PRO-WRESTLING legend Iron Sheik died on Wednesday (Jun 7) at age 81.

Born Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri in Iran in 1942, Vaziri grew up in poverty and trained in Greco-Roman wrestling, representing Iran in four Olympics. He won gold at the Melbourne 1956 Olympics.

He became a bodyguard for the last Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, a move that brought him around the world and forebode the crazy life he would have later as a professional wrestler.

In the early 1970s, Vaziri, upon the invitation of American Wrestling Association owner Verne Gagne, moved to Minnesota in the United States to try his hand at professional wrestling.

He took to it like a fish to water, at the same time training the likes of future legends Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat.

Rival promotion World Wrestling Federation (WWF) soon came knocking on his door. Changing his ring name from Great Hossein Arab to the Iron Sheik, Vaziri was soon on the way to mainstream notoriety.

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It was his feud with Hulk Hogan in WWF that catapulted him to worldwide stardom.

Skilled and ever willing to manipulate real-life geopolitical tensions to his advantage, Vaziri quickly drew the ire of fans who saw him as an anti-American villain.

“I have the real, real heat where the fans try to kill me in the ring and on the street. The fans believe in the character. They believe I’m the worst person in the world.”

Security had to smuggle him in ambulances at arenas and drove him kilometres to another car. “I swear to Jesus I was so scared,” he recounted in past interviews.

In 1983, he beat Bob Backlund for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship – becoming the first Iranian-born wrestler to win the promotion’s top title.

In January 1984, Vaziri was scheduled to have a rematch with Backlund, but the latter was replaced by Hogan.

Five minutes into the match, Vaziri locked in the camel clutch on Hogan. Hogan powered to his feet, with Vaziri still on his back, and rammed Vaziri backwards into the turnbuckles. Hogan then hit his atomic legdrop for the pin and the championship.

Hulkamania was born.

Vaziri often told the tale of which he was offered US$100,000 by Gagne to break Hogan’s leg during the match, in the process taking the WWF World Heavyweight Championship to Minnesota. He declined out of respect for his boss, Vince McMahon.

In his later years, Vaziri became addicted to cocaine – calling it his “medicine” he controlled.

Daughter’s murder

His life was marked by more personal tragedy. In 2003, one of his daughters, Marissa Vaziri, 28, was murdered by her then-boyfriend Charles Reynolds.

In his grief, Vaziri plotted revenge. He hatched a plan to hide a razor blade in his cheek and confront Reynolds in court, intending to slice his throat.

His family caught wind of his plan and dissuaded him, boxing him in with their bodies in the courtroom to prevent him from getting to Reynolds.

Many knee and ankle surgeries, a result of over 50 years of wrestling, soon left a once-proud Vaziri in a wheelchair.

Strangely enough, social media introduced a new generation of fans to the Iron Sheik. He quickly garnered a cult status on Twitter with profanity-laced tweets. “F*** Hogan” was a common theme.

When asked about his success, Vaziri said: ”Bubba, I work hard, I speak my mind, I don’t give a f*** what people think. I am hall of fame.”