 Daivari at the 2013Tribeca Film Festival world premiere ofMansome | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Dara Shawn Daivari (1984-04-30)April 30, 1984 (age 41)[6] |
| Relative | Ariya Daivari (brother) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Shawn Daivari Daivari Khosrow Daivari Dubai DelAvar Daivari Shawn Daivari[1] Sheik Abdul Bashir[2] Faris Gotch |
| Billed height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[1][2][3] |
| Billed weight | 189 lb (86 kg)[3] |
| Billed from | Detroit,Michigan Minneapolis, Minnesota[4] Tehran, Iran[2][3] |
| Trained by | Adnan Al-Kaissie[5] Eddie Sharkey[1] Tom Prichard[1] |
| Debut | 1999[1] |
| Retired | 2021 |
Dara Shawn Daivari[7][8] (Persian:دارا داوری) (born April 30, 1984)[6] is an American retiredprofessional wrestler better known by thering nameShawn Daivari. He is signed toWWE as a producer. He is also known for his time inTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling where he is a formerTNA X Division Champion and has also made appearances inRing of Honor andLucha Underground.
Daivari along with fellow wrestlersKen Anderson, brotherAriya Daivari,Molly Holly, andArik Cannon operate a wrestling school called The Academy: School of Professional Wrestling in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Daivari grew up admiringMick Foley andBret Hart. His childhood hero wasShawn Michaels. He participated in his first professional wrestling match at age 15.[6] He started his career in the upper midwest independent scene. He is known for representing Iran for international title matches.
On October 19, 1998, Daivari appeared onNitro as a fan being interviewed byMike Tenay.
He appeared on the February 26, 2003, episode ofExplosion and wrestled atag team match againstMike Sanders andGlenn Gilberti withKen Anderson. He also appeared on the October 5, 2003, episode ofSunday Night Heat asShawn Daivari, losing his match againstTommy Dreamer. He also made four appearances for independent promotionRing of Honor (ROH) between April and July 2004.
Daivari signed a contract with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in August 2004[6] and debuted on the December 13 episode ofRaw alongsideMuhammad Hassan asKhosrow Daivari, later shortened toDaivari.[9] Theirgimmick was that of twoArab Americans who were tired of theprejudice andstereotypes they were receiving after the9/11 attacks. Ironically, Daivari would scream instructions inPersian to Hassan when working as hismanager. In the weeks leading up to their debut, the two men would appear onRaw in vignettes promoting their hatred towards "America". In the following weeks, they would back up their words with actions, initiating a feud withRaw announcersJim Ross andJerry "The King" Lawler.[10][11] AtWrestleMania 21 on April 3, 2005, Daivari and Hassan were involved in anangle withHulk Hogan.[12] While attacking injured wrestlerEugene, Hogan came to the ring and ejected both men from the ring.
The following night onRaw, Daivari and Hassan interruptedShawn Michaels during apromo. The two attacked Michaels and left him helpless in the ring. This led to Daivari's first singles match in WWE, on the April 11 episode ofRaw. Although Michaels was heavily favored, Daivari, with help from Hassan, got the upset win. Enraged, Michaels demanded a match against both Daivari and Hassan.RawGeneral ManagerEric Bischoff refused to grant ahandicap match, but instead ordered Michaels to find a partner. That partner turned out to be Daivari and Hassan's WrestleMania foe Hulk Hogan.
On the April 18 episode ofRaw, Michaels was once again double teamed by Daivari and Hassan until Hogan appeared to make the save.[13] Hogan accepted Michaels' offer to tag and the match was set for theBacklashpay-per-view on May 1.[14] At Backlash, Hogan and Michaels picked up the win which led to friction between the two since Hassan blamed Daivari for the loss. The next night onRaw, Hassan verbally and physically attacked Daivari leaving their future as a team in question.[15]
Both Daivari and Hassan were laterdrafted to theSmackDown! brand on the June 23 episode ofSmackDown! as part of a package deal.[16] On the July 7 episode ofSmackDown!, then General ManagerTheodore Long put Daivari in a match againstThe Undertaker for that night, and Muhammad Hassan in a match against The Undertaker atThe Great American Bash on July 24 in which the winner would be the number one contender to theWorld Heavyweight Championship.[17][18] Daivari wassquashed easily in that match, after which Hassan began to pray on the ramp, summoning five masked men to the ring. The masked men beat and strangled The Undertaker into submission, and Hassan put him in thecamel clutch. Afterward, the masked men carried Daivari off like a martyr. The controversial imagery aired unedited inNorth America despite theterrorist attacks in London earlier that day, but was removed from the Australian and UK broadcasts. This episode ofSmackDown! was unusually taped on Monday and, at the time, aired on Thursday, so the skit was taped three days before the attack occurred.
