Wadi Ayoub (20 April 1927 - 29 September 1976) was a champion Greco–Roman style wrestler in Lebanon and then a

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

, best known as Sheik Ali, in Australia and touring internationally. He was famous for his headbutts and his moves included the "Egyptian Deadlock".

Career

By the age of 22, Ayoub had progressed to being the Champion of

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

. In 1951, he left Lebanon behind, and came to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in search of a better way of life. Realising that, to be successful in

professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

, he needed added weight, he underwent a course of bodybuilding at Dovey’s Gymnasium,

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. He was successful in adding over 40 lb body weight. Additionally, he seized every opportunity to work with freestyle wrestlers and to make himself fit enough for a career in professional wrestling. Among the early wrestlers who helped him achieve his target of becoming a professional were Tom Lurich, Chief Little Wolf and Jim Deakin. In March 1953, he made his debut at Leichhardt Stadium, in an encounter against Jon Morro. After four more contests, Ayoub headed for New Zealand and held his own against the British Empire Champion, Earl McCready. He was signed for a series of contests against wrestlers that were operating throughout India at the time. Some of these included

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, Emil Koroshenko,

Dara Singh Dara Singh Randhawa (born Deedar Singh Randhawa; 19 November 1928 – 12 July 2012) was an Indian professional wrestler, actor, director and politician. He started acting in 1952 and was the first sportsman to be nominated to the Rajya Sabha ...

Emile Czaja Emile Czaja (15 July 1909 – 16 May 1970), better known by his ring name King Kong, was an Australian-Indian professional wrestler and actor born in Hungary in 1909. He was active from 1929 until 1970. He wrestled mostly in Japan, Singapore, E ...

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and

Harbans Singh Harbans Singh (6 March 1921 – 30 May 1998) was an educationist, administrator, scholar and the editor-in-chief of the ''Encyclopaedia of Sikhism''. He was respected for his contributions to Sikh scholarship and Punjabi literary studies and ha ...

. In 1956, he returned to Sydney where wrestling was in full swing. At White City, he wrestled Tiger Ray Holden. The rest of the year was spent in Hobart, Adelaide and Perth, where he competed against such talent as George Pencheff, King Kong and Baron von Heczey. In 1957 at White City, he went to a draw with the Indian, Tarlok Singh. In October en route to Japan for a World Title clash against the Champion,

Lou Thesz Aloysius Martin Thesz (April 24, 1916 – April 28, 2002), known by the ring name Lou Thesz, was an American professional wrestler and wrestling coach. Considered to be one of the last true shooters (legitimate wrestlers) in professional w ...

, he stopped in Singapore for a bout against King Kong for the Malaysian Heavyweight crown. In a fierce contest, Kong was victorious. When negotiations for his visit to Japan fell through, Ayoub decided to stay in Singapore and competed in bouts with Ricky Waldo and Aslam Pehalwan. In March 1958, Ayoub returned to Sydney. At the Sports Ground, he wrestled

Andreas Lambrakis Andreas Lambrakis (Greek: Ανδρέας Λαμπράκης) was a professional wrestler from Greece. Billed as a former "Greek Heavyweight Champion" he was active in Australia during the 1950s and 1960s, and also competed in the World Wide Wres ...

to a draw. He then went to Adelaide and Hobart, where he competed against the likes of George Duane and King Kong. Although he was in demand from overseas promoters, he was ignored by the promoters of Stadiums Limited. This had little effect on his career, as he was soon off on a five-year tour of the Far East and Europe. His first stop was Singapore where he clashed with Emile Czaja, as well as Charles Henry and Akram Pahelwan. From here, Ayoub went to India. In New Delhi he defeated Arjit Singh. His contract was extended a further year to fit in contests against George Pencheff, Bill Verna, Don Steadman, George Zbisko, Dara Singh, George Gordienko and numerous others.

1960s

1961 saw Ayoub in Europe under the promotion of the European Wrestling Alliance (France) and

Joint Promotions The history of professional wrestling in the United Kingdom spans over one hundred years. After a brief spell of popularity for Greco Roman wrestling, Greco Roman professional wrestling during the Edwardian era, the first catch-as-catch-can base ...

(England). He went to Belgium and then Paris, where he wrestled L’Homme Masque, who resorted to foul tactics by hitting him with a microphone. Ayoub retaliated and attacked Masque with such ferocity it took 25 police officers to drag him clear. Ayoub then went on to Belgium where he competed in a tournament against Horst Hoffman, Herman Iffland, Roger Delaporte and Jack Lasartesse, amongst others. He then went to England where he met

Billy Robinson William Alfred Robinson (18 September 1938 – 27 February 2014) was an English professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and coach. Having trained at Billy Riley's gym, better known as " The Snake Pit" in Wigan, Robinson was one of the leadin ...

, Jack Pye, Tibor Szakacs,

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, Mike Marino, George Portz and many others. In 1963 he returned to India and competed against Sucha Singh, Al Rodgoa and Dara Singh. He returned to Australia and made his headquarters in Sydney. He wrestled Lucky Simunovich, Con Paplazarou, Alex Iakovides and Elias Panagos at Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide Stadiums.

1970s

In 1971, Wadi Ayoub engaged in several contests against the reigning New Zealand and British Empire Champion, John DaSilva and came out on top. In other matches, he accounted for Dr Death and El Montana. Although circumstances prevented Ayoub performing with the

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of National W ...

Promotion, (the American promoters were loath to use Australian wrestlers to headline their programmes), the use of Wadi Ayoub in main event matches was a breakthrough for Australian–based wrestlers. In 1972, with

, Ayoub turned back the likes of

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and

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. He returned for another series of matches and again remained undefeated, this time against

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, Don Carson and

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. He was also involved in tag matches with

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and

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against the likes of

Abdullah the Butcher Lawrence Robert Shreve (born January 11, 1941), better known by the ring name Abdullah the Butcher, is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He has a reputation for being involved in some of the most violent and bloody hardcore wrestling mat ...

, Big Bad John and The Tojo Brothers ( Hiro 'The Great' Tojo and Hito Tojo).

Championships and accomplishments

*Middle East Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

References

External links