Edward George Farhat (June 7, 1926 – January 18, 2003) was an American
professional wrestler
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...
, better known by his
ring name
A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or project ...
The Sheik (often called The Original Sheik to distinguish him from
The Iron Sheik
Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri ( fa, حسین خسرو علی وزیری, romanized: Hossein Xosrô 'Ali Vaziri; born March 15, 1942), better known by his ring name the Iron Sheik, is an Iranian retired professional wrestler, amateur wrestler and ...
, who debuted in 1972). Farhat is credited as one of the originators of the
hardcore wrestling
Hardcore wrestling is a form of professional wrestling where disqualifications, count-outs, and all other different rules do not apply. Taking place in usual or unusual environments, hardcore wrestling matches allow the use of numerous items, inclu ...
style. He was also the promoter of
Big Time Wrestling, and the uncle of
ECW wrestler
Sabu.
[ Farhat promoted his shows at ]Cobo Hall
Huntington Place (formerly known as Cobo Hall, Cobo Center, and briefly as TCF Center) is a convention center in Downtown Detroit, owned by the Detroit Regional Convention Facility Authority (DRCFA) and operated by ASM Global. Located at 1 Washi ...
in Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
and was the booker for Frank Tunney
Francis Martin Tunney (November 12, 1912 - May 10, 1983) was a Canadian professional boxing and wrestling promoter, based in Toronto.
Biography
Early life
He was educated in Markham, Ontario, and went to a business college after high school. Hi ...
's shows at Maple Leaf Gardens
Maple Leaf Gardens is a historic building located at the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The building was initially constructed in 1931 as an arena to host ice hockey games, though it has sinc ...
in Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
from 1971 to 1977.
Early life
Edward George Farhat was born one of ten children in Lansing, Michigan, on June 7, 1926, to Lebanese immigrants. Unlike most of his older brothers, he did not attend college as myth says. His older brother Edmund did, which is where the confusion usually takes place. Edward quit school in the eighth grade and worked during the depression. He falsified his birth certificate in order to join the Army (possibly using his older brother Edmund's birth certificate) but eventually was drafted when he was 18. He proudly served his country and after 18 months of service was honorably discharged in 1946.
Professional wrestling career
Early life and career (1947–1960s)
Farhat's first match was actually as good old Eddie Farhat in January of 1947. It took a few years to start to develop the gimmick he is so fondly remembered by. Farhat started out wrestling in the Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
area as The Sheik of Araby after having served in the U.S. Army, the privileged son of a wealthy, aristocratic Middle Eastern family. He also formed a tag team with Gypsy Joe
Gilberto Meléndez (December 2, 1933 – June 15, 2016) was a Puerto Rican professional wrestler better known under the ring name Gypsy Joe. While attaining much of his United States success in the Tennessee area, Meléndez also gained a following ...
, where they both captured the NWA Midwestern Tag Team Title in 1954, eventually moving to Texas. During his early career, in what could've been his biggest match at the time, the Sheik was set to face NWA World Heavyweight Champion
The NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship is a world heavyweight professional wrestling championship owned and promoted by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), an American professional wrestling promotion. The current champion is Tyrus, who is i ...
Lou Thesz
Aloysius Martin "Lou" Thesz (April 24, 1916 – April 28, 2002) was an American professional wrestler. He was a three-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion and held the title for a combined total of 10 years, three months and nine days (3,749 ...
in Chicago for his title, but Thesz had a reputation for embarrassing "gimmick
A gimmick is a novel device or idea designed primarily to attract attention or increase appeal, often with little intrinsic value. When applied to retail marketing, it is a unique or quirky feature designed to make a product or service "stand ou ...