In late July,UPN requested that WWE keep the Muhammad Hassan character off of their network. WWE complied, effectively removing him fromSmackDown! at The Great American Bash. After Hassan lost in a match with The Undertaker, Hassan was given theLast Ride through an open stage ramp onto a concrete floor.[18] It was reported that he sustained serious injuries and had to be rushed to a nearby medical facility; this was an angle aimed to "kill off" the character.
Although Hassan would eventually retire from professional wrestling, Daivari reported to WWE'sDeep South Wrestling (DSW)developmental territory for training andrepackaging. He returned from DSW and, after working in Minneapolis, made his debut in September 2005 onOhio Valley Wrestling (OVW) television returning as his"Sheik" Daivari persona.
On the November 7 episode ofRaw, Daivari returned, acting asKurt Angle's anointedspecial guest referee in the tag team match between Shawn Michaels andJohn Cena against Angle andChris Masters. During the match, Daivari favored Angle and Masters, who won the match viadisqualification when Michaels was caught with a chair Angle brought in.
On the November 21 episode ofRaw, Angle announced that Daivari was to be the referee for all his future matches, including hisWWE Championship match against John Cena for the title atSurvivor Series on November 27.[19][20]Mr. McMahon rescinded that at thekangaroo court trial ofEric Bischoff on the December 5 episode ofRaw.[21] Daivari remained aligned with Kurt Angle as his manager.
On the January 13, 2006, episode ofSmackDown!, Angle and Daivari moved to the SmackDown! brand, where Angle won the World Heavyweight Championship in a battle royal that same night.[22] Angle later revealed that his contract onRaw had expired, which allowed them to switch brands. Angle was already signed to face Shawn Michaels on the January 16 episode ofRaw, however this non-title match went ahead, but Daivari would accidentally cost Angle the match against Michaels. Afterwards, Daivari and Angle argued, but when Daivarislapped Angle, he wasAngle Slammed over the ropes and down to the floor on the outside of the ring. During the break, on WWE.comUnlimited, an enraged Angle made it known that Daivari's services were no longer needed.
A short time later, Daivari faced his former client in a match, during whichMark Henry, the number one contender for Angle's title, attacked Angle. After the match, Daivari officially announced that he was now managing Henry and continued to manage Henry during hisfeud with The Undertaker. Daivari would not be seen on television in the weeks leading up toWrestleMania 22 on April 2 when, atSaturday Night's Main Event XXXII, he suffered achokeslam andTombstone Piledriver at the hands of The Undertaker onto the lid of acasket.
On the April 7 episode ofSmackDown!, Daivari made his return bringing in the debutingThe Great Khali to attack The Undertaker during his match with Mark Henry.[23] The next week, Daivari officially presented him to the crowd, hyping him as an "unstoppable monster". Over the following weeks, Daivari would accompany Khali to the ring as he attacked variousSmackDown! superstars. This would all lead up to a match with The Undertaker atJudgment Day on May 21, which Khali would end up winning. Daivari and Khali appeared as guests onPiper's Pit on the June 2 episode ofSmackDown!, in whichRoddy Piper made fun of Khali, who supposedly couldn't speak English.[24] Eventually Piper stood on the bottom rope, attempting to match height with Khali, he managed to say: "If this was twenty years ago", before Khali grabbed him by the throat. Daivari made Khali put Piper down and straightened Piper's jacket disrespectfully, at which Piper slapped Daivari, but was then given a chop by Khali. The Undertaker was the original guest on the Pit, but he declined the invitation a few days before. Daivari continued to accompany The Great Khali to the ring when Khali wrestled or attacked other wrestlers, but when The Great Khali became inactive due to injury, Daivari was taken off the road as well.
