Post by JoshiQ on Sept 9, 2012 23:04:46 GMT -5
The Sheik
GCW Tag Team Titles x 1 (w/Gene Kiniski) - Total 196 Days
GCW US Title x 1 - 182 Total Days
GCW Match of the Year x 1 - 1965
5 Star Matches x 1 - vs. Lou Thesz 4/24/65
Key Feuds: Bobo Brazil, The Firecrackers, Dick the Bruiser and The Crusher, Gene Kiniski, Chief Jay Strongbow, Wahoo McDaniel, Nick Bockwinkel
The Sheik made his GCW debut on January 5, 1963. It was GCW's first show, and they held a tournament to crown the first World Heavyweight Champion. The Sheik would be eliminated in the first round when he battled Bobo Brazil to a double countout. The two men continued the fight all the way to the locker room. A rematch was held, and The Sheik would take the loss after the Coco Butt. The Sheik used a spike to carve into Brazil's head after the match. The Sheik would become well-known for his attempts to bloody up his opponents and this was just the start. He would take part in the first ever No-Countout-No-DQ Match against Bobo Brazil on March 2, 1963. The Sheik walked away victorious in this match after forcing Brazil to submit using a belt assisted Camel Clutch. The Sheik would take part in a tournament to determine the first United States Champion, defeating Bobo Brazil in the first round by countout after Abdullah the Butcher debuted and attacked Brazil. He would also be victorious in the semi-finals by defeating Pedro Morales, forcing him to pass out in the Camel Clutch. The Sheik's run in the tournament would come to an end when he met Danny Hodge in the finals. Hodge would emerge victorious when Bobo Brazil and Abdullah the Butcher brawling on the outside distracted him from the match.
The Sheik would start teaming with Abdullah the Butcher, forming a team known as the Madmen. Their first match together would go nearly thirty minutes as they faced Brazil and Hodge. The Madmen would be disqualified when Abdullah used a fork on Hodge. The Sheik would get his first shot at the World Title when he faced Bruno Sammartino on May 25, 1963. Sammartino would win the match after fifty-two minutes despite both men being busted wide open. This was Sammartino's first World Title defense after having won the title from Buddy Rogers. On June 22, 1963 Abdullah Farouk debuted as the manager of the Madmen, hired by the Sheik's rich family to keep their son out of trouble. His first match managing the team led to the Madmen being victorious over arch-rivals Bobo Brazil and Danny Hodge. Farouk showed his true purpose by constantly interfering in the match to give the Madmen an advantage.
The Madmen would get their first shot at the World Tag Team Titles on July 20, 1963 against Antonino Rocca and Miguel Perez. Abdullah would once again get the team disqualified after using his fork on Perez. Danny Hodge attempted to make the save for the fan favorites, but Gene Kiniski would come to the ring to prevent that from happening. The Sheik would no-show an event on September 14, 1963 after being attacked by Bobo Brazil backstage. October 12, 1963 was a busy night for The Sheik. The Madmen faced The Crusher and Dick the Bruiser for the first time ever, and lost via disqualification after attacking them with chairs. The Sheik would also cost Brazil a match against Johnny Valentine due to his interference on the same night. The Madmen would become the number one contenders to the World Tag Team Titles on the next show after defeating Crusher and the Bruiser. They would lose their second title shot against Miguel Perez and Antonino Rocca, once again being disqualified, but this time due to no fault of their own. Gorilla Monsoon attacked Rocca with a chair, and Farouk led his men away from the ruckus.
The Madmen would be quiet for the beginning of 1964, but once again got disqualified in a match with Dick the Bruiser and The Crusher on March 28. A rematch was held with no disqualifications, and Bruiser and The Crusher would win the match when Crusher pinned Abdullah with the Bolo Punch. The Madmen would be defeated by Don Leo Jonathan and Edouard Carpentier after the Butcher was pinned by Carpentier's Somersault Senton. The Madmen's manager, Abdullah Farouk, was not happy with Abdullah after the match, blaming him for the loss, but cooler heads prevailed. The Madmen would get their third and final shot at the World Tag Team Titles on August 15, 1964, losing to champions Dick the Bruiser and The Crusher. This was not without controversy as Abdullah the Butcher nailed The Sheik with brass knuckles by accident during the match. After the match, The Sheik and Abdullah Farouk would lay out Abdullah the Butcher and the Madmen were no more.
