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Dark Sheik
Sheik in February 2024
Born (1985-07-27) July 27, 1985 (age 39)[1]
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.[1]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)
  • Sheik Khan Abadi
  • Harley Qunt
  • Dark Sheik
  • Persian Tiger
  • Tiger Kid
  • The Shadow
  • Sammy K
  • Bud Stone
  • Buffalo Sheik
  • Snakebite Jones
  • Lucha Magnifico
  • Lucy D
  • Girl Raven
Billed height5 ft 7 in (170 cm)[1]
Billed weight144 lb (65 kg)[1]
Debut2001[1]

Sam Khandaghabadi, better known by her ring name Dark Sheik (sometimes stylised as DARK Sheik)[1] is an American professional wrestler currently working as a freelancer and is best known for her tenure with Game Changer Wrestling, All Pro Wrestling and various other promotions from the American independent scene. She is also the founder of Hoodslam, an avantgarde style promotion based out of Oakland, California.[2]

Professional wrestling career

[edit]

American independent circuit (2001–present)

[edit]

Khandaghabadi made her professional wrestling debut in Big Time Wrestling at a house show promoted on September 20, 2005, under the ring name of "Sheik Khan Abadi", where she fell short to Mike Silva in singles competition.[3] She known for her tenures with various promotions from the American independent scene with which she has shared brief or longer stints such as All Pro Wrestling, Devil Mountain Wrestling, North American Wrestling and West Coast Pro Wrestling.[4]

At Kitsune Gong!, the first-ever event promoted by Kitsune Women's Wrestling on October 22, 2023, she competed in a three-way match for the inaugural Kitsune World Championship won by Unagi Sayaka and also involving Tae Honma.[5]

Hoodslam (2010–present)

[edit]

In 2010, Khandaghabadi founded the Hoodslam promotion as a regular gathering for wrestlers who wanted to perform edgier acts for adults. Hoodslam performances combine the athleticism and tropes of professional wrestling with more bizarre, absurd characters, as well as profanity, sexuality, and public consumption of drugs and alcohol, which are not considered appropriate at mainstream professional wrestling events. As a result, entry to Hoodslam shows is restricted to those aged 21 years or older.[6]

In Hoodslam, as of 2024 she is a former three-time Best Athlete In The East Bay Championship, a former Hoodslam Golden Gig Champion and a former Intergalactic Tag Team Champion, title which she has won on two separate occasions, both alongside Vipress and Anton Voorhees, stablemates of the "Caution" unit.[4]

Game Changer Wrestling (2020–present)

[edit]

Dark Sheik made her debut in Game Changer Wrestling at GCW Effy's Big Gay Brunch 2020 on October 10, where she fell short to Still Life With Apricots And Pears in singles competition.[7]

Dark Sheik competed in various signature events of the promotion. She made her first appearance at the 2022 edition of the Joey Janela's Spring Break, where she competed in the traditional Clusterfuck Battle Royal won by The Second Gear Crew (AJ Gray, Mance Warner and Matthew Justice) and also involving various notable opponents, both male and female such as Jimmy Wang Yang, Joey Janela, Josh Barnett, Kamikaze, LuFisto, Maven and others.[8] At The Wrld on GCW on January 23, 2022, she competed in a Pabst Blue Ribbon Kickoff Battle Royal won by Big Vin and also involving Psycho Clown, Ruckus, Janai Kai, B-Boy, Thunder Rosa and many others.[9]

Dark Sheik competed for various titles promoted by GCW. At GCW The Coldest Winter 2 on February 3, 2024, she unsuccessfully challenged Blake Christian for the GCW World Championship.[10] At GCW Ashes To Ashes 2024 on March 9, she teamed up with Sawyer Wreck as "Xunt" and unsuccessfully challenged Violence Is Forever (Dominic Garrini and Kevin Ku) for the GCW Tag Team Championship.[11]

At GCW Vs. DDT, an event co-promoted alongside DDT Pro-Wrestling on March 31, 2023, Dark Sheik defeated Saki Akai.[12]

Personal life

[edit]

