The Iron Sheik had been wrestling for most of his life. The World Heavyweight Championship title holder began his professional career in 1968 by competing in the Olympics. During the course of his life, he became addicted to crack cocaine, and over time, his body suffered through the stress of his physically demanding occupation. Back in 2013, his wife Caryl Vaziri told Yahoo! Sports, “He’s in such great pain, almost all the time. 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.'”
During a particularly drug-heavy year in 2005, The Iron Sheik had a heart attack, per Bleacher Report. This came at the heels of his daughter Marissa’s death in 2003. Having had enough, Caryl shared, “I up and moved out on him. I could no longer beg him to quit. We had lost our daughter. We were all sad and depressed. But enough was enough.” Since then, The Iron Sheik became sober from drugs. “It was pretty hard. But I don’t miss it anymore,” he stated. The pro wrestler’s last match was in 2010. His career earned him a spot in the WWE Hall of Fame and the NWA Hall of Fame. He was truly a legend in the sport of wrestling and will be missed by many.
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Nicki
