Iron Sheik Speaks

[Hoss]

Click the link if you want to see a few pictures and a trailer for his documentary.

Don't Insult the Iron Sheik, Bubba | VICE United States

DON'T INSULT THE IRON SHEIK, BUBBA
THE LEGEND ON HIS LIFE, HULK HOGAN, AND THE DOCUMENTARY BEING MADE ABOUT HIM

If you know anything about professional wrestling, you know who the Iron Sheik is. The legendary heel started his WWF career back in the early 80s, when he was part of an anti-American tag team with Nikolai Volkoff. Hulk Hogan beat the Sheik to earn his first title, and the Iranian-born star—his real name is Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri—was a major character during pro wrestling’s golden era. In “real” life, Hossein was a talented Greco-Roman wrestler who served in the Iranian Army and worked as a bodyguard to the Shah before emigrating to the US in the late 60s and achieving the American Dream many times over.

Today, nearly 40 years after the Sheik adopted his trademark shaved head and mustache and stepped into the ring, he’s more famous than ever before, thanks to frequent appearances on The Howard Stern Show and his Twitter account, a hilarious, profane, stream-of-consciousness rant about everything from celebrities to the Sheik’s former rivals to days of the week:

The Iron Sheik ✔ @the_ironsheik

fukk you monday you are dumb piece of shyt. I have big news on the tuesday and i be happy i share with you otherwise suck my 10 inch cock
1:17 PM - 17 Jun 2013

The Iron Sheik doesn't personally run his Twitter account, but they're still his words.

Last month at Stones Fest LA, a concert where musicians and A-list actors perform covers of Rolling Stones songs, the Sheik held court on some couches in the back of the Fonda Theater, proudly posing for photos with both concertgoers and celebrities. I headed over—I was a child of the 80s, after all, and meeting the Iron Sheik would be like meeting the Easter bunny or Darth Vader.

I found the Sheik seated in the handicapped area (he had recently had surgery on his ankle), and he growled at me, threatening to put me in his trademark Camel Clutch hold if I didn’t join him on the couch. Even at 73, the Sheik is intimidating, and when he tells you to sit down, you sit down. We got to talking and he mentioned that he has a documentary coming out soon—if I don’t watch it, he informed me, I can go fukk myself. Fair enough.

A week later, after doing some research into the documentary being made about his life (it’s called Iranian Legend: The Iron Sheik Story and you can donate to its Indiegogo campaign here), I called him at his home in Atlanta for a slightly more formal interview. While talking to him, I felt a little like Mean Gene Okerlund circa 1985—in the back of my mind, I worried that he’d jump through the phone and choke me. Our conversation covered his whole career, from Iran to his fights with Hulk Hogan to his Twitter attacks on celebrities like Amanda Bynes. I left his distinctive syntax intact, and at his request, his responses are in all caps.

VICE: What was it like serving in the Iranian military?
THE IRON SHIEK: YOU ASK EXCELLENT QUESTION. I HAD TO GO TO THE ARMY FOR ME TO LEAVE THE IRAN. I HAVE TO LEAVE THE IRAN BECAUSE AT THE TIME THE REZA TAKHTI WAS THE MICHAEL JORDAN OF IRAN. HE WAS WRESTLER AND HE WAS MOST IMPORTANT ATHLETE, CELEBRITY, HUMAN BEING IN THE COUNTRY. PEOPLE SAY HE KILLED HIMSELF, AND IN MY RELIGION AND MY COUNTRY WE ALL KNOW THAT NOT TRUE BECAUSE IT IS AGAINST OUR RELIGION. I BELIEVE SOMEBODY IMPORTANT KILL HIM. THIS MAKE ME VERY NERVOUS BECAUSE I WAS BEHIND HIM, NUMBER TWO, AND HE TEACH ME AND HELP ME BECOME BEST WRESTLER IN THE WORLD. SO I HAVE TO GO TO ARMY, WHICH MAKE ME PAY MY DUES SO I LEAVE THE COUNTRY. BUT BECAUSE I WAS MOST IMPORTANT ATHLETE IN THE COUNTRY AND BEST FIGHTER IN THE WORLD, THEY LET ME DO THE TRAINING FOR MY GRECO-ROMAN WRESTLING INSTEAD OF ME BEING A SOLDIER WHO KILL PEOPLE. I VERY HAPPY AND I WORK VERY HARD TO MAKE MY COUNTRY PROUD IN DIFFERENT WAY.

