Bruce Prichard on Bringing Back Iron Sheik For Sgt. Slaughter’s Heel Turn, Why His Name Changed

– On the latest Something to Wrestle, Bruce Prichard looked back at Iron Sheik’s return to WWE for Sgt. Slaughter’s infamous “traitor” heel turn. The Sheik had left WWE in 1988 after a short, disappointing return from his firing earlier that year due to an arrest for drug possession, and was brought back in 1991 to be aligned with his former enemy Sgt. Slaughter as Slaughter turned heel and declared his allegiance to Iraq and Saddam Hussein. Sheik was rechristened Colonel Mustafa and teamed with Slaughter against Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior.

Again, Sheik wasn’t long for the company in this run as he stayed allied with General Adnan when Slaughter turned back babyface after SummerSlam. He would drop down the card and left in mid-1992. Highlights from the discussion, and the full podcast, are below:

On bringing back Sheik for Slaughter’s heel turn: “It was stacking the deck. And it was as many things as we could do to really make you hate Sgt. Slaughter. There was a portion of the audience that hated Sarge for being a turncoat. There was also a portion of the audience that some of that heat went to the company, because it was like Sarge was all-American. G.I. Joe. So we needed as many people around him that you could hate, and the more credibility the better. You had Adnan, who was legit Iraqi. Who legit was friends with Saddam Hussein. Then you had the Iron Sheik, who was Iranian. And that being put up there with Sarge, it just — it was a terrible trio. Two guys that could barely walk and work, and then Sarge. So, but it was just stacking the deck and trying to get as much heat as you possibly could.”

On changing Sheik’s name to Colonel Mustafa: “I never got the — I did get it, but I don’t agree with it. Colonel Mustafa was because you had General Adnan. It was like an army. You had Sgt. Slaughter, General Adnan, you needed a colonel in there. Hence, Mustafa.”

On how that run with Sheik went: “I was shocked they got a year out of it, to be blunt. It was — I believe originally it was, ‘Let’s see how this goes. We can use this going into WrestleMania, and we can use this for short term.’ Just to dump a little more heat on Sarge. I was shocked it lasted as long as it did … [Sheik did] okay. I mean, limited. So you knew what you had going in. It wasn’t like he could do a whole lot. You didn’t have the Sheik of old. But it worked for adding more heat to Sarge.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Something to Wrestle with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.