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The Iron Sheik passed away recently at the age of 81, and the pro-wrestling world is mourning the loss of the legend. The late WWE Hall of Famer made his debut in 1979 at Madison Square Garden during WWE’s first-ever Battle Royal. He won the bout, earning a title shot against then-WWE Champion Bob Backlund.
The Iron Sheik had three runs with WWE. The first one was from 1979 to 1980. His second was from 1983 to 1988, but he briefly left WWE between 1987 and 1988 due to real-life issues. Finally, his third run with WWE was from 1989 to 1991. During his various runs with the company, the late WWE Legend gave the fans some of the most memorable matches.
Here are four of the best matches from The Iron Sheik’s WWE career:
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#4. The Iron Sheik vs. Hulk Hogan in 1984
Hulk Hogan and The Iron Sheik clashed for the WWE Championship at Madison Square Garden. This match changed the meaning of pro wrestling for fans and kicked off the dominating reign of “Hulkamania” in the industry.
During the 1980s, fans used to be extremely invested in whether a pro wrestler was heel or babyface. They would despise the heels and idolize the faces. During this time, The Iron Sheik emerged as the foreign heel who defeated the absolute cherished hero Bob Backlund to become the WWE Champion.
Therefore, Hulk Hogan was picked as the superhero who would defeat the foreign foe and become the WWE Champion. This is exactly what happened at Madison Square Garden in 1984. Furthermore, Hulk Hogan became the very first pro wrestler to break out of Iron Sheik’s Camel Clutch. It was a monumental moment in the industry’s history.
#3. Boot Camp Match: Sgt. Slaughter vs. The Iron Sheik
The storyline between Sgt. Slaughter and The Iron Sheik was similar to Hogan and Sheik. The idea was that the American Patriot was defending the country against the foreign heel who was trying to dominate.
The Boot Camp match had no rules about disqualifications or pins, and neither of them held back from destroying the other. Initially, the match was dominated by Sgt. Slaughter, but Sheik managed to gouge Slaughter’s eyes to turn the match in his favor. As the back-and-forth continued, both Slaughter and Sheik busted each other open, turning the match into a bloodbath.
Finally, Sgt. Slaughter managed to overpower The Iron Sheik, which left the WWE Universe cheering loud enough to pop the roof off MSG!
#2. The Iron Sheik vs. Bob Backlund for the WWE Championship
When it was time for the WWE Champion to change hands, the idea was to find another superstar worthy enough to hold the title. However, it was popular for babyfaces to hold the title during the Golden Era. Initially, the idea was to have Backlund turn heel with Hulk Hogan defeating him for the strap. But Backlund refused to adhere to that creative direction since it wouldn’t be right by his fans.
As a result, WWE brought in a villain from a foreign land who would shock the WWE Universe by defeating their beloved hero. The transition of the WWE Championship from Bob Backlund to Hulk Hogan made a pit stop at The Iron Sheik.
The match was a back-and-forth between Backlund’s technical wrestling and Sheik’s powerful moves.
Finally, The Iron Sheik created a legendary moment for himself when he put Backlund in the Camel Clutch, and Backlund’s manager Arnold Skaaland threw in the towel to stop the match.
Fans were left shocked at what went down in front of them, but this was the push The Iron Sheik needed to become a pioneer in pro wrestling.
#1. Winning Tag team gold in the first-ever WrestleMania
Not every match that The Iron Sheik was in had legendary moments, but quite a few became milestones in his career and in WWE’s history.
Back in the day, superstars who were usually single performers did not work in tag team matches. It was deemed that pro wrestlers who are put in tag teams after a strong singles run are on a downward slope.
In 1985, regardless of these notions, The Sheik formed a tag team with Nikolai Volkoff.
Even though it seemed like a backward step in his WWE career, the late WWE Hall of Famer went forward with it and secured the WWE Tag Team Championship at the very first WrestleMania!