How did you end up as the Shah’s security guard?
I WORKING AT NATIONAL IRANIAN TELEVISION STATION. I WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SHAH AND HIS WIFE IN CERTAIN SITUATIONS. I WAS THERE TO PROTECT THE SHAH AND ANYTIME ANYONE CAME NEAR HIM, I MAKE SURE NO ONE TOUCH HIM. IF ANYONE DID, I BREAK THEIR NECK. I RESPECT THE SHAH AND MAKE SURE HE PROTECTED. THEY CHOSE ME TO THIS POSITION SO I KICK THE shyt OUT OF ANYONE WHO fukk WITH HIM AND MAKE THEM SUFFER.

When you moved to Minnesota, how did you meet American Wrestling Association owner Verne Gagne, who was the first guy to offer you a pro-wrestling gig?
THE MR. GAGNE HEARD ABOUT THE LEGEND—HE HEARD THAT I WAS THE NUMBER ONE IN THE WORLD AT THE GRECO-ROMAN. HE COME LOOK FOR ME, HE BEG THE LEGEND TO BECOME WRESTLER, HE TELL ME I PERFECT FOR THE BUSINESS. I SAY OK AND HE INVITE ME TO THE GYM AND I IMPRESS HIM BECAUSE I’M THE LEGEND AND HE WANT ME TO WORK FOR HIM.

What made you decide to change your stage name from the Great Hossein Arab to the Iron Sheik?
THE VINCE MCMAHON TELL ME I AM BEST MIDDLE EASTERN WRESTLER EVER. HE TELL ME I NEED NEW NAME TO SHOW HOW STRONG I AM LIKE THE IRON. HE WANT ME TO BECOME LIKE THE SHAH. HE CALL ME THE SHEIK. I BECOME IRON SHEIK AND EVERYBODY KNOW EVERYTHING AFTER THAT. BUBBA, DON’T INSULT ME.

What is it like when you were WWF champion? Were you worried at all about fans’ behavior because of the Iranian angle?
WRESTLING HOTTEST THING IN THE 1984, 1985. I MOST-HATED MAN IN THE AMERICA. I HAVE THE REAL, REAL HEAT WHERE THE FAN TRY TO KILL ME IN THE RING AND ON THE STREET. THE FANS BELIEVE IN THE CHARACTER. THEY BELIEVE I AM WORSE PERSON IN THE WORLD. THE SECURITY HAVE TO PUT ME IN AMBULANCE AT THE ARENA AND DRIVE ME MILES TO ANOTHER CAR BECAUSE IF I GO IN MY OWN CAR OUTSIDE BUILDING THOUSANDS OF THE PEOPLE TRY TO ATTACK THE LEGEND. I SWEAR TO THE JESUS I SO SCARED.

Why don't you like Hulk Hogan?
HULK HOGAN PUNK. HULK HOGAN NO GOOD. WHEN I WRESTLE HIM I WAS OFFERED $100,000 BY THE MR. GAGNE TO BREAK THE HULK HOGAN LEG BEFORE THE MATCH AND BRING THE BELT BACK TO THE MINNESOTA. I COULD HAVE RUINED THE BUSINESS, BUBBA. BUT BECAUSE I AM THE REAL RESPECT FOR MY BOSS, THE MR. MCMAHON, I NEVER DOUBLE-CROSS THE BOSS. HULK HOGAN SAYS “I OWE YOU ONE,” AND HE NEVER REPAY ME. I COULD HAVE RUINED HIS LIFE.

