The Iron Sheik
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Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri, better known by his ring name the Iron Sheik, was an Iranian-American professional wrestler, amateur wrestler and actor. To date he is the only Iranian champion in WWE hist
Sheik (second-to-last left) with Freddie Blassie and Nikolai Volkoff
Sheik in 2008
The Iron Sheik in 2009
Wrestling Sikeston, MO 1938 1
Gholamreza Takhti
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Gholamreza Takhti was an Iranian freestyle wrestler and a practitioner of varzesh-e bastani. He was a gold medalist at the 1956 Summer Olympics, 1958 Asian Games, 1959 World Championships, and 1961 Wo
The Iron Sheik
…due to his family alternating between the Gregorian calendar and the Solar Hijri calendar. In his youth, he idolized Iranian Olympic champion wrestler Gholamreza Takhti, and he subsequently made a name for himself as an amateur wrestler. He served in the Imperial Iranian Army, and worked as a personal bodyguard for…
Takhti in the 1950s
Takhti's tomb, Ibn Babawayh Cemetery