The Iron Sheik

Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri (Persian: حسین خسرو علی وزیری‎; born 15 March 1942), better known by his ring name The Iron Sheik, is an Iranian-American retired professional wrestler, amateur wrestler and actor. He is the only Iranian champion in WWE history, having won the WWF World Heavyweight Championship in 1983. Coming off the Iranian hostage crisis, he is considered to be one of the greatest heels of all time. His villainous character peaked during the 1980s WWF wrestling boom and his rivalry with Hulk Hogan turned Hogan into one of the greatest television heroes of the decade. He later formed a tag team with Nikolai Volkoff, which won the WWF Tag Team Championship at the inaugural WrestleMania event. In 2005, he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. Since 2018, he has been seen on BST and RCW television in appearances alongside Mathieu Parker.

A heel throughout the 1980s, Sheik later gained popularity on Kidd Chris, The Howard Stern Show, and on the internet due to his shoot interviews, vulgar language, and his intense dislike for some of his fellow professional wrestlers, particularly B. Brian Blair.