WWE Legend,’The Iron Sheik’ is dead

Tributes are pouring in for WWE legend ‘The Iron Sheik’ after his death at the age of 81.

The wrestler, real name Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri, was born in Iran but became a global superstar in the 1980s, winning the WWF World Heavyweight Championship in 1983.

Previously he competed on Iran’s Greco-Roman wrestling team at the 1968 Summer Games, and later won a national AAU title in 1971 after moving to the United States.

But it was when he made the transition to the fledgling WWF in 1979 that he became an international superstar, along with the likes of Hulk Hogan, Jesse ‘The Body’ Ventura, and Andre ‘The Giant’ Roussimoff.

Confirming the news on Twitter, his family paid tribute to ‘a true legend, a force of nature, and an iconic figure who left an incredible mark on the world of professional wrestling.’ A cause of death has not been released.