Dave Meltzer Explains The Genesis Of The Iron Sheik's Gimmick

It's been a week since The Iron Sheik passed away at the age of 81, and many are still scratching the surface regarding his legacy and importance in wrestling history. Chief among them is the Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer, who followed all of Sheik's career from his early days in the AWA to his short reign as WWF Champion. 

On the latest episode of "McGuire on Wrestling," Meltzer discussed how The Iron Sheik — real name Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri — went from an accomplished amateur wrestler and clean-cut babyface to his legendary heel persona. As it turns out, the idea all came from the wife of one of the many promoters Sheik worked with.

"Mary Gagne, Verne Gagne's wife ... I think Verne and her were just calling ... and Verne was just trying to look at 'What can we do with this Khosrow Vaziri?'" recalled Meltzer. "And his wife just goes 'Let's make him The Sheik,' because everyone knows that Ed Farhat had The Sheik, one of the greatest heels of all time. So they made him The Iron Sheik."

Meltzer praised Sheik's career throughout the 1970s and early 80s, remembering how the character change turned out to be positive for him at the time. But The Iron Sheik didn't become The Iron Sheik until the Iran hostage crisis became global news, turning Sheik into one of the biggest villains in wrestling.

"The hostage crisis, which was in '79, that absolutely made him a heat magnet," Meltzer said. "It ended by '83, but Americans at this point hated Iran, so it was very easy for the Iranian and the Russian — the Sheik and [Nikolai] Volkoff — to get a lot of heat."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "McGuire on Wrestling" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription