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Force,
was the very foundation
of what I call Iranian
nationalism,

Iranian national ethos.

Wrestling was
a national obsession.

'Cause physical training
was viewed as the foundation
of healthy citizenship,
healthy state.

Before you got
in to the wrestling,
you were the bodyguard
of Shah of Iran.

Now Mohammad Reza
Pahlavi of Iran, weds Farah Diba

The Shah came
to power in 1941, after
his father was forced
out of power,

During the 1940s,
early 50s,

ah, he was in a very
peculiar position

because of the conflict,
international conflict
over oil.

He was under a lot of pressure
and he was identified with...
as an enlightened monarch,

often repressive.

In the 1950s and 60s,

there were two fundamental
role models.

One, in Iran, for the Iranians,

was Gholamreza Takhti

and the other one
was Muhammad Ali.

And the combination of the two
was really great for people
who were interested
in competitive sports.

Gholamreza Takhti
was the icon
for lot of Iranians.

He really was the person,
who for the first time,
in sports,

put Iran on the map.

Hossein Vaziri,
the Sheik, had trained
with Takhti,

they were hanging around
in the same circles.

So, Takhti was
a role model for him.

The medals that Takhti
won internationally,

now Vaziri could win.

And he was well placed
actually, to be the new Takhti.

To have a great deal
of international success.

People came to believe
that if you are
internationally recognized,

if you are very successful,
you are going to be eliminated.

The fact that the world
champion commit suicide,
was unacceptable.

That became the ground
for believable conspiracies.

He got off Iran in a hurry,
uh, for fear of his own life.

And then he ends up
in Minnesota of all places,

as an assistant coach
of the United States'
Olympic team.

I always felt
that was a little ironic.

Ladies and gentlemen,
here he is Vern Gagne.

The Iron Sheik
starts off training
with Verne Gagne.

He was the promoter
in Minnesota and Verne Gagne
was also an alternate
at the 1948 Olympics.

And he picks out real athletes.
He's not looking for gimmick
guys.

He's looking for pure wrestlers.

I tell you,
they initiate every hall
with the classic
wrestlers' approach.

Verne was old school
guy that try to run you off,

you know, if he wanted
to see how tough you were,
how much you really wanted
to be in the business.

And so, it was a unique
way of recruiting but it was
a tough, tough class.

But you know,
what I understand,
the guys that were there,

I don't think Khosrow
had any issues physically
because he was just a machine.

And here was a guy that was
smaller in stature, than lot
of his contemporaries.

But ten times as tough.

He had the real life ability
to actually hurt anybody
e really wanted to,

and do anything he wanted
to do to them at any given time.

He could beat probably
99% of the guys in the business.

But he just didn't
have the heart,
he wasn't a bully.

if I did get mad at them,
I can suplex them,
I can give them damage.
I had a bad reputation.

He wrestles
as Khosrow Vaziri,
full head of black hair,
very handsome man,

trim, muscular,
and he wears a singlet,
with Olympic rings on it

because he had been
an assisting coach
on the US Olympic team.

So, essentially he starts
his career as an all-American.

I met my husband
at University of Minnesota.

He was coaching
the United States Olypmic
wrestling team at the time
when we met,

back in 1975.

And I immediately fell in love
with him, the moment I saw him.

180 pounds, washboard stomach,

just absolutely
drop dead gorgeous.

The hottest thing on two feet.

We wanted
to get married
but my husband
was busy wrestling,

and he worked everyday
of the week.

So, we could never get
a weekend off
to get married.

So, we were married
on a Saturday night,

and my husband had gone

to the Minneapolis Auditorium
and wrestled that afternoon.

What an air ball drop!

He says USA and put
the pooch right to it.

1976, the Sheik
once again is an assistant coach
for the US Olympic team.

And Verne Gagne, the AWA
promoter is there
scouring future talent,

And Mary Gagne,
Verne's wife is there
and she's asking Khosrow,

"Are you happy with your role
in professional wrestling?"

He's like, "Well, I kind of like
to be little more prominent."

And she goes, "Well,
you are a Middle Eastern,
why don't you make yourself
a Sheik?"

The first time I met the Sheik,
I was eight - nine years old,
we're in Charlotte,
North Carolina.

My dad was wrestling with Sheik.

He was a striking guy
with an unforgettable look.

My mom had become friends
with Sheik's wife, Caryl

and she had come over
to the house many times.

Even had the great
displeasure of baby siting
me on a few occasions.

Hated it, hated it,
hated the mustache,

hated the shaving the head
to become the Iron Sheik.

He loves the bad guy,
I mean, that was tailor
made for him.

Hey, you people,
shut up.

Let me, I'll show
that punk,
who the real wrestler is.

And it gets in his mind
to transform himself,

and play off of the core
Islamaphobia perhaps

that many Americans
unfortunately carry.

Wrestling is funny.
whatever is going in the world,

is magnified 100
times immensely.

On November 4th,
Iranian students seize the US
embassy and 63 hostages.

1979,
Jimmy Carter is our president.

I think Jimmy Carter
is a fundamentally decent
human being,

but not a very tough president.

As a result, the Ayatollahs
are able to hold a group
of Americans hostage

and parade them on television
every night.

Promoters in America
have always been quick
to jump on any
nationalistic storyline.

Iron Sheik
from Iran, from Tehran, Iran,
against Mr. USA, Tony Atlas.

Every promoter
wants an Iranian villain.

And there is one.
Khosrow Vaziri, wrestled
for the nation of Iran.

Khosrow Vaziri speaks Parsi.

Everybody call USA, USA.

And I am sick and tired
of you and USA.

In the crazy world
of professional wrestling,

there are lot of heels
and baby faces, good guys
and bad guys who kinda play
the role, play the part.

... that belongs to Iron Sheik,
Iron Sheik is the only man...

You know, at that time
I remember watching him,

he did this brilliant interview
with Classy Freddie Blassie
as his manager.

And he goes into,

"Ayatollah tell me Sheik.
Bring back world
championship belt."

Automatically you think
that's not put on,
that's a legit accent.

He's the real deal.

... and fighting
outside the ring...

When the Iranian
hostage crisis hits,
and there's genuine heat,

between the United States
and Iran, the Iron Sheik
character ignites.

The Iron Sheik
is just Pearl Harboured.

He presses one,
about the same type of attack
culminating in the embassy.

Without warning,
they struck, a defenseless
person at the time...

It was a time in wrestling
where a lot of people
still believed

that what they saw was real,
or reality based.

Wrestlers will
tell you, there's good heat
and bad heat.

Good heat as Freddie Blassie
explained to me, is when
the fans boo loudly.

Bad heat is when
they want to kill you.

The Iron Shiek had both.

He embraced being a heel.

It takes a certain kind of DNA
and a certain kind of guy,

to embrace being a bad guy,
to embrace the fact that
you're gonna go out there,

and you're gonna get hated,
you are gonna get booed.

Kill him! Kill him!

I never had heat
like this he got.

This is what we call,
change the channel heat.

There's heat, like 'Yes, I wanna
pay, I wanna see this guy,

be beaten up by my hero.
Then there's change
the channel heat,
you go 'I don't like that.'

And Sheik had the right heat.

You didn't change the channel
when the Iron Sheik was on.

Back in the day when he was just
getting this thing rolling,
the audience was very violent.

Just shut up!
Shut your bloody mouth!

This guy was real.

This guy, he'd push through it,
he got the people mad.

And his arrogance
shown through too.

Oh, shut up, you!
Shut your bloody mouth!

He talked to people,
you know, he talked down
to people.

He's better than they are.
That was the whole thing, man.

"You, arrogant son of a bitch."
You know, the fellow Americans.

Deep down, I think
he believed that too.
"Americans suck!"

Well, I understand that.
Jealously is a bitch.

There you see
Jerry Usher, the referee
kicking it in the dumpster.

If you are going
to describe good and bad,

from an American's viewpoint,
you have the red, white and blue
all American,

and you are going
to have a foreign menace.

So, you have the Sheik
who embodies everything

that we as Americans hate.

And he exploited it.

Then he got in your face
and he told you,

why you were weak
and why as an Iranian,
he could do everything.

So, he was a perfect bad guy.

Sheik made everybody humble.

'Cause of a man like this,
this is why the Iranians,

should not have a nuclear bomb.

He trained me
when I was 16 years old.

At my dad's dungeon,
taught me at my dad's house.

One of the best we got,
one of my heroes.

Where the Sheik at?

Sheik is working out,
he's working out
with his gloves.

So, Vince walks over
and says, "Sheik."
"Yes, bubba. Yes, sir."

Stands like that. He says,
"You tested positive
for cocaine"

"Thank you, thank you
very much, thank you."

The Iron Sheik
stories are legendary.

The story of his toughness
are legendary.

Of his badassery
are legendary.

I am siting in the room,
drinking some beers,
maybe smoking a joint,

and Sheik would be there
with everybody else,

having little toke
and then he'll start
doing squats.

And he'll do hundreds of squats.

Till he is dripping with sweat,
I mean dripping.

I mean, he's got
the constitution of a rhino.

When he drank,
he got all partied up,
never start fights
or anything.

That was his thing,
come let's party,
let's have some fun.

He wasn't an asshole
when he got wasted,
you know what I mean.

Unless he really got trashed
and all then, yes,
cops were called.

I learnt everything
I know from him.

A lot, well not
everything but a lot.

You have to hang around
this man right here.

Anybody that has never been
in this man's company, damn!

The Iron Sheik is probably
one of the greatest heels
to ever be in the business.

And for so many years
when I was a kid,

there was nobody that I hated
more than Iron Sheik.

He was just the epitome
of what a bad guy should be.

When I was little girl,
I was a tomboy, so
of course, I dressed like him,

and I used to go
to the Metalands
every month with my mom
and my sister,

and we used to scream
and yell at the Iron Sheik
and Nikolai Volkoff because
I hated them so much.

Come over here.

Hey, baby.
- Good to see you.

The Iron Sheik one of the first
people I managed in Memphis,
Tennesse.

He used to come by my house,
remember, and we would drive

and had some great
matches down here.

One time on TV, live,
one and half hour live,

Iron Sheik and I were doing
an interview, a man and a boy
in the city,

brought their guns
to TV station, they
had the police out there,
we had to escorted out back,

They were gonna shoot
the Sheik and myself.
I was like, "Oh, my God."

WWF, well WWW at that time,
always looking for fresh faces

to be the new villain.

McMahon had great vision,
he saw that, "I have potentially
one of the great villains here."

That we can maximize,
that we can monetize.

It will make everybody
that touches the product,
more money.

The key components
to successful promotion,

are having villains
that people disdain.

I saw him in New York,
Sheik was an Iranian there,

who was managed by
Freddie Bassie, who was
my manager before that,

And Freddie Bassie says,
"Nikolai, I have a deal
for you and Sheik".

He's from Iran. They have their
problems, like tolak bantuan.

You are from Russia.
Cold war.

It would be the best
tag team of bad guys.

Me and Sheik had
so much heat already,

actually we would get more heat
just going to the ring
than other people had wrestling.

When I was singing my Russian
national anthem, I told people
to stand up,

that was unbelievable.
That was unbelievable.

You know people are waiting
for him to fuck him up.

He didn't have to do nothing to
go, "Don't say you say 'thoo'"
That's it, that was the match.

Sheik would get crowd
so irate, they'd be coming
over the railings trying to get
to him.

Because he was that evil menace.

If we can only get rid of him,
that's the tip of the iceberg.

We know, he talk, he par talks
to that Khamenei fellow
on the phone,

I bet they got his number.
He's over here, he's a spy.

Sheik embodied that.

And they wanted to kill him.

Pull it back,
this is the best brush
in the whole world.
Comb your hair back.

Comb your hair back.
Alexis, come here, baby.

I wanna see your glasses.

Now, feel the papa Sheik.

Let me show you my arm.

And then you tell me,
who's bigger.

Papa Sheik won.

- Papa Sheik, yeah.
- Papa Sheik won.

Beautiful.

My dad was a wrestler,

and he, um,
he was famous,

and we used to see him
when he was in between working.

We never really understood
that our dad was famous
when we were little.

Uh, we knew it was different

because our friend's dads
didn't have cartoons
on Saturday mornings,

they didn't have dolls
of their dad.

So, we knew there was definitely
something special about him
and what he did.

...see Junkyard Dog
back down from the fight.
Not this one.

I really didn't realize a lot,
I mean, I knew it was very cool,

in school a lot of kids
would always ask me
wrestling questions,

and I didn't know,
you know.

If it's fake, or wasn't fake,
I didn't really,

for long I never understood
what they meant
by "is it fake?".

My husband's career
was flourishing.

His role with his daughters
was limited because
he was gone so much.

But when he was home,
he basically,

took advantage of every
minute he had.

He would call all the kids
over to our house,

and he would train them
like they were in Olympics.

And he had them running
till they were all red
in the face.

But all of our friends
and neighbors were used to it,

and they would either not play
with us when our dad
was in town or just run home.

And we always wanted to do that
but we couldn't because our dad
was the one making us do it.

I think my mom
told me once, when I was born
they thought I was gonna
be a boy because I kicked a lot.

I guessed he'd asked her
if they could take me back
because he wanted a boy.

So, growing up, dating
was something off-limits
until we graduated from college.

He'd scream at us
that he didn't
have a whore house.

No boy should be
calling our house.

So, we would have
to sneak to talk to them
when he wasn't there.

My sisters would bring boys
around and the first thing
he would do

is take them outside
and show them
the Camel Clutch

and show them how much
he could bench-press
and how much he could lift.

And then ask them
to do the same.

And they inevitably never could
and he just wanted to let them
know how strong he was.

- Okay.
- Now, put this in wash.

It's not easy
being the wife
of a professional athlete.

But then again, too,
I have to consider
the fact that,

look what he does for us
by working
and constantly being gone.

Professional wrestling took off

as it had never had before
in the 1980s.

Vince McMahon was the promoter,

the one wrestling promoter
that had the vision

to see that wrestling
wasn't gonna be done

in smoke filled arenas,
in little towns any more.

It had to be, like a touring
event at the big arenas.

...inside cradle.
The JYD showing some
wrestling moves.
He keeps sayin'...

But Vince McMahon man doesn't
want WWF to remain simply
in north eastern territory.

Vince McMahon wants WWF,
later WWE to be
an international brand.

It was a ballsy and gutsy
move from Vince McMahon.

At that time, he wanted
to completely take over
the world of professional
wrestling.

And it takes vision
and it takes balls.

And you gotta have your hero
and you gotta have your villain.

Listen, lady,
this is my property.

Now, get out of here,
you lazy American!

One! Iran, No. 1.
The Sheik, No. 1

Wrestling wasn't
gonna cross over

if there weren't
celebrities involved.

So Vince McMahon went out,
I don't know what the terms

of those deals were
but he got celebrities.

He got Cyndi Lauper
at the height of her fame
involved with the WWF.

The celebrities coming to
the garden and coming
to you know, the other arenas,

and essentially endorsing
what Vince McMahon had created.

Wrestling in the 80s...

It was, it was crazy.

But once you went to WWF...

Fucking couldn't
go nowhere.

'Cause you're everywhere.

It was a magical time.

The excitement, the buildings
were... All of them
were sold out.

The Hulk Hogan era
was the most influential.

The most significant of any era
in the history of the business.

Hulk Hogan is unique.

Hulk Hogan had already
been in Rocky III.

He'd already been on
The Tonight Show.

This is an era when nobody
paid any attention to wrestling.

But people were beginning
to know who Hulk Hogan was.

Vince K McMahon saw that
the business was changing
and he had a chance for,

to make a change
from Backlund to Hogan.

Bob Backlund first won

the WWF ttle, in 1978.

But Bob Backlund doesn't want
to loose directly to Hulk Hogan.

He doesn't respect Hulk Hogan
as a pure athlete.

Bob Backlund, however will loose
the title to The Iron Sheik

because he respects
The Iron Sheik as an athlete.

And it doesn't seem far fetched

that somebody with Khosrow
Vaziris amateur background
could pin Bob Backlund.

You knew what you were
gonna do with Backlund.

You were gonna take
the championship off of him
after six nice years.

And let him recharge
his batteries.

You were gonna start
a new thing with Hulk Hogan.

The Hoganair with the guy
in the middle.

The one that facilitated it,
which was our Sheik.

Had to be the right guy.

The set up for success
for Hulkamania,

the Iron Sheik was the perfect
counterpart to that. Perfect.

Body slam! Elbow!

He made Backlund's
loss more bitter.

He made Hogan's victory
more sweet.

That was the beginning
of it all.

Bob Backlund did a fantastic job

of giving wrestling credibility.

And then, here comes
all American, Hulk Hogan.

And drops that leg
and beats the Sheik.
And Bingo.

Sheik! Sheik!

- I can't believe it's you.

I can't believe it. Man!

Man, I love you so much!

Great to see you.
Great to see you.
How's Melvin?

The Hulkamania thing took off
and Vince Junior called me,

and told me he had a great idea
for the business. He was gonna
take it international.

And they wanted me to come in
and they had an idea

to put the gold on me
and wrestle the Iron Sheik.

They talked about skyrocketing
a guy, um...

It's always the matter
of the right person
and in the right place

at the right time
with the right opponent.

And so Hulk Hogan was put
into the right place

at the right time
with the perfect opponent.

In the case of Hulkamania,
not only was the Iron Sheik
an integral part of that,

it couldn't have happened
without the Iron Sheik.

Without Hulkamania,
there's no Wrestlemania.

There's probably no WWE
as we know it today.

And without the Iron Sheik,
there's no Hulkamania.

The fans are going wild
and I'm so excited to be here.

When Vince was looking
to make Hulk

he had the idea of
how you made Hulk

you make a real American,
a great American

by being the worst foreign
menace you can think of.

And Sheik came in and did that.

Sheik had a lot of offers.
Sheik had a lot of people
in his ears,

"Snap Hogan's leg.
Don't do this. "

You know, uh... "Screw Vince
over. Beat him up."

"Torture him.
Don't do business."

He's gonna reach
down inside, for that little bit
of something more...

I think it would have helped
wrestling if he broke
his leg because...

I'm just a crude bastard.
I like heat.

You know, I think the bad
guys have to come up
every now and then.

And the whole thing
about Hulkamania was...

You know, you wrestled him
one time, man. You're done.

And that's how
they built the Hulk.

They fed him every
great piece of talent,

the world ever knew.

What if...

The Sheik decided to take
Verne Gagne's offer

and break Hulk Hogan's leg?

If he had done that,
had he double
crossed Hulk Hogan

broken his leg and taken
the Championship belt
and brought it to Minneapolis,

that would have been the end
of this whole roll
that WWF was on.

His word, by the way
was important.

Gave his word to Vince McMahon,
he gave his word to Hulk Hogan.

And Sheik went out and put Hogan
over like a million bucks.

Not a lot of guys
would have done that.

A lot of- Especially
with Sheik's credentials.

If Sheik wanted to,
he could tie Hogan up in a knot.

But he didn't.

He did business.
He did the right thing.

And they wanted me to come in
and they had an idea

to put the gold on me
and wrestle the Iron Sheik.

And at one end,
it was crazy that night.

The Iron Sheik was
the ultimate heel.

He had more heat
than anybody I had
ever seen.

And he was the real deal,
you know.

So I went in there
and the Iron Sheik graciously
passed the torch to me.

And we had a bunch
of great matches.

That was really, really where
my career got launched,

because once the Iron Sheik
put me over, the whole community
thing was unstoppable.

Victory!
We have a new champion!

...Hulk Hogan blowing
the horn on the Iron Sheik.

History has been made
at Madison Square Garden.

The match winner.
Wrestlemania is here!

Wrestling didn't deviate
from society in the 80s.

If you look at the National
Football League

or Baseball or NBA,
NHL or Hollywood,

it was a very decadent decade
of the 80s.

It wasn't that wrestling
had the exclusive

on people making bad decisions.

Drug possession charges
in the New Jersey
Courtroom today.

The Sheik's fans were on hand to
wish him luck outside the
Middletown's Municipal Court.

The Sheik was arrested
with fellow wrestler,
Jim Duggan

and charged with possession
of marijuana and cocaine

as they drove along
the Garden State Parkway.

I was relatively new
to WWF back then.

I came in for Wrestlemania III
where I hit the Sheik.

I had 93,000 people in the
Pontiac Silverdome

standing up cheering,
"USA! USA!"

The place was rocking.

I was getting the big push
from the company.

And everything looked
really rosy.

Fly to Newark airport,
there's the Iron Sheik.
He came up to me and said,

"I have no credit card.
Maybe you give me ride to show."

We get to rent a car
and start heading out
of the Newark airport.

The Sheik says,
"Uh, maybe we stop

"and get some
St. Pauli Girl beer."

Keeps drinking those
cold St. Pauli Girl beers.

"Okay, Sheik.
Hell, I'll have a beer."

No sooner do I take
the hit of a beer,

Jersey State troops like,
went by me.

He's signaling and I'm like,
I didn't see him.

And the Sheik's like,
"He wants you to pull over."

And I'm like,
"No. I don't think so."

The trooper leaned over
the car and said,
"Step out of the car."

They'll take us in.
Now they gotta search us.

They went through my stuff.
I was cool.

And Sheik, they opened
up his wallet.

Boom! Two more grams of cocaine
in two separate containers.

And they took him
in front of a judge.

Finally, they brought him back.
He got bonded out.
He got a bail bond.

So we drove to Asbury Park
and we're like,

"Well, maybe nobody knows."

So we actually wrestled
that night in Asbury park.

And didn't tell nobody.

So I called my wife. I said,
"Honey, I got popped."

But I don't think anybody
knows about it."

My wife calls me at 7:30,
the next morning,

"Everybody knows."

New York daily news
had made the back page...

Big picture of the Sheik.
Big picture of me.

It was like, "Boozing Bozos"
was the headlines, you know.

And God, it was brutal.

Duggan and Sheik
had started a program.

Duggun was this big all American
just starting at WWF.

And Sheik was this horrible
heel, this Iranian heel
that everyone hated.

And the fact that they're riding
together and doing drugs...

Smoking marijuana...
Oh my God!

"Hacksaw, say it ain't so!"

"We can believe the Sheik
does it. He's Iranian.
He's a foreigner.

Yeah well, of course.
They all do that.
They're damn foreigners."

But Duggan, "Oh my God!"

Oh yeah. It was a little taboo.
It was not good.

My next call was to
Vince McMahon.

And I remember verbatim
what he said to me.

He says, "Jim, what have
you done to us?"

And there was a lot of fear
that people would stop
watching wrestling.

Because up until this point,

the common consensus was,

if the fans find out
that it's a work,

that the matches are
pre-determined, the whole
thing is gonna go away.

But it was one of those
last things that finally knocked
down the whole curtain.

The idea that pro wrestling
was on the up and out.
And it wasn't too much later,

that the McMahons
are testifying in front of
the New Jersey Court saying,

"What we do is entertainment.
We want to be taxed.

"like entertainment not
like a sporting entity."

I do remember Vince
saying on TV,

"The Iron Sheik and Jim Duggan

will never work
for the WWF again."

Still making
his way to ring.

He has for several eras

and 315 pounds.

The Former World's
Heavy Weight Champion...

It was an absolute
devastating situation.

We all but lost our house.

He was so ashamed.

So embarrassed.

Just felt like his life
was over.

He ended up
on the independent circuit.

two hundred,
five hundred people.

The Mighty
Maccabee, The Iron Sheik.

The Maccabee heavyweight title.

It sucks, man when you gotta
do independents.

And these independents
are high school gyms again, man.

Really, you know?
And it's not fun.

But you still do,
'cause you gotta provide, man.

Maccabee's got
the Sheik. He misses...

And so he had to take
all these little bookings.

And it wasn't a real happy life.

One, two, three!

I was waiting for the bus
one day after school

and I seen a flier
on the bus stop saying,

"Live Wrestling featuring
the Iron Sheik and Abdul
the Butcher."

Yeah!

We started like, looking into it
and we went to this event.

And it was about ten years
since we saw the Sheik.

Went to this place.
It's a small bar.

In a bad part of town.

And there's about
a 110 people there.

There was live wrestling matches
with guys who I never heard of.

And we spoke to the Sheik
who was so happy to see us.

He gave us hugs and treated us
like we was family.

As if you know, time

you know, was never
slipped away.

- Yeah.

It's Jian. Jian Magen.

Oh yes. Jian Magen. How are you?

Good. How are you?
Long time no speak.

My first introduction
with the Iron Sheik,

I remember very, uh vividly.

My brother and I were
three years old or so.

Look at me.

I remember sitting in front
of my television

and a man screaming in Farsi.

And I remember my mom like,
dropping a pot

and running into
the family room

and screaming,
"That's your dad's friend."

"That's your daddy's friend."

There's lots of it in here.

I was athlete. International
table tennis player
at the arena in Iran.

And back home,
we were in High School.

So finally I got a hold of him
and he was so proud.

He just says right away,
"Come and pick me up.

I'm at hotel here,
Maple Leaf Garden."

Proved to be
one of the most exciting
bouts in the history
of professional wrestling...

] My dad would start
driving usto Maple Leaf Garden.

And we would go to the show
with the wrestlers.

The drug abuse tore
our family apart.

It made us want to be strangers
to each other.

No more effort in here no more.
Rather they know
I can't do that now.

I'm too fucking old
for that bullshit.

This death, this slow death

of someone you love
right in front of your eyes...

It hasn't happened yet.

But you know it's going to.

Just right around the corner.

We had realized
at that time that

if we don't do something
about this like, right now,

the Sheik will be just like
every other wrestler

who's fallen off the map
and from his generation.

And at that time I decided
I wanted to go to Atlanta

and just be there for the Sheik
because it was really getting
out of control.

- Jian Magen!
- Good to see you.

- Oh Sheik, you look amazing.
- Thank you.

You look like a million bucks.

And...

It's a poem in...

Some sort of... Serenaded
by angels in memory
of Marissa Vaziri.

Oh boy!

Growing up he would
always protect us.

And tell us that if anybody
ever touched his girls,
he would kill them.

And it was very difficult
for him.

I remember Marissa, um...

She had this idea. She wanted
to be a female wrestler.

And she wanted my dad
to train her.

And wanted me to train her

and she wanted to be one
of the ladies or whatever.

You know, we never were
into it very much.

We never watched it.
It wasn't our thing.

We were very girly, interesting
and kind of funny that...

And my dad seemed
happy about it.

He'll say, "I'll train you,
you know, if you want."
And um...

It was very neat
that she had that dream.

She met a guy that she had
only known for about a month.

And we did not know

that he was a bad guy.

And I think she was trying
to break up with him

the night it happened
and that's why he went crazy.

And something just snapped
in him and he strangled her.

Nicky pulled up
with her roommate.

And I guess that's when
they told my husband

out in the garage
before they came
in the house.

Khos was crying.

And shrieking outside.

And just going crazy.

It was very difficult
for my father

having lost Marissa.

Our father was always
such a fighter

and protector of
his family and girls.

And the fact that somebody
took her,

took his daughter away
from him was very difficult.

This 2000-

I love you baby.

Rest in peace. I miss you.

Sheik took it very hard.
That fills his heart.

It's hard to come back to here.

It was in his mind. He almost
didn't have a reason
to live any more.

And that was a very, very bad
thing to happen to him.

He wasn't the same
any more, brother.

And that's sad to see that.

I mean to feel like that.
That was...

It was his daughter, man.

He's gotten worse
since my sister died,
I think.

That has affected him.

Usually, he's you know,
he's just worse on drugs.

He doesn't seem to care
and does a lot.

It's like the main thing
that he hates

about her.

Yeah.

The death of his daughter was
the beginning of the end
for the Sheik.

It was his lowest point.

And he didn't even know how
to communicate with anybody.

He would just go out
into the streets
and pick fights.

And turn to drugs.

And just really, just be very,
very, very uncontrollable.

Sure.

- Darius, you gotta drive.
- All right. All right. I know.

- He has to drive.

- Darius.

Don't worry about him!

Are you the man or he's the man?

Who is the older?

Is the man

Mind this man here
and he know how to drive.

If you make a joke,
don't insult the Mr. Darius.

- Say you're sorry.
- No.

I'm sorry but you know
where I'm coming from.

I don't give a fuck
where you come from.

But you never insult a legend.

I pushed him over
the edge to drugs.

That's all we all did,
man. We medicate.

If that hurts so bad

then why do something about it?

Get medicated
Don't feel it no more.