" wrestlers so The Sheik bailed from the ring and hid under a bus. The publicity from the event helped push the Sheik character to a more prominent level. He went to New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
for Vincent J. McMahon
Vincent James McMahon (July 6, 1914 – May 24, 1984), sometimes referred to as Vince McMahon Sr., was an American professional wrestling promoter. He is best known for running the Capitol Wrestling Corporation, which was later renamed WWWF (World ...
where he teamed with Dick The Bruiser
William Fritz Afflis (June 27, 1929 – November 10, 1991) was an American professional wrestler, promoter, and former NFL player, better known by his ring name, Dick the Bruiser. During his NFL days he played four seasons with the Green Bay Pac ...
and Bull Curry
Fred Thomas Koury Sr. (May 2, 1913 – March 8, 1985) was an American of Lebanese descent who was best known as a professional wrestler under the name ”Wild Bull” Curry. He is recognized as the originator of the hardcore style predating leg ...
in feuds against Mark Lewin
Mark Lewin (born March 16, 1937) is an American retired professional wrestler.
Early life
Lewin was born in Buffalo, New York. He had two elder brothers, Donn and Ted, both of whom also became professional wrestlers. He attended Lafayette High ...
and Don Curtis
Donald B. Curtis (born Donald Beitelman) (May 22, 1927 – March 6, 2008) was an American professional wrestler, best known for being a member of a tag team with Mark Lewin in the 1950s and 1960s. During his partnership with Lewin, they won the N ...
as well as the team of Antonino Rocca
Antonino Rocca (born Antonino Biasetton; 13 April 1921 – 15 March 1977) was an Italian Argentine professional wrestler. He tag teamed with partner Miguel Pérez. He was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as a member of the class ...
and Miguel Pérez in Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...
. On August 18, 1961, The Sheik was defeated by Buddy Rogers in a 2 out of 3 falls match at the Cincinnati Gardens.
The Sheik's gimmick (1949–1980s)
The Sheik's wrestling was centered on his character of a rich wild man from Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
. Clad with his keffiyeh, before each match, he would use stalling tactics as he would kneel on a prayer rug to pray to Allah (in real life Farhat was a Maronite Christian
Lebanese Maronite Christians ( ar, المسيحية المارونية في لبنان; syc, ܡܫܝܚܝ̈ܐ ܡܪ̈ܘܢܝܐ ܕܠܒܢܢ) are adherents of the Maronite Church in Lebanon, which is the largest Christian denomination in the country ...
). He would lock on choke holds and refuse to break them, and use a camel clutch hold leading to submission. The hold would have him sit over his opponent's back as he applied a chinlock. He used hidden pencils (where he would wrap masking tape around it for better grip) and other "foreign objects" to cut open his opponent's faces. Often, the tactic backfired and the opponent got The Sheik's pencil, leading to the extensive scarring on Farhat's forehead. The other illegal move was his fireball that he threw into his opponents' faces, sometimes burning their face severely (he had pieces of paper soaked in lighter fluid which he quick lit with a cigarette lighter hidden in his trunks). He didn't speak on camera, apart from incomprehensible mutterings. At the start of his career, his wife Joyce played the part of his valet Princess Saleema who would burn incense in the ring. He had three different managers
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business.
Management includes the activities o ...
during his career to cut promos on his behalf. His first manager was Abdullah Farouk but when Farouk managed full-time in the WWF, Eddy Creatchman became his manager. When Creatchman was unable to work with him later in his career, Sheik had Supermouth Dave Drason.
World Wide Wrestling Federation (1965–1969, 1972)
In 1965, the Sheik made his return for the World Wide Wrestling Federation
Capitol Wrestling Corporation Ltd. was an American sports promotion company. It was run by Vincent J. McMahon from 1953 to 1982. Operating as the Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC), the company was originally a professional wrestling and boxing p ...
. On September 25, 1967, he had a 20-minute draw with Édouard Carpentier
Édouard Ignacz Weiczorkiewicz (russian: Эдуард Виецз; July 17, 1926 – October 30, 2010) was a French-born Canadian professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Édouard Carpentier. Over the course of his career, Carpentier he ...