Daivari and The Great Khali were moved to theECW brand officially when they made their ECW debuts on the October 31 episode ofECW, in which Daivari defeated "The Reject"Shannon Moore.[25] Daivari's originaltheme music was used as well as his Persian rants on the microphone. Afterwards, Moore was manhandled by The Great Khali.[25] Daivari continued his winning streak over the next several weeks with The Great Khali usually following up the contest with achokebomb on Daivari's opponent. AtDecember to Dismember on December 3, Daivari got a victory overTommy Dreamer following aschoolboyroll-up.[26] Dreamer then chased Daivari all the way to the back, but The Great Khali appeared and caught Dreamer, planting him on the steel ramp with a chokebomb. On the January 8, 2007 episode ofRaw, The Great Khali moved to the Raw brand without Daivari. The following night, however, Daivari accompanied Khali to the ring for his match against Dreamer onECW.
Daivari returned to the SmackDown! brand on the February 9 episode ofSmackDown!, defeating thenCruiserweight ChampionGregory Helms in a non-title match.[27] He wrestled in aCruiserweight Open for theWWE Cruiserweight Championship atNo Way Out on February 18, won byChavo Guerrero. He began wrestling in theCruiserweight division. He was involved in a feud betweenKane and The Great Khali, once again promoting Khali in March. His first match against Kane involved him being dragged backstage by Kane's chain and hook leaving his back with multiple bruises. A few weeks later, Daivari had a rematch with Kane and was again defeated.
Daivari returned toSmackDown! a few months later, teaming up withChavo Guerrero Jr. andJamie Noble againstJimmy Wang Yang,Paul London and Brian Kendrick in a losing effort. On the June 15 episode ofSmackDown!, Daivari competed in afatal four-way number one contender match for the Cruiserweight Championship, which he lost to Yang and also involved Shannon Moore and Noble.
Daivari was drafted back to the Raw brand in thesupplemental draft on June 17, 2007. He re-debuted on the June 18 episode ofRaw, losing toJeff Hardy.[28] On the July 30 episode ofRaw, Daivari was defeated byCody Rhodes who had to win his match or else being fired from WWE.[29] Daivari's losing streak continued when he failed to win the position of General Manager ofRaw by been eliminated early in thebattle royal the week after Rhodes defeated him. Daivari then started to get on a roll onHeat (Raw's sister show) being victorious againstSuper Crazy and"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan. His return on the September 17 episode ofRaw saw him lose to Duggan in aflag match.[30]
On October 16, Daivari was released from his WWE contract.[31]
On May 3, 2011, Daivari made his WWE return by competing in a dark match before theSmackDown tapings, losing toTed DiBiase.[32] In 2018, Daivari made his second return to WWE during a segment atGreatest Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia where he and his brother,Ariya Daivari, were driven out of the ring by four new Saudi recruits. He was later hired by WWE as a producer in January 2019, and was eventually released on April 15, 2020, as part of budget cuts stemming from theCOVID-19 pandemic.[33] He returned on June 11, 2021.[34]
Daivari made his debut for Professional Championship Wrestling inArlington, Texas, at PCW'sHeroes 2 Legends event in November 2007. He wrestled J.T. Lamotta and "Jiggle-O" James Johnson in a triple threat match for the PCW Cruiserweight Championship, which Lamotta won. He returned to PCW on February 23, 2008, at PCW'sBig Bang '08 event to again wrestle a triple threat match for the PCW Cruiserweight Championship, this time againstRobert Evans and Aaron Eagle, who won and became the new champion. On September 6, 2008, it was announced by The Bussey Brothers that Daivari would return on September 20, 2008, to team with them to take on Aaron Eagle and a partner of his choosing. Eagle had chosen Action Jackson to be his tag team partner. However, Jackson was injured at the hands of Mace Malone. PCW World Heavyweight Champion, Mike Foxx, who was supposedly suspended and also Eagle's main rival, surprisingly saved Eagle from an attack and announced he would be Eagle's partner. The stipulation was that if Eagle did not win, he could never get another PCW World Heavyweight Championship shot again. On September 20, Daivari and The Busseys defeated Eagle and Foxx when Foxxturned on Eagle and Daivari debuted his newfinisher move, theWMD –Weapon of Mass Destruction (aDDT to a kneeling opponent), for the victory. Afterwards, Foxx announced he would give Eagle one final title shot atSick 'n' Twisted on October 11.