Blocks it.

He'll probably buy bourbon.

No.

I remember a wrestler
telling me that

it made him sick at himself.

That he's the one that turned
Sheik on the cocaine.

And he hated himself for it.

'Cause Sheik like myself,

we liked that shit.

And if I like it, I'm gonna
fucking have it.

It had ruined my life

And it didn't help Sheik too.

He's only
half existing, basically.

He's so caught up
with smoking dope

and grabbing a few beers.

I mean, that's his whole
existence.

He used to
be an alcoholic.

But, then he quit that
and then he basically
went to the...

crack and cocaine
and then the marijuana.

All set.

And now,
it's pretty much, I think,

the crack and the marijuana.

And, he's always, always,
everyday looking for money.

Yeah, I got it.

You ready to go?
Ready.

Let's go.

Your ankle...
You keep...

You keep on leaning
on your ankle.

I'm...I'm okay.

So, I go to Atlanta,
about two or three years
after the death of Marissa.

Not knowing what to expect.

In my head, I thought
I was going to see a...

destitute Sheik.

I thought the Sheik was
broke because he would
always call me...

asking me for money.

And I would send it
to him because...

Forty or fifty dollars...

wasn't a big deal for me,
especially, when my childhood
hero is asking me for it.

And when I get there...

It was kind of a...
A bit of a...

shock. I...
I didn't realize that...

The Sheik's got this
beautiful family.

Of...loving children
and a loving wife.

The reality is...

they've been living with...
a crazed wrestler for
the past twenty, thirty years.

You're still...
You're still solid.

You're gonna...
You wanna walk
in as the champion?

You wanna walk in
as the iron Sheik.

No matter where you are,
you want everyone to know
you're the Sheik.

The kids at the window
are looking.
Yeah.

Next time, change
your shoes, man.

I know, at one point,
The Sheik, in his desperation
to make money...

would sit in the Ramada,
in Mavi, and he would wait
for fans to come by and
recognize him,

which they invariably did.

And when they did
recognize him,

he would sell them an eight
by ten glossy, an autographed
picture for ten bucks.

Which, from what I understand,

would then be used
to subsidize his drug habit.

God.

God.

No one can control him.

Believe me.

No one.

Tuesday.

I would talk to his friends,
when they were alive.

And, they would try.
Didn't work.

So, I'm in
the Vaziri house.

And...I'm trying to figure
it out, as I go, because...

I was expecting something
completely different, than
what I was seeing.

And, here you have Caryl,
who is very aware of what's
going on.

She's very in tune with
The Sheik and his mannerisms.

She knows the real
Sheik and she knows...

Khosrow Vaziri. That's the man
that she married.

And so...I was learning
all this as I was going along.

And I really wanted
her to know that...

we care for her and
we have her back.

And, how can we do
this together? How can
we help you guys...

get The Sheik off
of the drugs?

And, what do we have to do?
Where is our place in this?

We were about
to fall asleep.

If it's so important,
where have you been?

There's no fighting.

Uh uh.

We're just talking.

When are you gonna
answer my question?

It was five minutes ago, before
you got off on your tirade.

I asked you if you were
gonna pray to God and
ask him for help...

in getting yourself
straightened out and
off of all the drugs.

A simple yes or no will suffice.

Okay, that's my answer.

Can't you get that feeling
some other way?

There are ways
to get rid of that.

Don't give me "come on"!

It kills. It kills the way
you function. It kills...
It kills your emotions.

And it...and it...
and it completely...

It makes you less than, of...
of what you once were.

So, how're you gonna
change your future?

Why're you yellin'?

I'm asking you, how're you
gonna change your future?

I told you hundred times,
you're the man.
Why're you yellin' at me?

No, that's drugs.

Then, so, why would you
yell at me?

You're the legend.
Your time has passed.
You'll always be a legend.

And no one can take
that away from you.

So, maybe...
if you know I care about
you, you know I love you,

and you know that I'm
only thinking about your
best interest.

Well, why don't you listen
to what I'm saying?

Some of this is getting
a little bit outta hand.

Like...

I'm going to hate him.
I guess he just needs it.

Guess, he just needs it.

I think, there's no way
around it if he's working.

He needs it.

Sheik got
lucky, because,

he did enough drugs...

Er...

at one time that would
have killed a normal man.

At this stage
of his life, he said, I've...

I've had enough.
I'm done. I'm done with that.

Baby, you don't need that.

Take that one off.
You don't need that.

It's probably the hardest
thing a person can do.

Is to quit drugs.

The Sheik's
family couldn't really
abide by his habit.

And his wife left.

And you work with
people who are sick

or you get them help.

And that's what we've
always done.

And he ended up
in a little apartment,
not far from his daughter.

Hoping to reconcile
with his wife.

And hoping for acceptance from
his two surviving daughters.

But, they had conditions.

The most, a preeminent one...

was that he cease and
desist his crack use.

Okay.

And put that fan
a little bit down.

We're moving forward.

It's getting better.

There's bad days,
there's good days.

But, there's more
good days than bad days.

He has managed to...

conquer his drug addiction
and I truly believe...

that's a permanent victory.

I think he values his family
too much to risk losing
them again.

Let me translate for you.

I think, going to
Atlanta was
the defining moment...

Er, of our relationship.

The Sheik was one
of the most untapped talents
out there.

A lot of these wrestlers
were just wavering around
in dependence.

And The Sheik had this...

untapped gold, that was just
waiting to be developed.

Youtube was
just starting.

The timing was, was when
Michael Richards, Kramer...

from Seinfeld...

er, was on stage at a
comedy club in Los Angeles.

And he...

dropped the "N" bomb...

on someone in the crowd.

And I go, Sheik, I want
you to watch this.

I want you to watch this
and then I'm gonna film you...

I want you to tell me
what your thoughts were
on this.

And we posted it.

