WWElegend The Iron Sheik has died at age 81. Born Hossein Khrosrow Ali Vaziri, The Iron Sheik was a key component of the 1980s wrestling boom, defeating Bob Backlund for the WWE Championship before dropping it toHulk Hogan, an event that kickstarted the Hulkamania phenomenon and eventually led to the first-ever WrestleMania.
After his short main event run, The Iron Sheik remained a major presence on WWE programming. He also had stints in WCW and various independent promotions over the years, culminating in his induction into theWWE Hall of Famein 2005. Later in life, Sheik became better known for his over-the-top, in-character Twitter posts and comedic rants, often targeted at longtime rival Hulk Hogan. The Iron Sheik amassed a significant social media following, with over 641,000 followers on Twitter at the time of his death.
It was on The Iron Sheik’s Twitter that the star’s death was first announced. No cause of death for The Iron Sheik has been given at the time of this writing. Considering the impact that The Iron Sheik had on the pro wrestling business, it’s possible tributes in honor of his career will air on the various wrestling programs scheduled for this week, like theWWE SmackDown showairing on Friday, so fans of his may want to tune in.
It remains to be seen if The Iron Sheik will be getting any tributes onWWEtelevision this week, but those that want to relive the biggest moments of his career can do so through Peacock or the WWE Network, depending on where they live. The Peacock streaming platform is home to many of The Iron Sheik’s most notable moments in the pro wrestling business, so those wanting to take a trip down memory lane should check it out.
As far as video games go, The Iron Sheik has appeared in a number of wrestling games over the years. His most recentWWE 2Kappearance was inWWE 2K16. He also appeared inWWE 2K15,WWE SuperCard,WWE Legends of WrestleMania, the twoLegends of Wrestlinggames, and more. It’s possible The Iron Sheik will appear in future wrestling video games, but no plans to that effect have been announced at the time of this writing. Fans will likely have to wait until next year tolearn aboutWWE 2K24and legends it’s bringing to the table, so there’s plenty of time for The Iron Sheik to make the cut.
