wow, just finished watching this on Netflix. If you're a wrestling child of the 80s like me, you remember the classic battles with The Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff against the likes of Hulk Hogan, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Sgt Slaughter, etc . . .
This documentary will blow your mind. It follows Hossein Koshrow Ali Vaziri from his time growing up in Iran to becoming a world class wrestler, bodyguard for the Shah, and ultimately finding his way to Minnesota where he coached wrestling. He was even an assistant coach for the 1968 and 1972 US Olympic wrestling teams
His emergence as the Iron Sheik played off a lot of anti-Iranian sentiments (oh how the times have changed!) during the Hostage Crisis and the rise of the Ayatollah. But he was as American as apple pie, loved this country, and served as a mentor for many young wrestlers (most notably The Rock, who gives some very touching interviews)
I also learned about the murder of his oldest daughter, and how a drug addiction sent him into a tailspin in his professional career and personal life. The story of how he was banned from the WWF for sharing a ride with Hacksaw Jim Duggan is very weird. And the doc also follows his late career rise as a social media giant (his twitter feed is both disturbing and hilarious)
Definitely a must see for anyone who tried to put a friend or relative in the Camel Clutch when they were young . . .
This documentary will blow your mind. It follows Hossein Koshrow Ali Vaziri from his time growing up in Iran to becoming a world class wrestler, bodyguard for the Shah, and ultimately finding his way to Minnesota where he coached wrestling. He was even an assistant coach for the 1968 and 1972 US Olympic wrestling teams
His emergence as the Iron Sheik played off a lot of anti-Iranian sentiments (oh how the times have changed!) during the Hostage Crisis and the rise of the Ayatollah. But he was as American as apple pie, loved this country, and served as a mentor for many young wrestlers (most notably The Rock, who gives some very touching interviews)
I also learned about the murder of his oldest daughter, and how a drug addiction sent him into a tailspin in his professional career and personal life. The story of how he was banned from the WWF for sharing a ride with Hacksaw Jim Duggan is very weird. And the doc also follows his late career rise as a social media giant (his twitter feed is both disturbing and hilarious)
Definitely a must see for anyone who tried to put a friend or relative in the Camel Clutch when they were young . . .
