The Iron Sheik, a former pro-wrestler who relished playing a burly, bombastic villain in battles with some of the sport’s biggest stars, died Wednesday. He was 81.

The Iron Sheik, whose real name was Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri, grew up in a small village in Iran where he embraced wrestling in his youth.

A statement posted on his Twitter account on Thursday morning said The Iron Sheik “transcended the realm of sports entertainment”; and called him “a man of immense passion and dedication.” No cause of death has been confirmed.

“With his larger-than-life persona, incredible charisma, and unparalleled in-ring skills, he captivated audiences around the globe,” the statement said.

“He was a trailblazer, breaking barriers and paving the way for a diverse range of wrestlers who followed in his footsteps.”

During his career, he donned curled boots and used the “Camel Clutch” as his finishing move during individual and tag team clashes in which he played the role of an anti-American villain for the WWF, which later became WWE.

The mustachioed, barrel-chested brawler often riled up crowds with his anti-American persona and rhetoric, often alongside tag team partner Nikolai Volkoff, who played the part of a Soviet-era villain.

They won the WWF World Tag Team Championship in 1985 at the first WrestleMania, according his WWE biography.