The Iron Sheik passed away on June 7, 2023, at the age of 81, leaving a lasting legacy in the professional wrestling industry.
On the latest episode of his “Something To Wrestle With” podcast, Bruce Prichard paid tribute to the late WWE Hall Of Famer.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On Sheik’s passing: “[We] lost one of the absolute, all-time greats of the business. People that were only exposed to Koz in his later years, when he wasn’t in the ring and wasn’t in the best of shape … and kind of became a punchline for jokes, have no idea the true human being that was Khosrow Vaziri. I was honored to know him. I was honored to be belly-to-belly suplexed at the Quality Inn … in Houston, Texas.”
On Sheik’s role during the rise of WWE: “This guy, you know you think about the whole explosion of the business, when Vince took everything national, and the huge part that Kaz had in that. Because it went from Bob Backlund to The Iron Sheik, the [WWF] Champion … and the Sheik then lost that title to Hulk Hogan, and ‘Hulk-A-Mania’ was born. The rest, as they say, is history.”
On WWE taking care of Sheik during his career: “Because of that, I think Vince always looked at Sheik as [a] top, main event guy. No matter where he was in the card, whether he was opening up or whatever, he was paid as a main eventer and taken care of as a main eventer because he meant so much to the company and meant so much to our business in how he did everything.
“Khosrow Vaziri, the Iron Sheik, may he rest in peace. I thank him for everything he did in this business and for being a friend, and … always looking out for me the way he did. He was a great guy.”
