Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri, better known by his ring name The Iron Sheik has died at the age of 81.
The news was announced in a statement released to his Twitter account, with no cause of death being reported.
Vaziri became a global star with WWE in the 1980s where he had memorable feuds with top stars like Hulk Hogan, Jesse 'The Body' Ventura, and Andre 'The Giant' Roussimoff.
"Today, we gather with heavy hearts to bid farewell to a true legend, a force of nature, and an iconic figure who left an incredible mark on the world of professional wrestling," the statement on the Iron Sheik's Twitter account read.
Vaziri was born in Iran representing his country at the 1968 Summer Olympics on the wrestling team. He would make the move to the United States in 1971 and would join WWE in 1979.
Vaziri was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005 after winning the championship in 1983. He left WWE in 1988 but reappeared in 1991 and made his last in-ring appearance at WrestleMania 17.
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