The Sheik would face Abdullah the Butcher in a no-disqualification match on September 12, 9164, and in one of the bloodiest matches in GCW history, The Sheik would emerge victorious after Farouk sprayed hairspray into Abdullah's eyes. The Sheik would show just how evil he was when he threw a fireball into Haystacks Calhoun's eyes during a match on October 10, 1964. The Sheik would get his second shot at the World Title when Lou Thesz offered to put the title on the line to show he had no fear of The Sheik. Thesz would win the match with a spinebuster slam, but after the match, The Sheik looked ready to throw another fireball, this time into the face of the World Champion, but longtime rival Bobo Brazil made the save. Haystacks Calhoun would make his return to team with Lou Thesz and Bobo Brazil against The Sheik, Gene Kiniski, and Boris Malenko on January 2, 1965, but the rulebreakers would win the match when Malenko pinned Brazil.
The Sheik would get his third shot at the World Title in a 2/3 falls match against Lou Thesz. The Sheik would win the first fall, but lose the two following falls to the champion. Farouk's interference backfired on the third fall leading up to The Shiek's losing of the match. In one of the funnier moments in GCW history, The Sheik faced Haystacks Calhoun on February 27, 1965. The Sheik nailed Haystacks Calhoun with a pair of brass knuckles during the match, but Haystacks fell right on top of The Sheik to win the match via pinfall. On the very next show, The Sheik attacked Lou Thesz backstage which prevented their World Title match from taking place. He would get his fourth World Title shot on April 24, 1965 against Lou Thesz inside of a steel cage. The match would earn the praise of everyone in attendance and get the prized five star rating. After forty minutes, The Sheik was locked in the STF and eventually was forced to submit. The Sheik would be involved in another five star classic on the very next show, only this time he interrupted the match between Bobo Brazil and Lou Thesz.
The Sheik would form a new team with Gene Kiniski on July 17, 1965 to defeat old rivals Dick the Bruiser and The Crusher. The Sheik and Kiniski would win the World Tag Team Titles from Bruno Sammartino and Spiros Arion in their second match together after Bill Watts interfered. This was the first title won by The Sheik. They would defend the titles against Antonino Rocca and Argentina Apollo, losing by disqualification. The next show they faced Dick the Bruiser and The Crusher again, this time as champions, and would win the match thanks to interference by Dr. Jerry and Luke Graham. It was later revealed Farouk had paid them off with the promise of a future title shot. The Graham Family pulled a fast one and replaced Luke Graham with Eddie Graham for the title match, but the match ended in a disqualification after Dick the Bruiser and The Crusher interfered to get revenge on the Golden Grahams. On the year-end show of 1965, The Sheik and Gene Kiniski defended their World Tag Team Titles against Antonina Rocca and Miguel Perez, but Perez turned on Rocca and joined Farouk's stable.
On January 1, 1966, The Sheik and Gene Kiniski succeeded in defending the titles against Dick the Bruiser and The Crusher, although they lost the match via disqualification. Later on in the evening, Haystacks Calhoun and Pedro Morales won a number one contendership match for the titles. The Sheik and Kiniski tried to ambush them after their match, but were sent packing. The Sheik and Kiniski had a terrific strategy in the match with the new number one contenders, preventing Calhoun from ever getting in the match, The Sheik forcing Morales to submit to the Camel Clutch. The Sheik and Kiniski lost the World Tag Team Titles on February 26, 1966 to Dick the Bruiser and The Crusher (their second reign) after interference by Farouk backfired. They held the titles for 196 days. They would receive a rematch, but would lose after Dick the Bruiser pinned Kiniski after a lariat. The Sheik suffered a neck injury in the bout, missing about a month's worth of action.
Upon returning to action, The Sheik went back wrestling in singles, defeating Edouard Carpentier after jabbing him the forehead with a pencil. The Sheik would win again in singles action on the next show, defeating Antonino Rocca. On September 10, 1966, The Sheik would face Bobo Brazil as the last defense to prevent Brazil from getting a one-on-one match with Abdulla Farouk, his manager. Farouk had offered Brazil the match, but only if he could defeat every single one of his men in his stable. The Sheik was the last man standing, but he would go down in defeat to his oldest rival. After the match, while Brazil was making threats to Abdullah Farouk, The Sheik threw a fireball into Brazil's face. The Sheik would form a new team with Baron Mikel Scicluna, going back to his old ways of losing via disqualification to Antonino Rocca and Miguel Perez. Later on in the evening, The Sheik would help Abdullah Farouk defeat James Dudley, Bobo Brazil's manager, inside a steel cage which would force Dudley to leave GCW. Dudley was filling in for Brazil due to the fireball The Sheik had thrown in his face on the previous show.