What do you think the legacy of the Iron Sheik is as a wrestler?
I AM GREATEST MIDDLE EASTERN WRESTLER IN HISTORY OF WRESTLING. I AM GREATEST HEEL, WHICH MEANS THE BAD GUY IN THE WRESTLING HISTORY. I WWE/WWF CHAMPION, TAG TEAM CHAMPION, AND HALL OF FAME. FOREVER I MAKE THE WORLD NEWS AND I LOVE MY FANS FOR THEY KNOW I AM THE REAL.

The Iron Sheik ✔ @the_ironsheik

Chris Bosh ugly piece of shyt raisin balls and have the baby ant dikk
11:21 PM - 24 May 2013


People love your Twitter account. Why do you like to rip on athletes like Mark Sanchez and Chris Bosh?
THESE PEOPLE ARE THE PEOPLE WHO TALK, TALK, TALK AND THEY ACT LIKE THEY SOLD OUT THE MADISON SQUARE GARDEN OR THEY MAKE IT TO THE HALL OF FAME. THEY NOT HALL OF FAME, SO I MAKE THEM HUMBLE. I BREAK THEIR NECK AND I PUT THEM IN THE CAMEL CLUTCH. THIS MAKE THEM KNOW THEY ARE NOT THE LEGEND. THEY ARE NOT THE IRON SHEIK. THEY ARE TWO BIG-TIME JABRONIES WHO DESERVE ME TO BEAT THE fukk OUT OF THEM.

What about public figures like Amanda Bynes and Chris Brown? Why do you hate them?
DON’T INSULT ME, BUBBA. AMANDA BYNES, SHE IS DUMB bytch UNINTELLIGENT JEW. SHE TALK ABOUT HER ASS AND HER p*ssy LIKE SHE PROSTITUTE. I NEVER RESPECT HER AND IF I SEE HER I PUT HER IN CAMEL CLUTCH. SHE NO GOOD FOR THE YOUNG GENERATION.

THE CHRIS BROWN IS ANOTHER PUNK PIECE OF shyt. HE BEAT UP THE GIRLFRIEND HE NEVER HAVE MY RESPECT. HE DESERVE FOR ME TO BEAT THE fukk OUT OF HIM BECAUSE HE NEVER PAY FOR HIS DUE. HE TALK LIKE HE WORLD-CLASS FIGHTER BUT HE LUCKY I DON’T SEE HIM AND I SNAP HIS NECK WITH MY LITTLE FINGER.

What do you think of Kanye West and Kim Kardashian? Do you think Kanye should ditch her?
I LOVE THE KANYE WEST, I RESPECT THE KANYE WEST, BUT HIS WIFE LOOK LIKE FAT PENGUIN. SHE EAT TOO MUCH CHEESEBURGER AND SHE HAVE NO MODERATION. HE NEED BEAUTIFUL WOMEN ALWAYS WITH HIM AND NOW SHE MOTHER OF HIS BABY SHE ONLY GOING TO EAT THE CHEESEBURGER. SHE NO GOOD, BUBBA. IF SHE DON’T LOSE THE WEIGHT, I TELL HIM TO KICK HER FAT ASS ON THE STREET AND GO BUY HER OWN CHEESEBURGER.

Which current wrestlers are you a fan of? How important is it to you that the Rock and wrestlers like him call you their hero?
I LOVE THE KURT ANGLE, I LOVE THE CM PUNK, THEY THE STUDENT OF THE BUSINESS. THEY LIVE THE BUSINESS. THEY RESPECT THE LEGEND. THE ROCK—I KNOW HIM, KNOW HIS FATHER, HIS GRANDFATHER FOR OVER 40 YEARS. THEY KNOW WHERE I COME FROM. THEY KNOW I PAY FOR MY DUE AND I NEVER TAKE shyt FROM ANYBODY BECAUSE I WAS THE REAL, I WAS THE SHOOTER. IF ANYBODY fukk WITH ME I BEAT THE fukk OUT OF THEM MAKE THEM HUMBLE. THEY KNOW WHO THE LEGEND IS. DON’T INSULT ME.


