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The Iron Sheik has passed at 81 years of age

By Raphael Garcia

NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 23: Iron Sheik attends the 2013 GQ Gentlemen Give Back Concert with Robin Thicke at Highline Ballroom on October 23, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for GQ)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 23: Iron Sheik attends the 2013 GQ Gentlemen Give Back Concert with Robin Thicke at Highline Ballroom on October 23, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for GQ) /
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The professional wrestling world lost a famed member when The Iron Sheik passed away on June 7. 

The professional wrestling world lost an iconic name as The Iron Sheik passed away on Wednesday, June 7 at the age of 81 years old. His official Twitter account announced his passing.

Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri, better known by his in-ring persona, was a famed performer during the 1970s and 80s when he had a long-tenured run through the NWA and WWF. The shining moment of his career would come on December 26, 1983, when he defeated Bob Backlund for the WWF World Title. He held that championship for less than a month but defended it multiple times against Hall of Famers like Chief Jay Strongbow, Pat Patterson, Tito Santana, and others. He and Nikolai Volkoff also had a run as the WWF tag team champions in 1985.

Sheik dropped the title to Hulk Hogan on January 23, 1984, giving Hogan his first of many world championships. His last match was in 2007 in a two-on-one match where he and Aaron Walpole defeated Reck.

Newer professional wrestling and entertainment fans alike may recognize Sheik for completely different reasons. Thanks to the advent of social media, particularly Twitter, Sheik is known for hilarious and potentially off-putting tweets at some of the most random of moments, usually with a shot at Hogan to close it out.

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