One of the greatest WWE heels of all time and a beloved online personality, The Iron Sheik has passed away at the age of 81.
The news was confirmed on Sheik’s Twitter account. But no cause of death has been revealed during the statement. Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri, better known to pro wrestling fans as The Iron Sheik, was famous for his anti-American gimmick. He came out with a massive Iranian flag as a ploy to generate heat from the crowd. It certainly worked, as alongside Sgt. Slaughter and Nikolai Volkoff, Sheik became a monster heel in the 1980s.
RESPECT THE LEGEND FOREVER 😢 pic.twitter.com/Cr6CC9pXSO
— The Iron Sheik (@the_ironsheik) June 7, 2023
During his in-ring career, The Iron Sheik became a 1-time WWF (now WWE) World Heavyweight Champion and WWE Tag Team Champion with the aforementioned Nikolai Volkoff. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005. Despite retiring from active competition, Sheik managed to stay in the public consensus due to his online persona.
He made several appearances on talk shows and radio shows such as the Howard Stern Show. While Sheik was never a fluent English speaker, his humourous way of speaking endeared him to the fans. In recent times, he also became immensely popular on Twitter. While he commented on several issues, Sheik’s seemingly one-sided rivalry with Hogan caught the fans’ imagination.
Hence, after his death, fans took to social media sites to remind everyone of his iconic insults against Hulk Hogan and several other WWE stars like Brock Lesnar. It was their way of paying tribute to the legend that was The Iron Sheik.
Here are some fan reactions on the matter
Rip sheik!
— Michael 🎅 (@Collingwoodmag) June 7, 2023
Fuck Hulk Hogan ☹️ pic.twitter.com/BSxeiUx3KA
gonna miss seeing him on my TL everyday bodying hogan 🤞🏻 pic.twitter.com/YnCzElV62h
— FADE (@FadeAwayMedia) June 7, 2023
Hogan will always be a Jabroni! Love you Sheikie pic.twitter.com/CamfgvbOs3
— The K-man (@CrowbarMister) June 7, 2023
R.I.P., king. The Hogan insults will always be hilarious.
— Anthony McBride MMA Tweets (@AnthoMMAtweets) June 7, 2023
Never forget pic.twitter.com/YxXGi0Vd3h
— El Capi Bretón (@bretonrivera) June 7, 2023
Fuck man, I’ll miss him on Twitter so much. RIP Sheik pic.twitter.com/cmBS0hbEwP
— Syed Maricar | SEA 2023? ⭐⭐🏔️⭐⭐ (@R4veZer0) June 7, 2023
Fans will surely miss Sheik’s witty online banter and quips.
Did The Iron Shiek hate Hulk Hogan in real life?
As hardcore pro wrestling fans know, The Iron Sheik has targeted Hulk Hogan on numerous occasions via Twitter. So there is a lot of interest in knowing if the rivalry between them was real or not. They had a feud in the early 80s which culminated with the two facing against each other in January 1984. Hogan not only beat him for the title, but the Hulkster also escaped the dreaded camel clutch submission. Hogan became the first one to do so.
However, The Iron Shiek wanted to have a rematch with Hulk Hogan that never came to be. So that may have caused the late wrestler to hold a grudge against Hogan. It was also reported Sheik wanted to have a job at WCW when Hulk Hogan was in the company. When Sheik contacted Hogan about the matter, the latter reportedly did not give any reply.
But despite that, the two got along well later in life. Hence, there is a chance that Sheik’s jabs at Hogan were just a one-sided internet feud that did not have real-life implications.