What have you been doing in your life after wrestling?
I DO WORK FOR THE TV OR MR. HOWARD STERN. MY AGENT’S MAGEN BOYS, THEY PUT ME EVERYWHERE FOR THE PEOPLE WHO LOVE THE LEGEND. THEY KNOW HOW TO MAKE ME LEGEND FOREVER.

What was it like being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame? Would you have ever expected that when you first joined the organization?
NEVER. I KNOW ABOUT HALL OF FAME IN THE AMERICA. I WORK HARD TO BECOME WORLD CHAMPION. I TRAIN ALL MY LIFE AND I WORK HARD ALL MY LIFE SO I BECOME HALL OF FAME. WHEN I BECOME HALL OF FAME I KNEW I MADE IT AND I KNEW I BECOME THE LEGEND FOREVER.

With so many wrestlers from you era having died or made fools of themselves like Hogan, how have you managed to stay popular?
I HAVE MOST INTELLIGENT JEWISH AGENTS, THEY HELP ME BECOME WORLD NEWS. I AM THE REAL. THE OTHER PEOPLE CAN’T HANDLE THE MODERATION. I PARTY HAVE FUN BUT THE OTHER WRESTLERS GOD BLESS THEM THEY CANNOT HANDLE THE A TO THE Z. THEY LOSE THE CONTROL, NOT LIKE THE LEGEND. ALL MY LIFE I AM IN THE GYM, STAY HEALTHY, AND I KNOW HOW TO PARTY AND MAKE THE WORLD NEWS.

Why do people love the Legend so much?
BUBBA, I WORK HARD, I SPEAK MY MIND, I DON’T GIVE A fukk WHAT PEOPLE THINK, I AM HALL OF FAME. I WORK OVER 50 YEARS IN THE SHOW BUSINESS AND I CAN TELL WHOEVER I WANT TO GO fukk THEMSELVES BECAUSE I MAKE IT AND ANYBODY WANT TO TALK ABOUT HOW THEY ARE WORLD CLASS I LET THEM KNOW IF THEY ARE OR THEY ARE NOT.

What was your favorite wrestler to feud with?
ME AND THE SGT. SLAUGHTER WERE HOTTEST THING IN THE BUSINESS. IRAN VS. THE USA. EVERYBODY PAY TO SEE HIM BEAT ME BUT EVERYBODY KNOW I BEAT THE fukk OUT OF HIM AND THE PEOPLE WENT CRAZY.

What does the Iron Sheik do for fun?
I LOVE THE TWITTER, I LOVE MAKING MY FANS HAPPY, I LOVE SEEING MY FANS, AND I LOVE TO WORK ON THE COMEDY BUBBA.

Tell me about the documentary. Why is the time right for you to put out the story of your life?
MY DOCUMENTARY I HOPE AND I PRAY BECOME BEST ABOUT MY LIFE. I’M A LEGEND. I WORK AROUND THE WORLD 50 YEARS AND I DO EVERYTHING IN MY LIFE TO BECOME THE LEGEND. GOLD MEDAL, SHAH OF IRAN BODYGUARD, AAU CHAMPION, WWE/WWF CHAMPION, HALL OF FAME, MR. HOWARD STERN RADIO CHAMPION. EVERYBODY KNOW IRON SHEIK PERFORMER, BUT THEY DON’T KNOW THE REAL IRON SHEIK. THEY DON’T KNOW HOW I BECOME THE LEGEND, WHY I COME TO THE GREATEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD, THE AMERICA, WHY I WORK SO HARD, AND ALL THE STORIES IN MY LIFE THAT EVERYBODY WANT TO KNOW. I NOW SHOW YOU. I VERY PROUD, BUT I ALSO LOVE MY FANS TO HELP ME AND SUPPORT ME BECOME IRANIAN-AMERICAN LEGEND FOREVER.

What do you want people to remember the Iron Sheik as?
BEST IN THE WORLD. BEST PERFORMER, REAL MAN, REAL SPEAK MY MIND, REAL LEGEND WHO NOBODY EVER fukk WITH BECAUSE IF THEY DID THEY KNOW I BEAT THE fukk OUT OF THEM.