. In 1968, he was brought into the WWWF for title matches with then-champion Bruno Sammartino
Bruno Leopoldo Francesco Sammartino (October 6, 1935 – April 18, 2018) was an Italian-born American professional wrestler, best known for his work with the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF, now WWE). There, he held the WWWF World Heavywei ...
. They met three times in Madison Square Garden—Sheik won the first via count out on October 28, he was disqualified in the second November 18, and he lost to Bruno in a Texas Death Match via submission when Bruno grabbed a foreign object (pen) and hammered Sheik's arm to a bloody pulp on December 9. Sammartino and Sheik also had a series of matches in Boston in January and February 1969, including one sell out the day after a crippling snow storm, and public transportation not yet restored. They fought in three steel cage matches one in Philadelphia and two in Boston. On November 18, 1972, he lost to WWWF Champion Pedro Morales
Pedro Antonio Morales (October 22, 1942 – February 12, 2019) was a Puerto Rican professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in the United States with Worldwide Wrestling Associates (WWA) and the World Wide Wrestling Federation ...
by count out at Boston Garden
The Boston Garden was an arena in Boston, Massachusetts. Designed by boxing promoter Tex Rickard, who also built the third iteration of New York's Madison Square Garden, it opened on November 17, 1928, as "Boston Madison Square Garden" (late ...
.
Noteworthy feuds and matches (1960s–1980)
The Sheik's biggest feud was his seemingly career-long conflict with Bobo Brazil
Houston Harris (July 10, 1924 – January 20, 1998) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Bobo Brazil. Credited with breaking down barriers of racial segregation in professional wrestling, Harris is considered one o ...
in Big Time Wrestling in Detroit. The two feuded over Sheik's version of the United States Championship, frequently selling out Cobo Hall
Huntington Place (formerly known as Cobo Hall, Cobo Center, and briefly as TCF Center) is a convention center in Downtown Detroit, owned by the Detroit Regional Convention Facility Authority (DRCFA) and operated by ASM Global. Located at 1 Washi ...
. This is seen briefly on the "documentary" movie, ''I Like to Hurt People.'' The two took the feud to several markets, most notably Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...
, and Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
. His other major opponent in Los Angeles was Fred Blassie
Frederick Kenneth Blassman (February 8, 1918 – June 2, 2003) was an American professional wrestler and manager, known by the ring name "Classy" Freddie Blassie. Renowned as "The Hollywood Fashion Plate","Classy" Freddie Blassie with Keith Elliot ...
. Sheik and Blassie faced off several times, including cage matches in the Grand Olympic Auditorium
The Grand Olympic Auditorium is a former sports venue in southern Downtown Los Angeles, California. The venue was built in 1924 at 1801 South Grand Avenue, now just south of the Santa Monica Freeway. The grand opening of the Olympic Auditorium ...
. In 1967, the Sheik was wrestling a match when a fan pulled a gun and tried to shoot him three times. Fortunately, the gun didn't go off and the fan was arrested; the gun later fired when police tested it at a shooting range.
Starting in 1969, he also wrestled regularly in Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, where he was undefeated for 127 matches at Maple Leaf Gardens
Maple Leaf Gardens is a historic building located at the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The building was initially constructed in 1931 as an arena to host ice hockey games, though it has sinc ...
. He defeated the likes of Whipper Billy Watson
William John Potts, (June 25, 1915 to February 4, 1990) was a Canadian professional wrestler best known by his ring name "Whipper" Billy Watson. He was a two-time world champion, having held both the National Wrestling Association title and the ...
, Lou Thesz
Aloysius Martin "Lou" Thesz (April 24, 1916 – April 28, 2002) was an American professional wrestler. He was a three-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion and held the title for a combined total of 10 years, three months and nine days (3,749 ...