On April 4, 2008, Daivari made his AMW debut in a triple threat match against Wally Darkmon and Robert Evans for the AMW Light Heavyweight Championship. Daivari won the match to become the new AMW Light Heavyweight Champion. During most of 2008, he feuded with Wally Darkmon and on September 12, 2008, he lost the AMW Light Heavyweight Championship to Darkmon in acasket match.
In June 2008, Davari took part in anIrish Whip Wrestling (IWW) event in theESB Arena ofDublin,Ireland, where he lost in themain event to Mandrake for the IWW International Heavyweight Championship.
Daivari debuted inTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) on the June 12, 2008, episode ofImpact! as the captain to Team International in 2008'sWorld X Cup Tournament. Daivari then signed a contract with TNA.[35] On the July 24 episode ofImpact!, after the conclusion of the X Cup, it was announced that he had joined the TNA roster under the name ofSheik Abdul Bashir. Retaining his anti-American gimmick and also adding a bullying mean streak, he quickly established himself as aheel after helpingPetey Williams retain theTNA X Division Championship overConsequences Creed atHard Justice on August 10, as well as delivering promos to drawheat. His official debut match onImpact! was a victory overJay Lethal.
Bashir won the X Division Championship atNo Surrender on September 14, by defeating Williams and Creed in a three-way match.[36] AtBound for Glory IV on October 12, Bashir defeated Creed in another match for the X Division Championship. On the October 23 live episode ofImpact!, Bashir successfully defended the X Division Championship againstJay Lethal. After the match, he attackedRhino after being confronted by him over his political views.
On October 30, it was announced that Daivari was taken to "wrestler court" at the week'sImpact! tapings following arib he played onKip James during a flight they shared. Daivari pulled aside a flight attendant, who then announced over the loudspeaker that Kip was celebrating his 65th birthday. He was taken to wrestler court because it was determined that he hadn't spent enough time in the company to pull a rib on a veteran.Brother Ray served as thejudge whileB.G. James represented Kip andBrother Devon represented Daivari, and agentPat Kenney served as thebailiff for the proceedings. Daivari was found guilty and was required to supply the locker room beer and booze, which he did on Tuesday night after the tapings.[37]
On the November 13 episode ofImpact!, Bashir lost the X Division Championship toEric Young. During the match, Bashir shoved TNA OfficialShane Sewell to the mat after Sewell questioned Bashir and the TNA audience of Bashir's actions during the match. Sewell became enraged, removed his shirt and attacked Bashir, which led Eric Young to hit hisDeath Valley driver on Bashir andpinning him for the win and the championship. However, Bashir was awarded the championship back the following week due to Sewell's interference, thus continuing his original title reign and making Young's title reign null and void. Sewell helped Young to defeat Bashir for the title for the second time atFinal Resolution on December 7, ending Bashir's reign at 84 days. After the match, Bashir bloodied Sewell and tried to leave with the championship belt, but was stopped byJim Cornette who announced that he had decided tovacate the championship. AtGenesis on January 11, 2009, Sewell defeated Bashir in a grudge match that ended their feud.
