The Religion of Wrestling
Displays of Religion in the WWE & Associated Companies
IRAN, NUMBER ONE
The Iron Sheik is an interesting character, to say the least. Continuing with the "evil foreigner" trend the WWE is oh-so-very fond of, the Iron Sheik is, of course, a heel. He is bloodthirsty, hot-tempered and ill-mannered. Even his Twitter feed to this day continues to feature the Iron Sheik "Twitter-shouting" angrily in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, frequently employing vulgarity such as the F-word and calling his enemies "JABRONI!!"
The Iron Sheik favoured submission moves in the ring, reminiscent of torture. (Maybe the sort of torture Americans whisper about. The kind that evil Islamic militants will carry out on their American prisoners in Middle Eastern sewer systems.) The Iron Sheik was a one-time title holder, winning the 1983 WWF World Heavyweight Championship from Bob Backlund, only to lose the title to Hulk Hogan weeks later.
To get the real implications of the storyline here,it's extremely important to be aware of Hulk Hogan's babyface character. Hulk Hogan was, at this time in his career, the face of the WWF. He was loved globally. He had blonde hair, blue eyes, big muscles, and told children everywhere that they, too, could be just like him as long as they "say their prayers and take their vitamins!" Having a successful all-American, Christian babyface absolutely destroy an Islamic character only weeks after the heel's victory was, in the eyes of America, great. Hogan's conquest over the Iron Sheik was the in-ring embodiement of America's very perception of triumph of good over evil (Ball 1990, 85).
The Iron Sheik's character was Iranian, while others such as Muhammad Hassan or The Sheik were billed from other parts of the Middle East. No matter what the location, it seemed every sheik character was equally as evil and equally as hated by wrestling fans (Rahmani 2007, 92).
