"They were calling for him" – WWE legend on The Iron Sheik's passing (Exclusive)
Sgt. Slaughter recently disclosed details about The Iron Sheik's condition and state of mind moments before he passed away.
Sheik died on June 7, 2023, at the age of 81. The WWE Hall of Famer was widely viewed as one of the most entertaining wrestlers of his generation. He feuded with several high-profile names in the 1980s, including Bob Backlund, Hulk Hogan, and Sgt. Slaughter.
In an interview with Sportskeeda Wrestling Senior Editor Bill Apter, Slaughter opened up about the final days of Sheik's life:
"He was at home when he passed. He just kinda fell asleep. He was on oxygen, a lot of oxygen, and they would take it off. There's pictures that I've seen that they took of him in his chair and things, and you could see light going through the picture, like the spirit, like they were calling him." [7:47 – 8:16]
In the video above, Slaughter shared more memories of his close friendship with Sheik outside of the ring.
The Iron Sheik wanted to be reunited with his daughter
In 2003, The Iron Sheik's eldest daughter Marissa Jeanne Vaziri was strangled to death by her boyfriend Charles Warren Reynolds.
Sgt. Slaughter gave a speech at a funeral service for The Iron Sheik after his passing. One of Sheik's family members told him that the WWE Hall of Famer wanted to see his daughter in heaven.
"At the end, they said that he kept saying, 'I'm okay, I wanna go, I wanna go. I know I'm gonna be safe and I'm gonna be much better where I'm going,'" Slaughter continued. "He didn't wanna be here any longer. I talked to his son-in-law Eddie at length at his celebration. He said it got to the point where he just wanted to leave. He said, 'There's nothing left for me here. I wanna go and see my daughter. I wanna go away. I wanna be in heaven.'" [8:18 – 8:50]
Slaughter also recalled how Sheik planned to attack his daughter's murderer on the day he was given a life sentence. However, he was prevented from doing so by others in the courtroom.
Do you have any favorite memories of The Iron Sheik? Let us know in the comments section below.
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