Sometimes a shared love is what unites two men together in a great bromance. Perhaps its a mutual interest in music, sports or videogames. Other times a great hatred is what makes two guys form a bond. When it came to Nikolai Volkoff and The Iron Sheik, their belief that America sucked and that Iran and Russia were both number one made them a feared duo, and a couple of fun loving pals. After the Iron Sheik was unable to topple Hulkamania, he joined up with Volkoff to piss off American fans everywhere. Along with that traitor Freddie Blassie, they proudly waved the flags of their respective countries, and Volkoff even graced fans with his stirring rendition of his country's national anthem. Off screen they'd often room together before Sheik was let go from the company. The two made Raw appearances together in 2005, 2008 and 2010 as well as continuing to appear on the indy scene. Volkoff also shared stories of his time with his partner in Sheik's recent documentary. With age they seem to have mellowed out a bit on their anti-American rhetoric, but that same spark that brought them together has stayed strong.
As Rust Cohle from True Detective said "Life's barely long enough to get good at one thing. So be careful what you're good at."
Sadly, I can't solve a murder like Rust...or change a tire, or even tie a tie. But I do know all the lyrics to Hulk Hogan's "Real American" theme song and can easily name every Natural Born Thriller from the dying days of WCW. I was once ranked 21st in the United States in Tetris...on the Playstation 3 version...for about a week.
Follow along @AndrewSoucek and check out my podcast at wrestlingwithfriends.com