 

[Mr.Black]

said that ho kardashian look like a fat penguin

fake or not i chuckled

 

[Riley Escobar]

The Iron Sheik doesn't personally run his Twitter account, but they're still his words.

MY AGENT’S MAGEN BOYS

In 2003, his daughter, Marissa Jeanne Vaziri, was brutally beaten and strangled to death by her then-boyfriend, Charles Reynolds. In the aftermath of his daughter’s death he began, like many other wrestlers who find themselves in a place of need, to abuse crack cocaine. Wrestling is a scummy industry, and so-called “shoot” interviews, where out-of-work grapplers are paid to insult and abuse their former co-workers under the guise of being “out of character”, are a good hustle for a man in need of cash.
So a clearly under-the-influence appears on one of these videos insulting the tag-team specialist B. Brian Blair, one half of The Killer Bees. He’s angry, confused and desperate. The video goes viral. Sheik, while still abusing crack cocaine, begins to develop a career of sorts, turning up on more and more of these shoot interviews and being pressurised into saying ever-more outrageous comments about wrestlers.

In 2009, @The_IronSheik was set up. Now: not a single tweet is written by him there. Not one. The content is provided by two “comedians”, The Magen Boys. Their job is to make bank for themselves by pushing a drug-addled man clearly still visibly struggling to come to terms with the death of his daughter. They write tweets adopting the language of a grieving man with a crippling addiction, and use it to pass humorous comment on the news and sports stories of the day.

So there you go. That account you thought was funny? The account you like? It’s full-scale manipulation and abuse of a man who clearly needs help, perpetuated by two schmucks who will just dip and bounce with their 20% as soon as Vaziri’s heart gives up on him. And they say there’s no money to be made in social media…

 

[Hoss]

Yeah, I've read conflicting reports on those Magen dudes. Don't know what to believe, really. Here's a link that gives them a favourable impression.

CANOE -- SLAM! Sports - Wrestling - Iron Sheik documentary to show off real person

 

[Psychosis]

Now: not a single tweet is written by him there. Not one. The content is provided by two “comedians”, The Magen Boys. Their job is to make bank for themselves by pushing a drug-addled man clearly still visibly struggling to come to terms with the death of his daughter. They write tweets adopting the language of a grieving man with a crippling addiction, and use it to pass humorous comment on the news and sports stories of the day.

[ame="https://twitter.com/the_ironsheik/status/336218693757435904"]https://twitter.com/the_ironsheik/status/336218693757435904[/ame]

 

[Riley Escobar]

Y! SPORTS

His voice was instantly recognizable, like that of a long lost friend. But it was a joyless voice, and sounded a bit feeble.

Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri, is 73, and is in pain. He badly needs knee surgery that he can't afford, but if the truth is to be told, every joint on his body could use fixing.

A lifetime in wrestling, amateur and professional, will do that to a man.

So Vaziri, better known as the evil pro wrestler, "The Iron Sheik," would on this day rather sit in his chair and let the hours pass by than talk about his life.

He aches all over, he's not making a lot of money and he wants to be left alone.

"Bubba, please, I will talk to you and answer all of your questions," he says, pleadingly. "But let's do it another time. Now is not good."

Now, though, is the time. At least that's the view of Page Magen, who along with his twin brother, Jian, serves as the Sheik's manager. The Magens are attempting to raise funds through crowd sourcing to produce a documentary on the Sheik's life.

It is an incredible life, one well worth documenting. He was born in a small village near Tehran. His childhood home had no running water nor plumbing, but he worked hard and became one of Iran's most popular athletes. He competed in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City on its Greco-Roman wrestling team, and served for a while as a bodyguard for the family of the Shah.

He fled the country, though, when his friend and idol Gholamreza Takhti was, he believed, murdered by the government. He feared he might be next, so in 1969, he headed for the safety of the U.S.

The official version of Takhti's death, released by the government, is that he committed suicide. But Vaziri and many others believe Takhti was executed for his anti-government views.