Khandaghabadi came out publicly as a trans woman during a Hoodslam show in 2019.[13] She was born in Alpharetta, Georgia, in an Iranian-American family and has an older brother. Her mother passed away of cancer in 1994. Along with her professional wrestling life, Khandaghabadi said she had also trained in martial arts and participated in the adult film industry.[14]

Championships and accomplishments

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  • Devil Mountain Wrestling
    • DMW Championship (4 times)
    • DMW Triple X Championship (1 time)
    • ACE Unified Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Alexis Darevko
  • Hoodslam
  • North American Wrestling
    • NAW American Championship (2 times)
    • NAW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Alexis Darevko
  • Paris Is Bumping
    • Paris Is Bumping Grand Prize Championship (1 time)
  • Piledriver Pro Wrestling
    • PPW Golden State Championship (1 time)
  • Pro Wrestling Illustrated
    • Ranked No. 184 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 of 2023[15]
    • Ranked No. 116 of the top 150 female singles wrestlers in the PWI Women's 150 in 2021[16]
  • Wrestling Pro Wrestling
    • WPW Midcard Championship (1 time)

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f Sam Khandaghabadi [@darksheikftf] (May 14, 2024). "today while googling me v @THE_KennyK I discovered I have a wiki🤩🥰 I 🫡 those responsible. i have like 1 or 2 teeny suggestions" (Tweet). Retrieved May 14, 2024 – via Twitter.
  2. ^ Internet Wrestling Database (IWD). "DARK Sheik Profile & Match Listing". profightdb.com. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  3. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "BTW Events Database". cagematch.de (in German). Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Saalbach, Axel. "Dark Sheik • General Information". wrestlingdata.com. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  5. ^ Simon, Tyriece (October 22, 2023). "Kitsune Women's Wrestling Gong! Results: Dark Sheik vs. Unagi Sayaka vs. Tae Honma, Willow Nightingale & Konami vs. Mercedes Martinez & Janai Kai". sescoops.com. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  6. ^ Bien-Kahn, Joseph (November 4, 2014). "The Drunken, Bloody Pro Wrestling of Hoodslam Isn't for Kids". vice.com. Vice Media. Retrieved November 30, 2014.
  7. ^ Wagner, Brandy (October 8, 2020). "#TheCollective: GCW – EFFY's Big Gay Brunch (10/10/20)". lastwordonsports.com. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  8. ^ Wolstanholme, Danny (April 2, 2022). "GCW Joey Janela's Spring Break 6 Part 2 Results (04/02) – The Greatest Clusterf*** Battle Royal". wrestlinginc.com. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  9. ^ Powell, Jason (January 24, 2022). "GCW "The WRLD on GCW" results: Jon Moxley vs. Homicide for the GCW Championship, Jay Briscoe and Mark Briscoe defend the GCW Tag Titles in an open challenge, Allie Katch vs. Ruby Soho, Joey Janela vs. Matt Cardona, Jeff Jarrett vs. Effy". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
  10. ^ Perez, Luis (February 4, 2024). "Game Changer Wrestling 2/3/2024 GCW The Coldest Winter 2 Results". pwponderings.com. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  11. ^ Brennan, Corey (March 10, 2024). "GCW Ashes To Ashes 2024 Results (3/9): Atlantic City Strap Match And More". fightful.com. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  12. ^ Wolstanholme, Danny (March 31, 2023). "GCW Vs. DDT Results (3/31): Homicide & Tony Deppen Vs. Jun Akiyama & Tetsuya Endo, Joey Janela Vs. Yuki Ueno, More". wrestlinginc.com. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  13. ^ Bien-Kahn, Joseph (January 17, 2020). "Oakland's Hoodslam makes room in the ring for a trans wrestler". SF Chronicle. Archived from the original on January 17, 2020. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  14. ^ Joseph, Bien-Kahn (May 29, 2020). "How A Pro Wrestler Found Acceptance In A Sport Defined By Machismo". wbur.org. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  15. ^ Ruth, Sondra (September 14, 2023). "Complete 2023 PWI 500 List Revealed, Top NJPW Star Absent". tjrwrestling.net. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
  16. ^ WrestlingTravel (October 28, 2021). "Pro Wrestling Illustrated Women's 150 2021 List in Full". wrestlingtravel.com. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
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