moniker, the Iron Sheik. WWE extends its condolences to The Iron Sheik’s family, friends and fans. WWE is saddened to learn that Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri, known the world over as WWE Hall of Famer The Iron Sheik, passed away on Wednesday, June 7, at age 81. “He was always willing to be the villain in the cultural moment and sort of exploit the politics of xenophobia,” Youmans told Al Jazeera, pointing to when Vaziri assumed the moniker “Colonel Mustafa” during the 1990-91 Gulf War. At times, he even wielded an ancient Persian club.īut despite the over-the-top theatrics of televised professional wrestling, those stereotypes could transcend into a form of representation, said William Lafi Youmans, associate professor of media and public affairs at George Washington University. Often seen wearing a traditional ghutrah headdress and pointed-toe boots, Vaziri represented a mishmash of Middle Eastern stereotypes in his role as a heel - or villain - on the wrestling circuit.Ĭritics have commented that his performances reflected the geopolitical tensions of the time, if not outright mainstream xenophobia. Longtime fans and media observers also recalled a legacy defined by contradiction. His most notable outings came as part of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), which later became the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).Ī statement announcing Vaziri’s death, posted to his Twitter page, said the wrestler “transcended the realm of sports entertainment” with “his larger-than-life persona, incredible charisma and unparalleled in-ring skills”. ![]() Known as the “Iron Sheik”, Vaziri made a name for himself in the theatrical world of United States professional wrestling before becoming a social media fixture later in life. Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri, an Iranian-born athlete who rose to fame in the 1970s and 1980s, died on Wednesday at the age of 81.
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