, Gene Kiniski
Eugene Nicholas Kiniski (November 23, 1928 – April 14, 2010) was a Canadian athlete who played football for the Edmonton Eskimos and then became a three-time professional wrestling world heavyweight champion. "Canada's Greatest Athlete", as he b ...
, Bruno Sammartino
Bruno Leopoldo Francesco Sammartino (October 6, 1935 – April 18, 2018) was an Italian-born American professional wrestler, best known for his work with the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF, now WWE). There, he held the WWWF World Heavywei ...
, Édouard Carpentier
Édouard Ignacz Weiczorkiewicz (russian: Эдуард Виецз; July 17, 1926 – October 30, 2010) was a French-born Canadian professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Édouard Carpentier. Over the course of his career, Carpentier he ...
, Ernie Ladd
Ernest Ladd (November 28, 1938 – March 10, 2007), nicknamed "The Big Cat", was an American professional football player and professional wrestler. A standout athlete in high school, Ladd attended Grambling State University on a basketball sch ...
, Chief Jay Strongbow
Luke Joseph Scarpa (October 4, 1928 – April 3, 2012) was an American professional wrestler and WWE Hall of Famer who was best known by the ring name Chief Jay Strongbow. Much like his contemporary Wahoo McDaniel, he portrayed a Native America ...
, Tiger Jeet Singh
Jagjeet Singh Hans (born April 3, 1944) is an Indo-Canadian semi-retired professional wrestler, known better by his ring name Tiger Jeet Singh. He was known for his elaborate ring entrances, and generally performed as a heel. He wrestled in Japan ...
, Johnny Valentine
John Theodore Wisniski (September 22, 1928 – April 24, 2001), better known by his ring name Johnny Valentine, was an American professional wrestler with a career spanning almost three decades. He has been inducted into four halls of fame fo ...
and even André the Giant
André René Roussimoff (; 19 May 1946 – 28 January 1993), better known by his ring name André the Giant, was a French professional wrestler and actor. Roussimoff was known for his great size, which was a result of gigantism caused by exce ...
during Andre's first extensive tour of North America in 1974. It was Andre who put an end to the Sheik's Toronto winning streak in August 1974 by disqualification. In 1976, he lost by pinfall to Thunderbolt Patterson
Claude Patterson (born July 8, 1941) is an American retired professional wrestling, professional wrestler, ring name Thunderbolt Patterson. He began his career in 1964 and wrestled primarily in Florida, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the Carolin ...
and Bobo Brazil. Sheik continued to headline most shows in Toronto until 1977, but business dropped off significantly over the last three years. Few fans were aware of the fact that he was actually the booker within Frank Tunney's promotion following the retirement of Whipper Billy Watson in 1971. He was also the promoter at Cobo Hall in Detroit for many years. As business in Toronto failed, he worked for indy promoter Dave McKigney
Dave McKigney (June 9, 1932 – July 4, 1988) was a Canadian professional wrestler, also known by his ring name, The Bearman. He is best known for wrestling bears and training Terrible Ted. His appearance as a scruffy beard and long hair. He appe ...
in Ontario and ran his own Big Time Wrestling promotion out of his home near Lansing, Michigan.
Late in his career, Sheik ventured to a promotion in Japan. His run was successful, but management was in financial ruin, so when the company went bankrupt, Sheik jumped to Baba's All Japan Pro Wrestling
(AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established on October 21, 1972 when Giant Baba split away from the Japanese Wrestling Association and created his own promotion. Many wrestlers had left with Baba, ...
. He then jumped a year later to Inoki's New Japan Pro-Wrestling
(NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares ...
, but had a falling out with Inoki, and left Japan to return to wrestling full-time in Detroit. He returned in 1977 for All Japan, teaming, and feuding with, Abdullah the Butcher
Lawrence Robert Shreve (born January 11, 1941), better known by the ring name Abdullah the Butcher, is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He has a reputation for being involved in some of the most violent and bloody hardcore wrestling matc ...
