7 Times WWE Used Wrestlers To Capitalise On US Foreign Policy

A list about WWE and foreign heels would be redundant without mention of Sheiky baby. A legitimate Olympic athlete and Iranian national, The Iron Sheik’s role within wrestling was to generate as much controversy as possible. The Iron Sheik rose to prominence around the time of the Tehran hostage crisis in which US diplomats were kidnapped in the Iranian city. Sheik quickly made a name for himself using an anti-American gimmick in the NWA and when WWE came calling in 1983 he was a top heel.

Sheik instantly became a heat magnet in the WWF by performing a Muslim prayer, waving the Iranian flag and praising the leadership of Ayatollah Khomeini, the Iranian leader who defied American ambitions in the Middle East. The Iron Sheik defeated then champion Bob Backlund becoming the top foreign heel in the company and in the process capitalising on the resentment that many US citizens still held towards the Middle East from the hostage situation and oil crisis of the seventies.

Sheik did lose the belt to the All-American hero Hulk Hogan (noticing a theme yet?) but he remained a key figure in the WWF throughout the decade and even teamed with the previously mentioned Nikolai Volkoff at the first WrestleMania as a super heel tandum. Having the pair win the Tag Titles at the first WrestleMania showed that Vince was willing to use US foreign policy and real world relationships even on his biggest stage to date.