Baron Mikel Scicluna and The Sheik would lose again via disqualification to Miguel Perez and Antonino Rocca, this time due to Farouk's new mercenary, Hiro Matsuda, interfering. The Sheik, Scicluna, and Matsuda would continue their feud with the newly named Firecrackers (Antonino Rocca, Miguel Perez, and Argentina Apollo) on the year-end show of 1966, losing the match via disqualification. Scicluna and The Sheik would lose another one to the Firecrackers, this time in tag team action, when Rocca forced Scicluna to pass out in the Argentine Backbreaker. On March 25, 1967, The Sheik and Scicluna would enter a tournament to crown new World Tag Team Champions, but would be eliminated in the first round by the Firecrackers (Rocca and Perez). The Firecrackers (Rocca, Perez, Apollo) would put the finishing touches on their feud with Farouk's men, defeating The Sheik, Matsuda, and Scicluna in a six-man tag on April 22, 1967 when The Sheik passed out in the Argentine Backbreaker.
Scicluna and The Sheik would be granted a World Tag Team Title shot against Pedro Morales and Dominic DeNucci, despite not having won a match as a team. Scicluna and The Sheik would lose the match, and Farouk was so frustrated after the loss that he cut Scicluna loose. This left only Kiniski and The Sheik as members of Farouk's stable. Kiniski and The Sheik would reform their old team to challenge Morales and DeNucci for the Tag Team Titles, losing via disqualification due to The Sheik stabbing Morales in the forehead with a pencil. A rematch would see Kiniski being counted out, and the champions retaining once again. A third and final match was signed for July 15, 1967, and the team would once again be unsuccessful in wrestling the straps away from Morales and DeNucci. This time it was due to Farouk demanding Kiniski hit Morales with one of the title belts, but it backfiring and Kiniski being the one to get hit with the gold. Farouk slapped Kiniski after the match, but it resulted in Kiniski dropping Farouk with three Backbreakers. The Sheik had already left ringside and did not see his manager being abused. Farouk would leave GCW after this show.
On August 12, 1967, The Sheik would try and avenge his former manager by attacking Gene Kiniski while he was wrestling Baron Mikel Scicluna. The Sheik would leave Kiniski a bloody mess. The Sheik would also get a World Title shot on the show, losing to his old arch-nemesis, Bobo Brazil. A series of bloody matches with Kiniski followed that resulted in Kiniski suffering an elbow injury and missing some time. With Abdullah Farouk gone, The Sheik seemed to refocus and won several singles matches. Gene Kiniski returned and defeated The Sheik inside a steel cage on December 30, 1967 in a bloody war. The Sheik got right back to his winning ways in the beginning of 1967, defeating old rival Argentina Apollo. He would lose a match to Gorilla Monsoon by DQ on February 24, 1968, but before he could maul Monsoon after the match, Haystacks Calhoun made the save. A man that The Sheik had a history with, and also Gorilla's current partner. No further interaction would happen between the two.
The Sheik ran into a buzzsaw known as Pat Patterson on April 20, 1968. Writeups said Patterson gave The Sheik his most decimating defeat, busting him wide open in the process. The Sheik would be out of action for a couple of months before returning in a losing effort against Antonino Rocca. The Sheik threw a tantrum at ringside after the loss. The Sheik would get a shot at the US Title on July 13, 1968 against Chief Jay Strongbow, but would get locked in the Indian Deathlock. Instead of submitting, The Sheik rammed his own head into the mat until he knocked himself unconscious. The Sheik would take another loss, this time to Pedro Morales, and it was beginning to look like The Sheik might be heading downhill fast. As he was throwing his tantrum at ringside, however, a woman came to calm him down. On September 7, 1968, we learned that her name was The Princess. She righted the ship, and The Sheik won his first match in some time against Dominic DeNucci. After the match, The Princess was able to calm The Sheik, stopping him from his normal post-match beatdown. The Sheik would go on a winning streak, defeating DeNucci (again) and Gorilla Monsoon. The Sheik showed a bit of his old ways on November 30, 1968 when The Princess ordered him to attack US Champion Chief Jay Strongbow after a match.
