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Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri (Persian:حسین خسرو علي وزیری) (born March 15, 1942) is an Iranian former professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name The Iron Sheik. Vaziri is a one-time world champion, having won the WWF World Heavyweight Championship in 1983. He was what is referred to as a transitional champion, which saw him end the nearly seven-year reign of Bob Backlund as champion only to lose the belt four weeks later to Hulk Hogan, who began a four-plus year reign himself. He would later form a tag team with Nikolai Volkoff, with whom he won the WWF (World) Tag Team Championship at WWE WrestleMania 1 event. Coming off the Iranian hostage crisis, The Iron Shiek, an Iranian citizen who praised his home country and bashed the USA is considered to be one of the greatest heels of all time. His villainous character peaked during the 1980's WWF wrestling boom and his rivalry with Hulk Hogan turned Hogan into one of the greatest television heroes of the decade. In 2005, he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

A heel throughout the 1980s, he later gained popularity on Kidd Chris, The Howard Stern Show, and on the internet due to his shoot interviews, vulgar language, and his lack of respect for other professional wrestlers.

See Also

WWE Alumni