3. May 26, 1987 - Jim Duggan And Iron Sheik Arrested
Jim Duggan and The Iron Sheik were two of the top WWE stars of the 1980s for very different reasons - Duggan was a popular, flag-waving patriot, while former WWE Champion The Iron Sheik was a hated Iranian heel who spat on the floor whenever he mentioned the United States. They were both larger-than-life presences in WWE's cartoon era, but they were diametric opposites. That's why fans were so bewildered in 1987, when following a WWE show in New Jersey, both men were arrested - together. Duggan was pulled over by police officers after being suspected of driving under the influence and was found to be high on marijuana. The Iron Sheik, meanwhile, was under the influence of cocaine. Both men were taken in, and the incident made the news. In 1987, kayfabe was very much alive and well, so fans couldn't fathom why Duggan and Sheik were traveling together. Both men were punished for the arrests, but the eye-opening exposure of the business to fans - especially young ones - could not be undone.
Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried.
*Best Crowd of the Year, 2013
