5 major athletes who became successful WWE Superstars
Not all WWE Superstars are former independent wrestlers. Some women are scouted from the fashion and modeling industry, and a considerable section of both male and female WWE Superstars have been selected from sports.
Stars like current WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns, and former titleholder Goldberg, dabbled in sports.
Did you know the likes of @WWERomanReigns @BaronCorbinWWE & @Goldberg played @nfl football? wwe.me/JgL85H https://t.co/q7jHdqiBTj
WWE has also signed major sports stars. Not all of them found success in the world of wrestling, but some made a seamless transition and became natural in the new realm.
WWE's most recent acquisition is Gable Stevenson, who was drafted to RAW without a stint at NXT. Here's a list of five major athletes who made the jump with confidence and success.
#5. WWE Hall of Famer The Iron Sheik
@MaskedMma Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri....better known as The Iron Sheik. Khosrow competed for a spot on Iran's Greco-Roman wrestling team for the 1968 Summer Olympic. In 1971, he was the Amateur Athletic Union Greco-Roman wrestling champion and gold medalist at 180.5 pounds. https://t.co/PAIQ1tEvKs
The Iron Sheik is infamous for his Twitter rants, but his life story is a whirlwind of success and sorrow. The only Iran-born WWE Champion played an instrumental role in the birth of Hulkamania and remained a hated heel for his entire career.
Khosrow Vaziri, the man behind the gimmick, was a celebrated Greco-Roman wrestler and coach before falling in love with pro-wrestling. He idolized the wrestler Gholamreza Takhti and became a noted amateur wrestler while working as a bodyguard for the Iranian monarch.
After relocating to the U.S., Vaziri became the AAU Champion in 1971, and was an assistant coach for the 1972 Munich Olympics. He mentioned his achievements during his WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony.