Line #25 Wrestling/EdFarhat


1	[[quoteright:188:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/edfarhat_389.jpg]]
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3	Edward George Farhat (June 9, 1924--January 18, 2003) was an American Army wrestler and soldier who turned {{Professional Wrestl\|ing}}er, promoter and trainer after returning to civilian life. He resided in and first started achieving fame in UsefulNotes/{{Detroit}}, MI as '''The Sheik Of Araby'''. He started in the late 1940s and was a huge star from the 1950s through the 1970s. While best known for his work in Detroit, he was also a major name in UsefulNotes/{{Toronto}}, UsefulNotes/{{Japan}} and seemingly everywhere else he wrestled for decades, drawing money all over the place. Among his in-ring achievements, he was a '''16'''-time [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/mi/nwa/mi-us-h.html NWA (Detroit) United States Heavyweight Champion]], a 1x [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/japan/alljapan/un.html NWA United National Champion]] and a 2x [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/ca/s/hw/ams-h.html NWA Americas (Los Angeles) Heavyweight Champion]]. In 1972, ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' named him "The Most Hated Wrestler," and he was also one of the most ''attacked'' wrestlers of all time, often suffering stabbings. Along with various Wrestling/NationalWrestlingAlliance territories, he competed for [[Wrestling/{{WWE}} the WWWF]], Wrestling/AllJapanProWrestling, Wrestling/{{FMW}}, the WWC in Puerto Rico and many independents. He was inducted into the ''[[Wrestling/TheWrestlingObserverNewsletter Wrestling Observer Newsletter]]'' Hall of Fame in 1996 and into the Wrestling/WWEHallOfFame posthumously in 2007.
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5	Not to be confused with ''Literature/TheSheik'', Wrestling/TheIronSheik or with [[Wrestling/AmericanWrestlingAssociation Sheik Adnan Al-Kaissie.]]
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7	!! "Arabian Tropes":
8	* ArabOilSheikh: His gimmick was that of an eccentric heir to a fortune, royalty in all but name, whose affluence and pampering allowed his antisocial tendencies to go unchecked.
9	* ArchEnemy: Wrestling/BoboBrazil, Wrestling/MarkLewin, Wrestling/PamperoFirpo (who turned face after Sheik burned him with a fireball), Wrestling/AbdullahTheButcher, Wrestling/TerryFunk, [[Wrestling/GeorgeSteele George "The Animal" Steele]], Wrestling/BrunoSammartino... He tended not to make too many friends.
10	** Only semi-{{Kayfabe}}: The Sheik's Detroit promotion had a serious feud with Wrestling/DickTheBruiser's World Wrestling Association in Indianapolis. Bruiser was a close friend of NWA boss Sam Muchnick and had some ownership points in Muchnick's St. Louis Wrestling Club, and never really cared for Sheik. Muchnick actually stopped using DTB in St. Louis after 9/22/72 until 2/15/74. WWA invaded Detroit, which was an NWA member, while the WWA wasn't. Bruiser didn't like the Sheik's wrestling style. Muchnick brought Sheik into St. Louis twice and never used him again. A lot of guys felt that the Sheik [[BadBoss shorted them on their payouts]] and didn't like how Sheik [[ItsAllAboutMe kept himself as the star attraction]] and would [[SpotlightStealingSquad basically squash guys who were getting over.]]
11	* AuthorAvatar: When he was the boss and top star of the NWA promotion in Detroit.
12	* AxCrazy: Always. He once threatened to kill an amateur wrestler who claimed to know "Ed" after snatching him by the throat. There are reports of him chasing fans through hotels while swinging a sword.
13	* BadassTeacher: To his nephew Wrestling/{{Sabu}}, Wrestling/RobVanDam, Rick and Wrestling/ScottSteiner among others. He was even UsefulNotes/MuhammadAli's pro wrestling trainer.
14	* BashBrothers: With Abdullah the Butcher and Sabu
15	* BeardOfEvil: Notably lacked any facial hair during his initial run as a baby face.
16	* [[InvincibleVillain Boring Invincible Villain]]: Became this in the eyes of the fans in the late 1970s, since he was ''so'' dominant that people started losing interest in going to the shows. This is likely one of the reasons why the Detroit territory closed in 1981.
17	* TheCameo:
18	** At ''Wrestling/{{ECW}} The Night the Line was Crossed,'' February 5, 1994, he teamed with Pat Tanaka in a victory over Wrestling/KevinSullivan and [[Wrestling/{{Tazz}} the Tazmaniac]].
19	** He seconded Sabu for his successful match against [[Wrestling/JerryLynn Mr. JL (Jerry Lynn)]] at ''Wrestling/{{WCW}} Halloween Havoc 95'', October 29, 1995, which was held in Detroit. After the match, the Sheik fireballed JL.
