And he’s held in higher regard in the wrestling world than I would’ve thought. Today, he has resurrected into a Twitter icon! He regularly spews out vile profane stuff that’s funny as hell at times. I knew he did the job by losing to Hulk Hogan but he wasn’t one of those villains who really got me excited despite the fact that he is a very good wrestler, apparently with a true amateur wrestling background. Back in those days, I never saw the Iron Sheik as anything more than a somewhat “goofy” villain. And both matches involved the Iron Sheik. I was in the Garden for both Bob Backlund’s title loss and Hulk Hogan’s title win. Wrestling became a billion dollar industry some years thereafter but the moment Hulkamania was born was the catalyst. He was the man chosen to take the WWF Championship from six year champion Bob Backlund and then he would also lose the title a month later to Hulk Hogan setting up for Hulkamania, and eventually Wrestlemania. #Iron sheik zoom it professionalThe Iron Sheik was a transitional character in the world of professional wrestling. The wrestlers were the Iron Sheik and Big Swede Hanson. The above photo was not taken at Wrestlemania but at another WWF card in MSG also in 1985. However because Madison Square Garden was sold out we had to watch it via closed circuit television at the Felt Forum which was part of MSG but that doesn’t count cause it’s like watching it on pay per view!Anyone remember the Felt Forum? Or even closed circuit television? □ My brother and I were just teens but we did attend Wrestlemania. And I did get some decent shots out of the cheap Zykkor lens! In some ways, I like the innocence of those times. I tell you man, I was just starting out in this wonderful world of photography and I didn’t know any better. But it’s the kind of lens you probably wouldn’t take even if it was free! □ The Zykkor is the kind of lens you can find today used for like $3.00 or even “free” with a camera. Then again, in 1985 maybe that was like $300? □ It’s the kind of shops people warn you not to buy from! Still I don’t remember that it cost us much more than $40-50. If you want to know how bad it was, we bought it from one of those horrible “electronics/luggage” shops right near 34th Street. I still however, needed a zoom for this shot and I used a super cheap Zykkor 80-200mm zoom. I was usually in the bleacher seats but this time I got a little closer. Sure, it’s not the best photo you’ve ever seen but I was a geeky teen with a new camera and cheap lens. I was a geeky kid who was just blessed with a Minolta X-700 a few months earlier and I took it nearly everywhere. The above photo was taken in 1985 in Madison Square Garden, NYC. To this day, I still think the WWF sounds better than WWE for wrestling! In 1985 they were known as the WWF or World Wrestling Federation, a company which was universally known until they had to change it to the WWE in 2002 due to a lawsuit by the other “WWF” or World Wildlife Fund. Even though the next Wrestlemania is 35, the event began in 1985 which would be 34 years ago. This weekend will mark the 34th anniversary of Wrestlemania, the big wrestling extavaganza promoted by the WWE, aka World Wrestling Entertainment.
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