And within, like,
four days we had,
like, a half a million views.

We got freaked out.
We were like, holy shit! Like...

The Sheik's really popular.
This is crazy.

Yeah, but, you have
to tell me that too
many...too much...

They look perfect on you.

I don't give a fuck.
I have to let you know
about future.

Yo, man, chill out, man.

Fuck you! Take a walk!
Don't worry about that.

Some of those things
are embarrassing, beyond belief.

But, I think, the reason
he does it is to just get
the publicity.

Camel Clutch!

Holy Shit!

Camel Clutch!

Don't fucking tell
me again sorry!

So, I try and
explain to Caryl that...

there's this movement
coming along and...

everything is going
online and...

The Sheik doesn't necessarily
need to go and wrestle any more,
in order to get a payday.

This is on the news.

We made the World News.

Er, here he is.

The Iron Sheik.

There he is. Wonderful
to see you, Iron Sheik.

Wonderful. What an honor.
What an honor. What an honor.

This is a wrestler.
He was just signed to the WWE.

He calls himself,
Iron Sheik Junior.

I am the real Iron Sheik.
You are fagot!

Come over here. I suplex you.
I fuck your ass.

I make you humble.
You hear me?

That was really when it
started kicking in, because...

The Sheik was out of control...

but he was channeling it...

to the biggest audience
in the world.

Chael Sonnen, you talk
and you walk.

That's why I respect you.

But a still, Iron Sheik
have AAU champion.

And a Hall of Fame
and gold medal.

You will some day had it.

But I respect you
and have a good day.

I concede. I concede to
you, Sheik.

Enjoy yourself.
Have fun my friends.

Thank you, sir.

At a time mankind has been
forced to compete for survival.

Oh, my God!

Sheik.
Yes, sir.

World champion, Iron Sheik.

He, er, was very popular.

He was being referenced...

in different situations
on television.

Er, he got cameos for movies.

Elvis!
I'm gonna find you!

And I'm gonna...

...your ass!

So, we started getting
a world of phone calls and
a world of...

different inquiries that were...

all..."not wrestling".

Aaaah! You dumb son of a bitch!

And Twitter came along.

Some people,
around the world, come to
social media, specifically

to The Iron Sheik's
Twitter page...

to see who he calls
a tic tac dick.

Or, a grasshopper balls.

Something like that.

It's off the charts...

er, crazy, in terms of
the things that he comes
up with.

Er, which I tip my hat to that.

Because, I love a great
trash talker.

And...And Sheik is the best.

It's time to play Iron Sheik,
the Real or Jabroni.

If you're not following
The Iron Sheik on Twitter,
then you hate awesome
things, because...

The Iron Sheik,
alternatively, praises

and attacks people on Twitter.

And it's, it's very clear
which one he's doing.

I'm going to name something,
or, someone and for 250 points
you have to tell me
if The Sheik likes it...

by saying, Real, or, hates it,
by saying, Jabroni.

Okay, you guys ready?

You guys ready?
Here's the first one.

Ray J, Ray J. Real or Jabroni?

- Jabroni.
- No, real, he likes Ray J.

Ray J...that cheeseburger
ass penguin Kim K he deserve
gold medal.

Wow!

I follow Sheik on Twitter.

And I know a lot of
people who do. And I...

always go check
a lot of his stuff.

Because it's like, you know...

You wonder sometimes,
you know...

Did he really come
up with that? Or...

you know, er, is he serious?

We know he's not serious.

But he's, er, he's funny.
He's funny. He...

And it's pretty good that you
can be funny in 140 characters.

So, when I read them,
I hear him talking.

And, to me, that's...

That's pretty
authentic. That's pretty good.

We try and keep
the tweets as...

precise as possible.

The Sheik, his English
is bad, and so...

all we're doing is taking his
words and putting them on...

to the computer.

How he articulates it...
that's Sheik.

And then a Twitter conference
came and we got there and...

the guy working there was,
like, holy shit!
You're The Iron Sheik.

I'm like, yes, he is.

You have something
you wanna say?

Sheik, Sheik.
That's great.

Hulk Hogan was
the best of all time.

At this very moment, The Sheik
is a social media phenomenon.

You better believe it, brother.

What's Hitler going to do,
when these 24 pythons
come for you?

Hogan!

I know nothing!

The idea to put him on
Robot Chicken probably
never would have happened
if we hadn't...

er, seen him on Twitter.
But we'd been following
him on Twitter for a year.

Um...

So, there
was this great two pack of...

er, action figures,
with The Iron Sheik
and Nikolai Volkoff.

I took a picture of them
and I, I tweeted it.

I said, um, look
who stopped by...

er, the Robot Chicken
writer's room today.

And I said, guys, we're gettin'
The Sheik on the show this year.

We have this rope, those
flashlights, the fake
passports, Playboys and,
er, this.

Oh, yeah!

Slabber doo, a Slim Jim!

Holy...
A Slim Jim!
I just love Slim Jims!

I follow The Sheik
on Twitter.

Yeah, he always, er...

He's a different kind
of fashion police.

Like, Joan Rivers will speak
her mind, but, The Iron Sheik
will tell it like it is.

Sheik's a cult figure.

When people see
The Iron Sheik...

they react.

They are celebrities.

They're people in
the hip hop world.

They're people who consider
themselves hipsters.

They are people
in the art world.

I just
want to, er...

I want to bring out
someone who has been a...

inspiration to me.
A childhood hero of mine.

Er, he wants to say
a few words about hating.

We would
go to these events.

In which...

the biggest celebrities
in the world were there.

And, they all knew
The Iron Sheik.

They all loved
The Iron Sheik.

I fear him.

I respect him.

And I love him.

I love you.

Looking back...

as a 33 year old, or, a 30 year
old, or, a four year old...

they were watching
wrestling in 1985.

They were watching...

Hulk Hogan and The Iron Sheik.

