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The Iron Sheik’s Persian Club Challenge

Posted on Saturday, February 22nd, 2014 by John Wood

he Iron Sheik's Persian Club Challenge

Many oldschool Pro-Wrestlers had their own strength challenge to confound their opponents and sometimes members of the crowd.
The Iron Sheik had “The Persian Club” challenge where he offered $2000 to all comers if they swung a pair of “75 pound” traditional meels for as many reps as he could.

To my knowledge The Sheik was never beaten, and what’s more, Sheik used the Persian Club Challenge to injure then-champion Bob Backlund before their title match back in ’83 (it wasn’t the first time he used the clubs to get the upper hand against his opponents either, see below.)

He’s a crafty one, that Sheik.

Also of note is the Takhteh Shena (traditional Zurkhaneh pushup board) at his feet. Before his pro-wrestling gig, the Sheik was a bonafide stud on the amateur mat and competed for the Iranian Greco-Roman team in the 1968 Olympics.

Doug Hepburn The Pro-Wrestler

Posted on Friday, February 21st, 2014 by John Wood

Doug Hepburn The Pro-Wrestler

Most people don’t know that Doug Hepburn had a short professional wrestling career in Canada once his weight lifting career came to an end. Shown above, he even got his own Parkhurst trading card in the 1955-56 set.
Doug often performed feats of strength before his matches, hence the dumbbell by his feet.

Doug’s finishing move was an inverted bear-hug, using his great strength to squeeze the life out of his opponents until they had no choice but to submit.

Whipper Watson Barbell Plates

Posted on Friday, February 22nd, 2013 by John Wood

Whipper Watson Barbell Plates

The list of athletes who had their own line of barbells is a pretty short one, but one surprising example is the great Canadian professional wrestler “Whipper” Billy Watson. Like many “signature” plates, these were mostly available in sporting goods store ~ although they are very tough to come by these days. Watson had many side ventures, one of which was evidently the barbell business. Perhaps the idea came from Doug Hepburn, who used to wrestle and perform feats of strength at shows promoted by Watson.

The Bruno Course of Bodybuilding

Posted on Sunday, March 18th, 2012 by John Wood

Here’s a look at the cover of the incredibly rare “Bruno Course of Bodybuilding” authored by The Living Legend himself, Bruno Sammartino. You can see by Bruno’s thick bone structure that he was a man built for some serious horsepower but don’t forget that he still had to work for his strength.

In The Bruno Course, he covers a dozen or so basic exercises which were his favorites, some “weight” exercises, some bodyweight movements and some conditioning work… simple, but highly effective. You can read more about The Bruno Course in The Dellinger Files Volume I.