On December 28, 1968, The Sheik would win his first singles title, defeating Chief Jay Strongbow for the US Title. Strongbow was still feeling the after effects of the attack by The Sheik on the previous show, and was easy pickings. Wahoo McDaniel would make his GCW debut and save Strongbow from any post match attack. McDaniel would get a shot at the US Title in his first match, but would only win by disqualification after The Sheik introduced a railroad spike to the match. The Sheik would retain the US Title in a rematch with Chief Jay Strongbow, although losing the match via DQ due to the railroad spike. The Sheik would team with Nick Bockwinkel to face Chief Jay Strongbow and Wahoo McDaniel on March 22, 1969, but Bockwinkel would turn his back on The Sheik, dropping him with the Piledriver, and leaving him to submit to the Indian Deathlock by McDaniel. Bockwinkel did this to force a US Title shot out of The Sheik, and he was granted his wish. Bockwinkel would regret his actions as in his title match The Sheik nearly destroyed him. The Sheik would be disqualified, but Bockwinkel would leave the ring on a stretcher.
The Sheik defended his US Title against a mystery opponent on May 17, 1969, and it turned out to be Pedro Morales. Morales and The Sheik battled to a double disqualification when Nick Bockwinkel returned and attacked both men. This led to a number one contender's match where Morales defeated Bockwinkel. On June 28, 1969, Pedro Morales defeated The Sheik to become US Champion. The match ended when Morales locked The Sheik in a Boston Crab, and The Princess threw in the towel rather than see her man in so much pain. The Sheik attacked Nick Bockwinkel later in the night to release some of his anger. Oddly enough, Bockwinkel was wrestling his old partner, Gene Kiniski, at the time. His US Title reign lasted 182 days.
The Sheik wrestled in the Grand Prix of Wrestling in 1969 losing to Giant Baba in the first round. After the match, The Sheik threw a fireball into Baba's eyes. This would lead to Baba being eliminated in the second round to Bill Watts. The Sheik would get his rematch for the US Title against Pedro Morales on July 12, 1969, but Morales was unable to compete due to injuries he suffered in the Grand Prix. The Sheik was forced to wrestle Johnny Valentine in his place. Johnny Valentine would win the vacant US Title after interference from The Princess backfired. The rematch between the two would see the same result, Valentine retaining after The Princess' interference cost The Sheik the match. On September 6, 1969 The Sheik would lose a match to Gorilla Monsoon by disqualification after he bloodied Monsoon up with his railroad spike. He would also attack Johnny Valentine and Nick Bockwinkel, two men he had recent history with, during a US Title match which led to a no-contest.
Nick Bockwinel faced The Sheik in a Falls-Count-Anywhere Match to try and settle their feud, but Gorilla Monsoon would interfere to get some payback, costing The Sheik the match in the process. The Sheik would defeat Monsoon in singles action, but Gorilla prevented The Sheik from attacking him after the match, yanking the pencil out of The Sheik's hand and poking him in the eye with it. Not much would be heard of from The Sheik for a few months until he faced Giant Baba in Tokyo, Japan on January 4, 1970. Baba got revenge for the fireball thrown by The Sheik during the Grand Prix, defeating The Sheik in just over four minutes. The Sheik's career in GCW would wind down, losing to long time rival Bobo Brazil on January 24, 1970. The Sheik's last match in GCW would be against Gene Kiniski, his old tag team partner. The Sheik would win a match the same way he lost so many others, by disqualification, when Giant Baba interfered. Baba was looking to further his feud with The Sheik, but ended up angering Kiniski. Kiniski and Baba would feud while The Sheik left GCW after this match with no happenstance.
The Sheik would return for just two more matches. The first on September 16, 1971 would be against Bruno Sammartino for the World Title in The Sheik's home territory of Detroit. Sammartino would be victorious after a piledriver. His last appearance in GCW would be on August 6, 1973 against Pedro Morales for the World Title. This match also took place in Detroit and would see Morales pin The Sheik with a crucifix in under five minutes. The Sheik busted Morales open with his patented spike after the match.
