RIP to Pro Wrestling's best bad guy
As a young kid (maybe 8 or 9) in the 1980's I very much loved to watch the WWF every Saturday morning on channel 5 in NJ. The Iron Sheik was the number one bad guy, and I loved to hate him. He was always quick to tell us that "Iran Number 1"!
He passed away this week, and I wanted to share a few of my favorite memories of him.
He was managed by all time great character Classy Freddie Blassie and they had classic interviews. He would come out to the ring waiving the flag of Iran looking miserable, he had the most terrifying pointed boots in the business.
Below is a picture of him applying (his finishing move) the "camel clutch" on Hulk Hogan, . He would sit on a guy's back and yank his neck backward until he submitted. If wrestling was real, I can imagine that this would have really hurt.
For Chirstmas/Channukah in 1983, my father surprised me with tickets for us to go to my first live wrestling event. I was beyond excited!!! It was on December 26, 1983 at Madison Square Garden. I got to see so many of my favorite wrestlers that night - Andre the Giant, Superfly Snuka, the Wild Samoans, Tony Atlas. In the main event, the Iron Sheik ended Bob Backlund's 5+ year tenure as champion when his manager threw in the towel as the Sheik applied the camel clutch:
Most folks in the audience were completely stunned to have the Sheik as champ. Everyone booed him mercilessly. I was never a big Bob Backlund guy (I found him to be boring), so I didn't mind.
About a month later the Sheik lost the title to Hulk Hogan, which began an incredible rise of popularity for pro wrestlig. He was probably the most important transitional champion in the history of the WWF.
In 1984, he had a confrontation with fellow bad guy Sgt. Slaughter. They went on to have a great feud with Slaughter championing the USA as a big time fan favorite. Their boot camp match was a classic:
After his time with the WWF ended, I remember him going to other organizations. I remeber that he had rivalry with Sting in WCW, unsuccessfuly challenging the title.
His WWE Hall of Fame induction speech is a classic. He was so happy to be there, and he was so funny. He was a great bad guy, and he will be missed.