. He also teamed with Baba, Ricky Steamboat
Richard Henry Blood Sr. (born February 28, 1953), better known by his ring name Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, is an American retired professional wrestler best known for his work with the American Wrestling Association (AWA), Jim Crockett Promot ...
, and Kintaro Ohki
Kim Il (Korean: 김일; Hanja
Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom.
(, ) ref ...
. His match with Abdullah the Butcher
Lawrence Robert Shreve (born January 11, 1941), better known by the ring name Abdullah the Butcher, is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He has a reputation for being involved in some of the most violent and bloody hardcore wrestling matc ...
against Dory Funk, Jr.
Dorrance Earnest Funk (born February 3, 1941), known professionally as Dory Funk Jr., is an American retired professional wrestler and wrestling trainer. The son of Dory Funk (Dorrance Wilhelm Funk) and brother of Terry Funk, he was the promote ...
and Terry Funk
Terrence Funk (born June 30, 1944) is an American retired professional wrestler, rapper, disc jockey and actor. Funk is known for the longevity of his career – which spanned more than 50 years and included multiple short-lived retirements – a ...
where Terry fought off Butcher and Sheik with his arm in a sling is credited for turning the foreign Funks into faces in Japan. A match between the two in Birmingham, Alabama, saw them battling out of the Boutwell Auditorium, where they held up traffic until the police broke it up, described as "just classic, bloody mayhem.”
Later career (1980–1998)
In 1980, Big Time Wrestling in Detroit ceased operations. Sheik wrestled for various territories throughout the United States and Japan through the 1980s. It was while in Japan that he suffered his first heart attack while boarding a taxi. From 1991 to 1995, he mainly wrestled in Japan for Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling
Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded on July 28, 1989, by Atsushi Onita as (FMW). The promotion specializes in hardcore wrestling involving weapons such as barbed wire and fire. They held their ...
and had various dangerous death matches. On May 6, 1992, The Sheik had a "fire deathmatch" with Sabu against Atsushi Onita
is a Japanese actor, politician, and semi-retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) and is credited with introducing Japan to the deathmatch style of professional wrestling.
He founded ...
and Tarzan Goto
, better known by his ring name , was a Japanese professional wrestler who wrestled on the independent circuit most of his career. He is best known for his exploding steel cage matches against Atsushi Onita in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling ( ...
, where the ring ropes were replaced with flaming barbed wire
A close-up view of a barbed wire
Roll of modern agricultural barbed wire
Barbed wire, also known as barb wire, is a type of steel fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strands. Its primary use is t ...
. Farhat got third-degree burns and went into a coma, nearly dying. In 1994, he had a brief run in Extreme Championship Wrestling
HHG Corporation, doing business as Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), was a professional wrestling promotion and media company that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as National Wrest ...
where he teamed with Pat Tanaka
Patrick Tanaka (born August 5, 1963) is an American professional wrestler best known for his work in the American Wrestling Association as one half of Badd Company and the World Wrestling Federation as one half of The Orient Express. He is the so ...
against Kevin Sullivan and The Tazmaniac
Peter Senerchia (born October 11, 1967), better known by the ring name Taz (also spelled Tazz) is an American radio personality, color commentator, and retired professional wrestler signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a commentator and mana ...
at The Night the Line Was Crossed
The Night the Line Was Crossed was a professional wrestling house show, live event produced by Eastern Championship Wrestling (ECW) on February 5, 1994. The event was held in the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States.
Exce ...
. On May 5, 1995, he defeated Damián 666
Leonardo Carrera Gómez (born July 9, 1961) is a Mexican professional wrestler best known under the name Damián 666. He has worked for World Championship Wrestling (WCW), Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW), Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CM ...
for Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling's 6th Anniversary show in a brief match, which ended up being his last. When Sabu joined WCW in 1995, Farhat joined him as his manager. During a match with Jerry Lynn
Jeremy Lynn (born June 12, 1963), better known by the ring name Jerry Lynn, is an American retired professional wrestler currently signed with All Elite Wrestling as a producer and coach. He has worked for promotions such as World Championship ...
