Adnan Al-Kaissie AKA General Adnan Dies At Age 84

Adnan Al-Kaissie, also known as General Adnan, has sadly passed away at the age of 84.

News of Al-Kaissie’s death was broken by former AWA announcer Ken Resnick on his Facebook page. Resnick wrote:

“So deeply saddened to learn that my friend of 40 years, the legendary Sheik Adnan Al-Kaissey/Gen. Adnan passed away this morning. May you rest in peace ‘my brother’.” (h/t PWInsider)

At this time, no further information about his passing has been made available.

Adnan Al-Kaissie Is A Former WWWF Tag Team Champion

Born in Baghdad, Iraq, Adnan Al-Kaissie lived a fascinating life, attending high school with none other than Saddam Hussein. In his early life, he was both a football player and an amateur wrestler, with wrestling eventually becoming his main claim to fame. He was the first man of Iraqi descent to compete inside a WWE ring.

After taking a football scholarship to play for the University of Houston, Adnan eventually transferred to Oklahoma State University, where his passion for wrestling took over as his main interest. He broke into the world of professional wrestling in 1959, adopting the Native American character of Billy White Wolf in Oklahoma. He would eventually win the WWWF Tag Team Championship alongside Chief Jay Strongbow with this persona in 1976.

At the behest of Saddam Hussein, Adnan helped take professional wrestling to his native Iraq in the 1970’s, scoring a victory over Andre the Giant in 1971. He would leave Iraq for good in 1981 amidst concerns about his safety as tensions between Iraq and the United States continued to escalate. He had become an American citizen in 1964.

Having returned to the United States, the star debuted the character of Sheik Adnan Al-Kaissie in the AWA in 1981. It was in the AWA that he first managed the Iron Sheik in a match against Sgt. Slaughter.

Al-Kaissie continued to be associated with Iron Sheik and Sgt. Slaughter when he joined the WWE (then WWF) in 1990. Adopting the name General Adnan, he formed an alliance with Slaughter after the sergeant turned his back on the United States. They were later joined by Iron Sheik, who began going by the name Colonel Mustafa. The trio went on to headline SummerSlam 1991 against Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior.

Despite Slaughter’s eventual babyface turn, Adnan continued managing the Iron Sheik until leaving the WWE in early 1992.

After managing multiple stars in the American Wrestling Federation, Al-Kaissie retired from the wrestling business in 1998.

Everyone at TJR Wrestling sends our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Adnan Al-Kaissie during this difficult time.