Iranian behemoth takes web by storm, eyes pro wrestling ring
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
He's called the "Persian Hercules" and has drawn comparisons to "The Incredible Hulk," and now an Iranian weighhtlifter has his sights set on professional wrestling.
Sajad Gharibi, 24, who has a popular Instagram account, is nicknamed “Brick Wall the Destroyer” but his friends reportedly say he has a big heart and is a gentle person in real life.
The 335-pound behemoth has become a social media phenom after photos of him flexing, pumping iron and going about his daily affairs have gone viral. His Instagram account has more than 59,000 followers.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Gharibi participates in powerlifting and bodybuilding competitions representing his country.
If he were to become a professional wrestler, he would be following in the footsteps of at least one countryman. Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri had a decades-long career in the World Wrestling Federation, where he was known in the ring as "The Iron Sheik."
The Tehran-born Vaziri was one of the WWF's most infamous heels, squaring off against Hulk Hogan and others and appearing with tag-team partner Nikolai Volkoff at the height of anti-Iranian and Russian sentiment in the U.S.