"He was so popular in Iran," Vaziri said. "He was like the Michael Jordan. Everyone loved him. And I was No. 2. I thought, if they got him, they're probably going to get me, too. I knew I had to leave."

And so he set out for the U.S. Though he spoke only Farsi when he arrived, he quickly became immersed in amateur wrestling in his new country. He won an AAU championship in 1971 and was presented his gold medal by Muhammad Ali.

Later, he served as an assistant coach under the legendary Alan Rice on the 1972 U.S. Olympic wrestling team before he went on to stardom as a villainous professional wrestler.

But he became addicted to crack cocaine during his wrestling career, then suffered through the 2003 murder of his oldest daughter, Marissa.

Page Magen knows that for Vaziri to raise the money he needs for the documentary, he has to tell the story of his life to drum up interest in the project, so he patiently prods Vaziri.

"Sheikie baby, listen to me," Magen says, gently. "You need to focus. This is important. Can you do this for me, Sheikie? Just focus for a few minutes."

Vaziri agrees, but he speaks slowly, in a monotone and without passion.

Later, his wife, Caryl, says she's not surprised. It was not a good day, for the Iron Sheik, she says.
"He's in such great pain, almost all the time," Caryl Vaziri said.

The Iron Sheik poses for a picture during his younger days as a wrestler. (Courtesy: Hossein Vaziri)
The Sheik walks with the aid of a cane, but even with the cane, he moves slowly, unsteadily, and with great difficulty.

"He's such a big, strong guy, and he hurts so much, it hurts me to see him," she said. "He had operations on both of his knees about 10 years ago, and they failed. He hurts everywhere, but the knees are really painful. He told me, 'Caryl, I hurt from the top of my head to the bottom of my toes.' It breaks my heart. He can withstand a lot of pain, but this is too much for him."

His left knee is particularly painful, and gruesome looking. A bone protrudes out. The bones, Caryl Vaziri said, are out of alignment and "don't come together." It makes it torture to walk.

He loved his job, and wouldn't trade his years as a pro wrestler for anything. He won the WWF (now WWE) world championship on the night after Christmas in 1983 when he beat Bob Backlund. He then went on to have a lengthy feud with Hulk Hogan. He might have become the greatest heel – pro wrestling parlance for a bad guy – in the sport's long history.

But being a pro wrestler means days and weeks on end on the road, away from family and friends. Addictions are common. And though the results of a pro wrestling match are predetermined, that does not mean it's not physically taxing.

"Being a wrestler is not an easy life," he says. "It's very hard on the body. I loved it, but it is a hard life to live."

Josip Peruzovic is now 66, and lives in Baltimore. He used to work for the city doing code enforcement, but now works for the Police Department with its kids programs.
During his younger days, Peruzovic was known as Nikolai Volkoff, and teamed with the Iron Sheik to win the WWF tag team titles.

Volkoff and the Sheik played off the anti-Soviet, anti-Iranian mindset that was prevalent in the U.S. in the late 1970s and through the 1980s.

The Iron Sheik would routinely grab the microphone from the ring announcer and shout to an enraged crowd, "Iran, No. 1! Russia, No. 1!"

At that point, he'd say "USA!" and then spit on the ground. Volkoff would then take the microphone and sing the Russian national anthem as the crowd booed mercilessly.

Peruzovic recalled his time as Vaziri's tag team partner fondly, and said Vaziri was great to work with. Vaziri, he said, loved the fans, particularly children, and would sign autographs for them for so long, he'd miss his plane.

But it wasn't long after they teamed up that Peruzovic began to worry about his friend.
Vaziri was becoming addicted to alcohol and crack cocaine, and Peruzovic feared for his safety.

"My God, I think at one time, more than 90 percent of the wrestlers were taking one drug or another," Peruzovic said. "I was fortunate that I never got mixed up in that. I don't drink, and I don't smoke and I never was fooling around with drugs. I thank God for that. But I know that the Sheik had a lot of problems with it.

