Who Hossein Kozrow Ali Vaziri was largely depends on when you were born. If you’re an Iranian born in the 1940s or someone heavily into the Greco-Roman wrestling scene in the 1960s and early 1970s, you may recognize him as a standout on the mat for his home country or coach for the U.S.
The majority of those who recognize him, however, know him as the Iron Sheik. For those who grew up in the 80s, that meant he was the exaggerated, comic book antagonist to Hulk Hogan, leaning into his roots as an expatriate and providing an avatar for a hated enemy. For kids who grew up two decades later, he was Sheiky Baby, prolific internet garbage poster who lived every breath in ALL CAPS, beloved despite unfiltered and occasionally problematic posts that ventured into mysogyny, racism and homophobia.
