“A Bada**”: WWE Legend Claims How Hulk Hogan’s Sworn Enemy Launched WWF to ‘Outer Space’

It wasn’t overnight or recently the WWE rose to the top of the pro wrestling industry. WWE became the biggest organization after years of putting in a lot of effort through bouts, superstars, and storylines. Wrestlers like Hulk Hogan, indeed, made contributions to the business in the beginning and served as the foundation for the big three-letter corporation.

However, Hogan wasn’t the only wrestler who was vital to the business’s meteoric development and ascent into the stratosphere. The Iron Sheik, Hogan’s bitter opponent, was undoubtedly one of the notable wrestlers who also aided the company.

Speaking of him, on the ‘Wrestling Shoot Interviews’, WWE legend Brutus Beefcake, who is good friends with Hogan, discussed how Hogan and Sheik helped the company reach “outer space”.

Brutus Beefcake believes that the biggest rival of Hulk Hogan was crucial for WWE

Sheik spent a considerable amount of time working for McMahon, during which he won the WWF Championship. However, his legendary bout against Hulkster in Madison Square Garden is unquestionably one of the crucial moments that sparked the Hulkamania craze as well as the company in its early years.

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When asked about the influence of the Iranian legend, Beefcake stated, “Sheiky Baby. Yeah, I knew Iron Sheik since the beginning. I met him right after Hulk beat him for the title, and then that launched the WWF, you know, towards outer space. You know, I spent a lot of time on the road with him. Admired him. Have you ever seen him using clubs? I was just trying to pick one of those clubs up. I mean, the guy has incredible strength. He was the legitimate Shah of Iran’s bodyguard.”

He added, “He was a bad**s. I see him get in the ring, in the olden days. He used to get in the ring and then they’d call in marks from the outside. He’d say get in the ring, and give somebody a thousand dollars if they could turn him over in the ring. I’ve seen 300- 400-pound guys, big big guys, getting in the ring and not be able to budge The Sheik.”

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The Iron Sheik needed that moment, and his physique enabled him to carry a heel persona against Hogan. Not to forget, the rivalry was so fierce that The Iron Sheik still harbors disaffection toward Hogan for winning that night, decades after the legendary WrestleMania bout. So, it’s difficult to imagine how the business would expand without him.