They remember the match.

- Yo, it's The Iron Sheik
- Yeah, brother.

This side, this side,
this side, this side.

And it took people...

out of their celebrity bubble.

And into this...

innocent, human...

place that they
felt connected to...

that they wanted to share.

Oh, my God!

The Sheik!

The Sheik! The Sheik!

The King is here!

When I came to this country...

you know, I had nothing.
And all of a sudden...

The WWF was in my life.

Because that's,
that was like the biggest thing
that we had as kids,
was watching the WWF.

We were so happy to
have somebody represent us.

And, at one point,
he held the belt.

Do you remember that?
He had the belt.

We just...just think
that was the biggest thing
in our lives.

And he had the belt.
He was the champion
of the world.

And...

It made me feel...

empowered, as a kid.

One...

Two...three!

Okay.

What do you think about
wearing this tonight?

What's wrong with it?

Toronto mayor, Rob Ford,
seems to be in a little bit of
trouble because a video is
being shopped around

that purports to show
him smoking crack.

Our job is to expose him
and put him out there.

And get him...
some attention.

All the media, CNN, NBC,
ABC, they're all there.

Right.

You are gonna go interrupt
the mayor and say...

that's not the mayor,
I'm the new mayor
of the Toronto.

Can we talk
to him, right here?

It's tough for these
wrestlers whose lives,
kind of...

are dependent on their...

abilities in the ring.

When those abilities go away...

they are not left
with much more.

This is for...

the most offensive man.

Did I get this for a reason?

And the winner is...

The Iron Sheik.

Hey, Toronto!
Please put your hands together
for The Iron Sheik!

We worked hard
to establish his...

social media presence.
And...

it's a daily grind,
every day, we do...

er, whatever we can to get
The Iron Sheik noticed, online.

And, we're having
a good time doing it.

It's a lot of fun
and it feels good.

Especially, knowing that...

He's our childhood hero.

And we have his back
and he has ours.

Gimme a hell yeah!

Hell Yeah!

His impact on my career,
er, has really been profound.

Wrestling business has always
been a cutthroat business.

There weren't always a lot
of guys, at that time, who
took the time...

to...

bring me under their
wings and share their
insight and wisdom with me.

I was...

humbled that he took
such great time...

and care to...

in many ways, mentor me.

And, in his way,
that was very, um...

He was a hard ass.

But, but I appreciate
that and, at that time...

as a rookie, I needed that.

This and this...

And change. That...

He was in
a position where

he didn't have to give me
that much time and I just
wanted to be a sponge
and pick his brain.

And I'll never forget,
I'll never, ever forget...

It was a very long flight
and he, he's like...

Bubba, let me tell you...

He said...

He said, you go into
the locker room.

You sit down.

You keep a your mouth shut.

You open your
ears and you just listen to
everybody, okay?

Don't be the Jabroni
and talk a lot.

Let your talent...

and your ability
a speak for itself.

That's, that's a smart.
Don't be the Jabroni

I want you to show me how much
you have a balls or guts...

till you can take down
each other...

or, pin each other.

Double leg, take him down,
go for a pin.

Show me.

And you are taller and bigger...

Uh uh uh uh...Show me your...

Excellent! Beautiful!

Let me
tell you something about
the word, Jabroni.

So...

I was very lucky
and fortunate to have...

coined the word, Jabroni...

publicly, on TV.

Utilize it as part
of my Rock speak.

And had it become part of, um...

pop culture.

You know, The Rock says...

This Jabroni needs to go down,
blah, blah, blah, you know.
I'd say things like that and...

It doesn't matter, Jabroni.

It was
Jabroni, Jabroni, Jabroni.

And now, the word, Jabroni,
is connected...

Er, to me. When A lot of people
think, oh, Jabroni, oh, yeah,
yeah. It's The Rock's word.

No, no, no, no.

It's not my word.
It's The Iron Sheik's word.

Iron Sheik
was the one who...

would use the word,
Jabroni backstage.

And it became this legendary...

Iron Sheik speak.

It was always...

you tell the Jabroni.

Let me tell you, Jabroni.

It was Jabroni,
Jabroni, Jabroni.

I give The Iron Sheik...

all the credit...

in the world, for the word...

Jabroni.

Jabroni, especially when he
told me, don't be the Jabroni.

Keep your mouth shut.

This is the man that
made my career, right here.

I think, er,
fans remember him as,
as one of the classic heels
of his...

of his generation.

And one of those guys
who, er, you know...

who will always be recognizable.

There's not a guy who walks
in and doesn't instantly
recognize The Sheik.

You know, he's, er, he's iconic.

The man from Tehran...Iran.

With his Persian clubs...

Er, and his incredible
wrestling background
and soldier's mentality,

represented how...

there is no success, without
struggle. He represented that
hard work pays off.

He was all things
that make America great.

My papa, Sheik, was a wrestler.

My papa Sheik was a wrestler.

And he was a champion,
you said it.

He is strong and he works
out a lot to get strong.

Our dad was,
was portrayed as
the Iranian villain,
I think, it was...

In his wrestling career.

But it was...

extremely ironic, because...

I've never met another
individual in my life, who

embraced this country
more than our dad.

America has always
been the land of opportunity.

And he came here with nothing.

And he's had a...

forty plus year career.

Living here in this country.

Raising a family.

So, I don't know how we
could argue the fact that

Khosrow hasn't achieved
the American dream.

He's a hero to many,
many people everywhere,
all throughout the world.

And rightfully so.

Sheik! Sheik! Sheik! Sheik!

Ach thoo!
Iron Sheik,
Number 1.

Cameraman,
zoom it.

Brother Sheik,
number 1.

Iron Sheik,
number 1.

Iron Sheik,
number 1.

Iron Sheik,
number 1.

Number 1,
hack ptoeey!

Iron Sheik,
number 1.

From Tehran,
Iran.