DAMN iNATOR
03-25-2007, 03:10 PM
He's finally going into the WWE Hall of Fame this year, and that fact will make a lot of people from my area (Lansing, MI) very proud, because of the fact that he was not only a great wrestler, but a great human being as well, who helped popularize the hardcore style of wrestling way before ECW came along, and was a great believer in keeping kayfabe, even going so far as to occasionally tossing one of his famous "fireballs" at any fan on the street who might recognize him for who he really was. The Sheik had 2 of the most spectacular feuds in wrestling history during the '60s & '70s, those being with Bobo Brazil and "Classy" Freddie Blassie. The Sheik would go on to wrestle the likes of André The Giant and even once took on Lou Thesz for the then-WWWF World Championship, and continued wrestling into the 80's and 90's all the way up to 1998 at the age of 74. Sheik was also a promoter during his wrestling career, and was a visionary who took a production truck with him on the road and taped wrestling events in a time when wrestling shows in arenas were very rarely taped. Also, Sheik paid his employees while they were injured, a practice which did not become popular until more recently in the world of professional wrestling. Some of the wrestlers The Sheik trained who hail from Michigan include Sabu (of course), Rob Van Dam, Scott Steiner, Raven, and Greg "The Hammer" Valentine. This coming Saturday, March 31st, 2007, The Sheik will become only the second professional wrestler (and non-celebrity) in the WWE Hall of Fame to have never worked for World Wrestling Entertainment, the first being Verne Gagne, who was inducted in the 2006 ceremonies. Tragically while writing his memoirs, Sheik passed away on January 18, 2003 from heart failure at the age of 78. The Sheik will not soon be forgotten for his many contributions to wrestling.