20	* CoveredWithScars: His garbage tactics often backfired, leading to him having a scarred up forehead.
21	* DefeatingTheUndefeatable: Anyone who ever beat The Sheik had beaten the unbeatable, since The Sheik rarely lost. The Sheik's longest string of matches one was one hundred and twenty seven! One of his most memorable losses was when Wrestling/BoboBrazil beat him for the United States title belt.
22	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: He started out in professional wrestling the same way he did in the army, keeping his opponent close to the mat with legal holds, keeping his face shaven and his hair short. But he didn't make a lot of money that way, so he went the way of TheGimmick.
23	* EnemyMine: He had such a grudge against Wrestling/AntonioInoki that he offered to help Muhammad Ali fight Inoki.
24	* FeatherBoaConstrictor: He would sometimes carry a python boa constrictor or some other large, powerful snake on his shoulders on his way to the ring. Since The Sheik was a cheater he wasn't above sicking the snake on his opponents either. He would sometimes have to cut his opponent himself when the reptile refused to bite.
25	* FinishingMove: Sleeper hold, [[NameOfPower Camel Clutch]](after Gori Guerrero introduced as la de a caballo).
26	* GarbageWrestler: One of the {{Ur Example}}s, along with Abdullah the Butcher.
27	** ChairmanOfTheBrawl: Of course.
28	** ImprobableWeaponUser: His sharpened pencil
29	** PlayingWithFire: If he wasn't the first wrestler to throw fireballs, then he was the first to become notable for it.
30	* '''[[{{Heel}} HEEL]]''': Perhaps one of the greatest examples ever. He made ''a lot'' more money this way than as the patriotic baby {{face}} soldier, to the point hardly anyone even knows, much less remembers that Ed Farhat the star football player army wrestler ever existed.
31	** ForeignWrestlingHeel: Billed from UsefulNotes/{{Syria}}.
32	* {{Kayfabe}}: He was one of the most rigid adherents to it.
33	** DoNotCallMePaul: Wouldn't respond to being called "Ed" even on the phone.
34	** TheVoiceless: He would not speak while keeping kayfabe, and he by all accounts essentially ''lived'' his life keeping kayfabe.
35	* LegionOfDoom: He was part of the wrestling's original alongside the Iron Sheik, though the group would eventually be whittled down to just Wrestling/TheRoadWarriors, Hawk and Animal.
36	* ManBitesMan: In the event The Sheik could not get his hand on a weapon and was prevented from throwing fire, he would resort to using his teeth.
37	* TheMentor: To his nephew Wrestling/{{Sabu}} and Wrestling/RobVanDam.
38	* MotorMouth: In the rare event Sheik did speak, it wouldn't be in English and would often sound like gibberish, because of how fast he spoke. Even those who have heard him speak English claim he was nigh impossible to understand because of how fast he spoke.
39	* MudWrestling: He and Tiger Jeet Singh had one so bad it turned off fans and promoters alike from the very idea of "substance matches" forever and probably helped cement Singh's poor reputation in the states.
40	* OneSteveLimit: Sometimes referred to as "The Original Sheik" to distinguish him from The Iron Sheik.
41	* PerkyFemaleMinion: Princess Salima
42	* PowerStable: (In [=FMW=]): The Sheik Army, featuring [=Sabu=], [[Wrestling/MikeAwesome the Gladiator (Mike Awesome)]], Mexican wrestler Damian 666, and the notoriously horrible Tiger Jeet Singh and his son Tiger Jeet Singh Jr.[[note]][=WWE=]'s Tiger Ali Singh[[/note]]
43	* RedBaron: "The Arabian Madman."
44	* RingOldies: Out of necessity. See Money, Dear Boy on the Trivia page.
45	* ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem: He was the promoter of Detroit, or one of them when Wrestling/DickTheBruiser attempted to expand into the city. He broke several "rules" of wrestling promoting and made lots of money, but eventually burned out Detroit for both himself and Bruiser, proving why promoters followed rules regarding GarbageWrestling.
46	* SquashMatch: Frequently. He was known for short brawls.
47	* UnderwearOfPower: He would sometimes wear a suit, trench coat or otherwise something more elaborate and less exposing, but when the bell rang he'd always strip out of it, if he hadn't started in his tights already.
48	* UrExample: In 1972, he was the first wrestler to be named "Most Hated Wrestler" by ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated.''
49	* VitriolicBestBuds: With Abdullah the Butcher, since they'd alternate between teaming together and feuding with each other.
50	* WrestlingFamily: His nephew is [=ECW=] legend [=Sabu=]. His son Ed Farhat Jr. was a 3x [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/mi/nwa/mi-nwa-t.html NWA (Detroit) World Tag Team Champion]] as Captain Ed George.

Context Wrestling / EdFarhat