, who was wrestling as "Mr. JL" at the time, Farhat's leg was broken by the wrestlers during a spot he was previously unaware of, forcing him to cease in-ring competition. In 1998, FMW held his official retirement ceremony in Japan which drew 56,000 people, when he was age 72, then retiring to his estate.
Death
Farhat died of heart failure around 3:15 AM at a Williamston, Michigan, hospital on January 18, 2003, having been admitted to that hospital earlier that year after a short illness. He was 76 years old, and at the time of his death was at the midst of writing his autobiography. Several publications, including ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', noted that Farhat was 78 years old at the time of his passing. He is buried at the Mount Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Williamston, Michigan.
Legacy
In his later years, Farhat provided extensive interviews to his biographer with the intent of publishing a book on his life. These interviews provided a highly explosive look into the world of wrestling, especially on the early days of the WWWF/WWF and Japanese wrestling organizations. As a result, the interviews and draft book were sealed at the time of his death. The book titled Blood And Fire by Brian A Solomon was released in April 2022 by ECW Press. It is full of information on Farhat`s life and career.
The Sheik was seen as one of professional wrestling's biggest box office attractions, and as a pioneer of "hardcore wrestling
Hardcore wrestling is a form of professional wrestling where disqualifications, count-outs, and all other different rules do not apply. Taking place in usual or unusual environments, hardcore wrestling matches allow the use of numerous items, inclu ...
" which became a major part of professional wrestling in the 1990s. On March 31, 2007, The Sheik was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame
The WWE Hall of Fame is a hall of fame which honors professional wrestlers and professional wrestling personalities maintained by WWE. Originally known as the "WWF Hall of Fame", it was created in 1993 when André the Giant was posthumously ind ...
by his nephew, Sabu, and Rob Van Dam
Robert Alexander Szatkowski (born December 18, 1970) is an American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name Rob Van Dam (frequently abbreviated to RVD). He is best known for his tenures in Extreme Championship Wrestling ...
, who he had trained. Most notably, he and Freddie Blassie trained boxer Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, a ...
before Ali's famous "boxer vs wrestler match" with Antonio Inoki
Muhammad Hussain Inoki (born ; February 20, 1943 – October 1, 2022) was a Japanese professional wrestler, martial artist, politician, and promoter of professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. He was best known by the ring name , a homag ...
in 1976 in Tokyo. He also trained Greg Valentine
Jonathan Anthony Wisniski (born September 20, 1951) is a retired American professional wrestler, better known as Greg "The Hammer" Valentine. He is the son of wrestler Johnny Valentine.
Over five decades, Valentine held more than 40 championship ...
and Scott Steiner
Scott Rechsteiner (born July 29, 1962), better known by the ring name Scott Steiner, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA).
Steiner is perhaps best known for his time in World Championshi ...
, including independent stars such as "Machine Gun" Mike Kelly. Farhat was also known for short-changing wrestlers and employees on pay-outs, but he would also be a benefactor to a friend in need; according to Harley Race
Harley Leland Race (April 11, 1943 – August 1, 2019) was an American professional wrestler, promoter, and trainer.
Race wrestled in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), the American Wrestling Association (AWA), the World Wrestling Federatio ...
, after his wife died in an automobile accident and he was forced to take time off early in his career, The Sheik mailed him a check every week for a year until he could return to work. Farhat also had a reputation for living his gimmick everywhere; he didn't answer promoter phone calls for "Ed", not even for potential booking, telling the promoters "no Ed lives here".
His wife, and former valet, Joyce, died on November 27, 2013, in Michigan, after being ill for some time. They are buried at Mount Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Williamston, Michigan. He was also the uncle of Michael Farhat, who worked as Mike Thomas in Detroit. Thomas committed suicide in 1978 at age 27. The Sheik's son Tom died on October 2, 2020, from kidney cancer at 57, and his eldest son Ed Farhat, Jr. - who wrestled under the name "Captain Ed George" - died from complications of COVID-19 on March 22, 2021, at the age of 70.
Championships and accomplishments
*50th State Big Time Wrestling
50th State Big Time Wrestling (sometimes referred to as NWA Hawaii or Mid-Pacific Promotions) was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii in the United States that promoted professional wrestling matches throughout Ha ...
**NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Championship
The NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling championship sanctioned by the National Wrestling Alliance and is defended in the US state of Hawaii. The title, which is still currently defended, began in
1935. From February ...
( 1 time)
*All Japan Pro Wrestling
(AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established on October 21, 1972 when Giant Baba split away from the Japanese Wrestling Association and created his own promotion. Many wrestlers had left with Baba, ...
**World's Strongest Tag Determination League Outstanding Performance Award (1978) – with Abdullah the Butcher
Lawrence Robert Shreve (born January 11, 1941), better known by the ring name Abdullah the Butcher, is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He has a reputation for being involved in some of the most violent and bloody hardcore wrestling matc ...
& Tor Kamata
McRonald Kamaka (March 9, 1937 – July 23, 2007) was an American-Canadian professional wrestler known by the ring name Tor Kamata. He won several heavyweight and tag team championships, most notably the PWF World Heavyweight Championship in Al ...
**World's Strongest Tag Determination League Exciting Award (1981) – with Mark Lewin
Mark Lewin (born March 16, 1937) is an American retired professional wrestler.
Early life
Lewin was born in Buffalo, New York. He had two elder brothers, Donn and Ted, both of whom also became professional wrestlers. He attended Lafayette High ...
* Big Time Wrestling
** NWA United States Heavyweight Championship ''(Detroit version)'' ( 12 times)
*Cauliflower Alley Club
The Cauliflower Alley Club is a non-profit fraternal organization, which includes a newsletter and website, comprising both retired and active professional wrestlers and boxers in North America.
Established in 1965 by Mike Mazurki and Art Abram ...
**Other honoree (1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...
)
* Central States Wrestling
** NWA United States Heavyweight Championship ''(Central States version)'' ( 1 time)
*Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling
Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded on July 28, 1989, by Atsushi Onita as (FMW). The promotion specializes in hardcore wrestling involving weapons such as barbed wire and fire. They held their f ...
** WWA World Martial Arts Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time)
*International Championship Wrestling
International Championship Wrestling was an independent professional wrestling promotion based in Lexington, Kentucky that operated from 1978 until 1984. It was run by Angelo Poffo, the father of Randy Savage and Lanny Poffo, "The Genius" Lanny ...
**ICW United States Heavyweight Championship
The ICW United States Heavyweight Championship was a secondary singles championship in International Championship Wrestling. The title was created when Ed Farhat, The Sheik brought the now-defunct NWA Detroit United States Heavyweight Championship ...
(2 times
"2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...
)
*Japan Wrestling Association
The was the first professional wrestling promotion to be based in Japan. It operated from 1953 to 1973.
History JWA under Rikidōzan (1953–1963)
Rikidōzan, a former ''rikishi'' (sumo wrestling practitioner) who had debuted as a Western-st ...
**NWA United National Championship
The NWA United National Championship (often abbreviated to UN Championship) was a professional wrestling championship sanctioned by the National Wrestling Alliance, and best known for being defended in All Japan Pro Wrestling. It was unified in ...
( 1 time)
*International Wrestling Association (Montreal)
**IWA International Heavyweight Championship
The MAC World / International Heavyweight Championship was a Canadian professional wrestling championship created and sanctioned by the Montreal Athletic Commission (MAC). While the Commission sanctioned the title, it did not promote the events in ...
