10 Best WWE Stars To Compete In A Wrestling World Cup

6. Iran €“ The Iron Sheik

If ever one man has made an entire career out of his nationality, it€™s The Iron Sheik. In typical pro-wrestler fashion, his boasts are full of hyperbole and exaggeration. Born in Tehran, the capital of Iran, he was legitimately a bodyguard to the Shah of Iran. He never wrestled for Iran in the Olympic Games but he did coach the American team in Munich 1972 after emigrating to the States in the late 1960s. Training as a wrestler under Verne Gagne, he found himself in the same class as a young man who went on to become Ric Flair. Upon turning professional, he was encouraged by promoters to play upon his Iranian heritage. Wrestling is all about stereotypes and incorporating real life fears, and fortunately for Sheik, Iran has rarely been out of the headlines since he started wrestling. Furthermore, those headlines have never been particularly positive, meaning that he has had a long career as a flag waving heel. With his pointed boots, headdress, bald head, long moustache and huge Iranian flag over his shoulder, he was immediately recognisable, immediately memorable and, for most fans, immediately hateable. He toured the US and won titles in whichever territory he showed up in. In 1983, the Iron Sheik arrived in the WWF and was matched up against the All American WWF World Champion, Bob Backlund, playing on the US-Iran political tensions at the time. Sheik won the World title using his trademark Camel Clutch submission hold, ending Backlund€™s four year title reign, One month later, in January 1984, back at the MSG, Sheik dropped the belt to Hulk Hogan. And so The Iron Sheik played a huge role in kicking off the pop culture phenomenon of Hulkamania, which brought with it the annual extravaganza of WrestleMania. Sheik continued to wrestle in national promotions for a further decade before gaining a new fame in the era of social media, as his outspoken interviews where he would pull no punches in expressing his disdain for some of his former colleagues were shared millions of times around the world.