Int'l Wrestling - Montreal #17 Page #2
This is what certainly struck a chord with me. Moreso than even Abdullah The Butcher (probably the closest comparison to Farhat's image), The Sheik seriously scared the living hell out of me when I was a kid. Granted this was the era of kayfabe in its most orthodox form but, even then, no other character came close to eliciting a true reaction of fear and terror than The Sheik. Of course, a good part of that had to do with his crazed actions in the ring. He didn't wrestle so much as assault his opponents. And unlike Abdullah, whose foreign object arsenal consisted mainly of steel chairs, taped forks and/or pencils, The Sheik also actually threw fire at his foes!
Sure, he was using that old magician's trick with flash paper, but I certainly didn't know that at the time.
Perhaps the most effective aspect of his persona was the fact that The Sheik never cut a promo. Practically unthinkable in this day and age (even WWE's Kane was eventually forced to take to the mic), Farhat let his manager do what talking was necessary to further the storylines. This only added to the mystery of his character and, although Abdullah never talked either, The Sheik augmented his persona by actually muttering a few incomprehensible phrases in Arabic while rolling his eyes upwards as if in some sort of evil trance. He'd probably have even foamed at the mouth if he could've managed it on a regular basis. Again, I believe this minimal communication with the audience made him a more effective character than Abdullah.As the 1960's gave way to the 1970's, the "blood and mayhem" era of pro wrestling was in full swing and The Sheik was right at the forefront of it all. In many territories, ultra-violent action replete with almost endless bloodletting was the major drawing card decades before the style was refined and re-dubbed "hardcore" in Japan and ECW. It was during this period that Ed Farhat really carved (in some cases, quite literally) a name for himself throughout North America. Fans flocked to the arenas to see what the "madman from Syria" was going to do next. The Sheik's heat was so intense that a good many promoters, despite his almost guaranteed drawing power, wouldn't book him in their cities for fear that his antics would cause fan riots (which, in fact, they often did) and bring the state athletic commissions down on their heads. Since Montreal was already used to street riots of both political and grappling persuasion, nobody was afraid to book him here.
The Sheik returned to Montreal's All-Star Wrestling group for an extended run
in the Spring of 1972 during the height of their famous promotional war with the rival Grand Prix Wrestling group. Ironically, around this time, Farhat (who ran his own territory in Detroit and often exchanged talent with Rougeau) was also involved in a turf war with Dick "The Bruiser" Afflis' Indianapolis-based World Wrestling Association (WWA) company, who had links with Grand Prix. Despite Grand Prix's huge gains in popularity with Quebec wrestling fans during that year, All-Star also enjoyed its best period of success since the great Johnny Rougeau/Ivan Koloff feud of 1968 which shattered box office records at the Forum. Much like the heyday of the WWF/ WCW wars, which saw the two companies dramatically increase the overall wrestling audience, both All-Star and Grand Prix were flying high.With Jacques Sr. and Johnny Rougeau as the top heroes, The Sheik and Abdullah turned out to be a tremendous one-two punch as the lead heels, taking turns at making life miserable for Quebec's first family of wrestling. Add to that the ubiquitous manager Eddy "The Brain" Creatchman as the superlative mouthpiece for the foreign villains and you had one heck of a heat machine. Following a brief feud with Mighty Igor, The Sheik defeated Carlos Rocha (who had earlier dethroned Abdullah) for his second International title in May of 1972. This set the stage for a titanic showdown with the Rougeaus. The first epic occurred on June 12th when The Sheik faced Johnny before over 15,000 fans at the Forum. Somehow, Johnny failed to win and now it was up to brother Jacques. Set for outdoor baseball stadium Jarry Park on July 17th, the co-main event of Johnny vs. Abdullah and Jacques Sr. vs. The Sheik drew over 26,000 fans, setting a Montreal attendance record (that would only be broken at the same venue one year later when Grand Prix drew 29,127 for a Maurice Vachon vs. Killer Kowalski championship bout). The Sheik lost the belt that night but he wasn't gone for long. Great draws have a tendency to be asked back.
But by the time he returned, the astronomical crowds of the previous 18 months dipped dramatically as 1973 drew to a close. The strain of the promotional war had now begun to really show for both companies so Johnny
Rougeau recruited The Sheik for another extended run and he was given the International belt for a third time. By the beginning of 1974, he was headlining with Jacques Sr. again at The Forum. The crowds stabilized for a short time but failed to increase. Grand Prix was hit even harder, partly because of terrible in-fighting amongst the wrestlers who were financial investors in the company. Two inter-promotional cards at the Forum in February and March (with The Sheik battling Carpentier) spawned great houses but long-term pooling of resources couldn't be worked out and the situation began to really deteriorate.Having to concentrate on his other commitments, Farhat dropped the belt that Spring (under the guise of being stripped by the Montreal Athletic Commission for violent behaviour) and the title was given, via tournament, to "Tiger" Jeet Singh. A character of somewhat similar ethnic background and disposition, Singh was nonetheless a pale box office draw for All-Star in Montreal compared to The Sheik.
Shortly after the stabilization of the All-Star situation, the distress call now came from, of all places, rival Grand Prix. To give you an idea of his drawing power in this city, not to mention his pull with the two promotions, Farhat somehow managed to dodge a political mine field and entered into an exchange agreement to try and save Grand Prix. The first major card took place on June 11th, 1974 at the Forum and saw The Sheik main event against Grand Prix champion Don Leo Jonathan. The card also included Detroit stars Ernie Ladd, Hank James and Ben Justice. Unfortunately, it was too little too late as this was the final Grand Prix card ever held at the Forum.
In the years immediately following the demise of All-Star and Grand Prix, The Sheik did manage to pop into town a few times for various promoters - most notably for a main event series against Billy Two Rivers in the summer of 1976. But one of The Sheik's more noteworthy accomplishments took place on the silver screen as opposed to inside the ring. Anybody interested in the mid-70's period of wrestling might want to try and unearth a copy of a mock-documentary entitled "I Like To Hurt People," which was made around that time and focused on The Sheik's Detroit territory. Not much of a film per se, it nonetheless contains priceless footage of The Sheik, Abdullah, Creatchman, Andre, the Funks, Dusty Rhodes and the rest of the "Big Time Wrestling" gang. It was released on video during the 1980's wrestling boom and you're likely to dig it up via tape traders or on eBay.
During the wilderness period of Quebec wrestling (1977-79), The Sheik did manage to pop up on TV occasionally for George Cannon's "Superstars Of Wrestling" show, but those appearances were rare. Semi-retired by the time International Wrestling started up in 1980, the new breed of younger stars were beginning to rule the roost and Farhat's seemed dated and stale.
The Sheik's final appearance in Montreal came during the dying days of International Wrestling in mid-1987. With all of his stars gone to the WWF and desperate to put some asses in the seats at the Paul Sauve Centre, promoter Gino Brito called on the then-62 year old Farhat to come in and try to generate some heat one last time. Sadly, it was not to be. Despite dying his hair jet black for the occasion (Farhat sported with his natural graying hair as far back as the 70's), the man who showed up that night to obliterate young jobber Yvon Laverdure was, quite understandably, a mere shell of his former self.
Amazingly, Farhat kept making appearances on independent cards and in Japan well into the 1990's. Even though he'd always relied on mayhem rather than pure athletic skills, it was still incredible to think he could pull it off at that age. Nevertheless, The Sheik will always be fondly remembered by us old school fans in Montreal as a great character, wild performer and one of the greatest wrestling box office draws this city ever saw.
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Those mysterious masked men in Montreal.