"I'd say to him sometimes, 'Man, you have to be careful, and be good to your body. You're going to kill yourself.' He's a beautiful person with a big heart, but he didn't listen to me. He loved those drugs."

Caryl Vaziri said that when she met her husband in Minnesota in 1971, he didn't drink, smoke or fool with drugs. But once he hit the big-time and was traveling more than 300 days a year, the peer pressure on him was intense.

"It was horrible," she said. "It just got so bad, and it puts such a strain on your family and your relationship and everything. It's bad enough that he was gone on the road so much, but to know what he was doing to himself, it was very painful for the whole family."

On Oct. 7, 2005, a little more than two years after his oldest daughter was murdered, Vaziri was arrested near his Georgia home and charged with two counts of possession of cocaine and one count of possession of marijuana.

Not long after, Caryl Vaziri had had enough and left him.

"I never stopped loving him," she said. "Never, not for one minute. But I just had to get him to stop [using drugs]. [Me leaving] and getting my own place shook him up and straightened him out and he has been clean the last couple of years, three or four years now."

Several years ago when the Magens started working on the documentary, Vaziri came to Toronto where they live to make an appearance at a baseball card show.
Vaziri took a cocktail of drugs and fell into a drug- and alcohol-induced stupor. The promoter who'd brought him to Toronto dumped Vaziri on the Magens.

Page and Jian picked him up and tried to bring him to the airport for his flight to Georgia.
"But someone had just given him a pile of drugs, and he was crazy, out of control, and was completely wanting more," Jian Magen said. "He didn't want to leave. We were fighting with him, but he wound up missing his flight."

They put him into a hotel and booked him on another flight. Vaziri was getting out of control and someone from the hotel phoned the Magens to come do something about him. Vaziri wound up having a mild heart attack that night.

"The doctor told us, 'You know, he's pretty fortunate that whatever happened, happened, ' " Jian Magen said. "If he had gotten on that plane, he'd almost for certain have had a full heart attack and who knows what would have happened. So he was here for about four or five more days and, in a way, he was detoxed. And honestly, he's been pretty straight since.

"He'll buzz a beer here or there, but he's been clean for the most part since that time."
Some of Vaziri's later drug use was probably as a result of depression about the May 3, 2003, murder of his 27-year-old daughter, Marissa Jeanne Vaziri.

Charles Warren Reynolds, her boyfriend of several weeks, was arrested and later convicted for strangling her to death.

Caryl Vaziri said she believed her daughter was breaking up with Reynolds, which is why she thinks he killed her.

"That was just the worst year of our lives," she said. "He'd just had his knee surgeries, and had just gotten out of the hospital, when Marissa was murdered. It was devastating. No parent expects to bury their child. It tore us apart.

"[Vaziri] was distraught because he couldn't do anything to help her. He was this big strong guy that everyone had relied on for so long. And in this situation, there was nothing he could do to save her. It devastated him that he couldn't have been there and tried to save her."

At his peak as a wrestler in the early-to-mid 1980s, Vaziri was earning as much as $500,000 a year. But the travel was incredibly difficult, he had to pay all of his own expenses and there were crazy quirks to his job.

His gimmick as an Iranian bad guy raised passions among the audience who attended the wrestling matches. Vaziri forbade his family from traveling with him for fear someone would hurt them.

At several stops, fans came out of the stands and attempted to stab or assault him. Several times, he was stabbed, though only in the upper arm.
But the family car had its windshield broken, its tires slashed and sugar put into the gas tank.

Vaziri sighs and said he was never all that concerned for his safety, though he said it was another example of the difficulty of life as a wrestler.

"I love wrestling and I would do it all again," he says. "But it is a very, very hard business. There is nothing about it that is easy."

fukk these Magen c*nts

 

[MikelArteta]

Insallah

Sent from royalty using Tapatalk 4 beta

 

[Gang$tarr]

How them Magen jews doing shieky bad? He makin more money cuz of them

 

[NYChase718]

breeeaaaak their back....make them hummmbbbllee....and then fukk their assss