It’s very easy to look at a personality like the Iron Sheik and make some flash judgments about him. Like many wrestlers from the seventies and eighties,  he wasn’t just a character to the audience. The Iron Sheik was everything he claimed to be. Going head to head with Hulk Hogan, the Iron Sheik helped usher in the era of Hulkamania. He would turn one of America’s heroes against it when he took the real life G.I. Joe, Sergeant Slaughter and made him an Iraqi sympathizer. But by being so hated, he lead a generation of wrestling fans through an emotional journey. But that is only half of his story.

The Sheik is a documentary that debuted last month at the Hot Docs International Film Festival in Toronto that helps fill in all the blanks and brings to light many things that most people who are even fans of the Sheik may not even be aware of. The one that stands out the most that you’ll see in the trailer below is that while he was America’s biggest foe in the ring, he was in fact living the American dream that he escaped Iran to fulfill. Created by Iranian-Canadian twins Page and Jian Magen and joined by commentary from the likes of the Rock, Jim Ross, Jake Roberts, Mick Foley and over 25 celebrities, the Sheik’s story unfolds for audiences as they see there is more to this man than four letter word filled Twitter rants and spitting on the USA.

While you might be able to figure out a logical connection between former WWE stars John Morrison and Chavo Guerrero aligning with Rampage Jackson, things get a little more interesting when you consider the other half of this muscled menagerie is Richard Hatch of Battlestar Galactica and the Winner Twins. But it actually makes sense. One thing people don’t realize is that while the brutish brawlers, the prince of parkour and the youngest of the Guerrero are all former world champions, they all also have a weakness for sci-fi.

It only makes sense that they’d make their announcement at WonderCon, the sister con to the epic Comic Con International, later today. While we do know that it will go down in Anaheim, CA at 7:30 in Room 300DE, that’s where our information runs out. So far, Morrison, Rampage, Chavo and Hatch have all kept tight lipped about any further details.

Journeyman. Ham-n-egger. Enhancement talent. Call them what you will but a jobber is an essential part of the world of professional wrestling. Though not the most glamorous role, the jobber is required for growth in the industry. Especially during the debut or rebuilding stage in a wrestler’s career, they need to be placed in matches against someone who can make them look good. Many times, these enhancement talent are actually more talented individuals than the person they are making look better in the match. It’s one thing to throw someone around but it is a whole different level of talent to make that person throwing you around look like a more impressive specimen than they really are. For a time, there would be a number of matches on each televised wrestling program that involved jobbers

The idea for this editorial came shortly after catching up on Raw on my DVR. Despite being in the era where Raw has turned from a two-hour, weekly Lifetime movie for men into a three-hour Greek epic with Tout™ ads I’ve come to a realization: It’s cool to watch pro wrestling again.

No matter what “era” of wrestling you’re a fan of, there are a few recognizable details that pro wrestling needs to push it from relative obscurity to pop culture significance: fresh faces, exciting action, old favorites, and a household name to tie it all together. And only recently have the stars aligned to provide all four to the WWE Universe.

Those of us old enough to remember the Hulkamania era sometimes talk about the intervening years as if it were the Great War. And in some respects, it was. Once Vince McMahon’s Hulkamania bubble burst, it was on to the lean years of the New Generation. Stricter federal regulations and drug testing meant that lean was taken in the literal sense. The biggest stars of that era were either smaller, more technical workers (Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels) or naturally big stars (The Undertaker, Diesel).

As you may have noticed over the past few days we have posted some wrestling interviews from San Diego Comic-Con. This is our final “lost interview” from SDCC. Hope you enjoy!

Most people would know Shad best from his time at WWE as one half of the tag team Cryme Tyme. But this year, Shad wasn’t at Comic Con to promote wrestling. He was there to promote a graphic novel he has been working on called Assassin and Son. He also talks about how it has been a challenge for him breaking into the world of comics coming from a wrestling background. More can be found about Shad’s work on Assassin and Son at his website.

Check out the full interview with Shad from SDCC after the jump.