ORLANDO, Fla. – The Iron Sheik, the pro-wrestler whose feud with Hulk Hogan in the 1980s catapulted both characters to wrestling superstardom, has died, according to The Iron Sheik’s Twitter account.
A statement on behalf of The Iron Sheik’s family does not say what he died of. He was 81.
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The Iron Sheik, whose birth name was Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri, was born in Iran in 1942. He was the only Iranian champion in the history of World Wrestling Entertainment, winning the championship in 1983.
RESPECT THE LEGEND FOREVER 😢 pic.twitter.com/Cr6CC9pXSO
— The Iron Sheik (@the_ironsheik) June 7, 2023
The wrestler found more fame later on via Twitter, where he peppered his account with pithy yet obscene pronouncements about the world, all in capital letters, along with some of his trademark insults, like “jabroni.”
His final tweet before he died was “F*** THE WILDFIRES,” posted Tuesday in reference to the growing Canadian wildfires blanketing the east coast with smoke.
The Iron Sheik is survived by his wife of 47 years, Caryl, his children and grandchildren.
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