(3 times)
*Maple Leaf Wrestling
Maple Leaf Wrestling was the unofficial name in the 1970s and 1980s of the professional wrestling promotion run by Frank Tunney in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
History
Queensbury Athletic Club
The promotion, initially known as the Queensbury Athle ...
** NWA United States Heavyweight Championship ''(Toronto version)'' ( 4 times)
*National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc.
Founded in 1948, the NWA ...
**NWA Hall of Fame
The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) Hall of Fame is an American professional wrestling hall of fame maintained by the NWA. It was established in 2005 to honor select wrestling personalities, mostly alumni of the NWA. Inductees receive commemorat ...
(Class of 2010)
*NWA Hollywood Wrestling
NWA Hollywood Wrestling (sometimes referred to as NWA Los Angeles) was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Los Angeles, California in the United States that promoted professional wrestling matches throughout Southern California. It ...
**NWA Americas Heavyweight Championship
The NWA Americas Heavyweight Championship was the top singles championship in the National Wrestling Alliance's Los Angeles territory, known officially as NWA Hollywood Wrestling, from 1968 until the promotion closed in 1982. The title was first es ...
(2 times
"2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...
)
*Pro Wrestling Illustrated
''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publish ...
**PWI Most Hated Wrestler of the Year
This is a list of both active and inactive ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' awards which are voted on by ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') readers every year from 1972 onwards, expanding to more categories in later years.
Unlike other wrestling ...
(1972)
**PWI ranked him #368 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years
''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publi ...
" in 2003
*Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum
The Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (PWHF) and Museum is an American professional wrestling hall of fame and museum located in Wichita Falls, Texas currently closed to water leaks. The museum was founded by Tony Vellano in 1999, and was previo ...
**Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (Class of 2011)
*World Class Championship Wrestling
World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), later known as the World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA) (1986–1991) was an American professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter Ed ...
**NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship
The NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling title that has existed since the 1930s. Though its exact date of creation isn't known, it is among the oldest championships used in professional wrestling today. The title has us ...
( 1 time)[*]
* World Wide Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Entertainment
**WWWF United States Heavyweight Championship
The WWWF United States Heavyweight Championship was a singles title used sporadically in the World Wide Wrestling Federation between 1960 and 1976. During the variable periods in which it was used, the title served as the promotion's secondary si ...
(2 times
"2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...
)
**WWE Hall of Fame
The WWE Hall of Fame is a hall of fame which honors professional wrestlers and professional wrestling personalities maintained by WWE. Originally known as the "WWF Hall of Fame", it was created in 1993 when André the Giant was posthumously ind ...
(Class of 2007)
*Wrestling Observer Newsletter
The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts.
Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four We ...
**Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter (WON) Hall of Fame is a professional wrestling and mixed martial arts hall of fame that recognizes people who make significant contributions to their professions. It was founded in 1996 by Dave Meltzer, editor of t ...
(Class of 1996)
See also
* Big Time Wrestling
References
Sources
*Birthday https://wrestlerdeaths.com/the-sheik-death
*Tributes II by Dave Meltzer
David Allen Meltzer (born October 24, 1959) is an American journalist who reports on professional wrestling and mixed martial arts.
Since 1983, he has been the publisher and editor of the ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON''). He has als ...
, 2004, , pp 83–93
External links
WWE Hall of Fame Profile of The Sheik
The Sheik at Find a Grave
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheik, The
1926 births
2003 deaths
20th-century professional wrestlers
American male professional wrestlers
American people of Lebanese descent
Big Time Wrestling (Detroit)
Sportspeople from Lansing, Michigan
Professional wrestlers from Michigan
Professional wrestling managers and valets
Professional wrestling trainers
Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum
Professional wrestling promoters
People from Williamston, Michigan
Sportspeople of Lebanese descent
WWE Hall of Fame inductees
FMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Champions
NWA United States Heavyweight Champions (Toronto version)
NWA Americas Heavyweight Champions
NWA United National Champions