Simmons buddy Mark Dursin gives us a rundown of all the most offensive and over-the-top angles in wrestling history, many of which involve Arab villains (Sgt. Slaughter going Iraqi; the Iron Sheik siding with him, and the new “terrorist” character, Muhammad Hassan).
An interesting sidebar (which I mentioned above in the SBB update but it deserves re-mention here). If you followed the AWA or other independent wrestling federations in the ‘80s you may remember a character by the name of Sheikh Adnan al-Khaissey, who was supposedly from Iraq, and filled the usual “evil Arab” rule. I specifically remember one AWA broadcast when, as always, the federation let owner Verne Gagne talk for 20 minutes about whatever the hell he wanted, and Adnan jumped out of the shadows and attacked him. Later the wrestler, known as “General Adnan,” had a run in the WWF, as part of “Iraqi Sgt. Slaughter”’s entourage at his Wrestlemania match against Hulk Hogan in 1991.
Adnan was an unlikely candidate to make the news this week, but he’s beaten the odds: It turns out that, unlike all those “Russian” wrestlers who turned out to really be from Arkansas, Adnan really was from Iraq, and had even gone to school with Saddam Hussein! After he was educated in the U.S., Adnan returned to his homeland, only to flee shortly after Saddam took power. There’s a great interview with Adnan on the Minneapolis talk show “Almanac,” and he’s also written a book, called “The Sheik of Baghdad.”
One more wrestling note- Yes, I’ve seen “Hogan Knows Best.” It’s all right, if unoriginal; though I’d be happier if we could see the Hulkster suddenly developing super-strength while arguing with his children, and then ending the episode with ten minutes of muscle-posing.
Posted by Stephen Silver at July 20, 2005 06:18 PM