In July, Bashir formed an alliance with Eric Young,Kiyoshi andThe British Invasion (Doug Williams,Brutus Magnus andRob Terry) known asWorld Elite. They were also later joined byHomicide. AtFinal Resolution on December 20, Bashir took part in the "Feast or Fired" match and was able to pick up one of the four briefcases. However, the briefcase he had picked up included a pink slip, which led to him being immediately fired from the company.[38] Daivari would later say he originally signed a two-year extension with the understanding thatJeff Jarrett would be his boss, but after Jarrett stepped down a month later, he could not see eye to eye with the new management and asked for his release.[39]
Daivari made his return to ROH on February 5, 2010, at the tapings ofRing of Honor Wrestling onHDNet, once again portraying an anti-American heel.[40] At the March 6 tapings, he joinedPrince Nana'sstableThe Embassy.[41] On June 19, 2010, atDeath Before Dishonor VIII, he participated in agauntlet match forRoderick Strong'sROH World Championship. On September 11, 2010, atGlory By Honor IX, Daivari unsuccessfully challengedEddie Edwards for theROH World Television Championship.[42]
On April 15, 2015, Daivari made his debut atLucha Underground asDelAvar Daivari, a wrestler from a wealthy family, being seen sitting in attendance during the night within the audience. On the April 22, 2015, episode, Daivari attackedEl Texano Jr. after Texano pushed him, which cost Texano's team theLucha Underground Trios Championship match. On May 13, 2015, Daivari made his in-ring debut against Texano, which Daivari won by disqualification after Texano attacked the referee. On May 20, 2015, Daivari hiredBig Ryck as his bodyguard, both of them attacking Texano as well as Bengala. Due to the alliance not paying off for Daivari, he attacked Ryck with a steel folding chair during a seven-way match atUltima Lucha.
Daivari didn't appear in Season 2. However, he wrestledPaul London in adark match atUltima Lucha Dos in which he was defeated.
Daivari made his debut inJuggalo Championship Wrestling (JCW) inAt Oddball Wrestling on August 14, 2010, where The Daivari Brothers (Shawn and his siblingArya), lost toThe Ring Rydas. On November 10, 2010, in the first event of the tour, he defeated Dunkan Disorderly inBordeaux,France, to win the AWR No Limits Championship.[43] Daivari made his American Wrestling Rampage debut on AWR's seven-nightTwisted Steel Tour. On May 8, 2011, at Pro Wrestling SyndicateVendetta event, Daivari won the vacant PWS New York State Championship. Several days later at Canadian Wrestling's Elite, he and Ariya Daivari went to the finals CWE Tag Team Championship Tournament, but lost to Danny Duggan andKenny Omega.
In June 2011, Daivari, working under the ring nameDubai, was announced as one of the four team captains for the pilot tapings ofAll Wheels Wrestling.[44] At the pilot tapings on June 29, Dubai was first defeated by RPM (Jay Lethal) in a five-minuteIron Man match and then by Schwagg Dutt (Sonjay Dutt) in anUltimate X match, which also includedAaron Aguilera and RPM.[45] In December 2011, Daivari took part in TNA'sIndia project,Ring Ka King, where he resumed the Abdul Bashir gimmick and formed The Sheiks with his brother Arya, who worked as Mustafa Bashir.[46]
On May 12, 2012, Daivari won the Big Time Wrestling Cruiserweight Championship. In October, he and Sonjay Dutt wrestled forFamily Wrestling Entertainment (FWE) challenging the Adrenaline Express for theFWE Tag Team Championship. On October 6, Daivari defeatedCrowbar in theHouse of Hardcore's (HOH) first show.[47] On a telecast ofPortland Wrestling Uncut which aired on November 3, 2012, onPortland, Oregon, stationKPTV, Daivari lost via pinfall to local star Exile, though the outcome was disputed because Daivari pointed out that he had his foot on the bottom rope when he was pinned.[48]
As of 2018, he has only made a few appearances on the independent circuit, most notably for Insane Championship Wrestling andThe Brian Kendrick's promotion Wrestling Pro Wrestling (WPW).[49]
On October 24, 2020, atBound for Glory, he made an unannounced appearance as a participant in theCall Your Shot gauntlet match under the ring nameDaivari, which he failed to win as he was eliminated byBrian Myers.[50] AtTurning Point, Daivari lost toEddie Edwards.[51][52] Daivari made his return atGenesis as a competitor in the fourthSuper X Cup tournament, where he lost in the first round toJake Something.
In January 2021,Major League Wrestling announced Daivari as the new member ofContra Unit.[53]
Daivari is ofIranian descent as he was born toIranian parents who immigrated to the United States from Iran in the 1970s. He speaksPersian fluently and sometimes incorporates it in hispromos. Daivari is the second of three sons. His younger brotherAriya is also a professional wrestler who currently performs inAll Elite Wrestling (AEW), and was part of theWWE Cruiserweight Division.[5]
Daivari was featured in theMorgan Spurlock directed documentaryMansome.[54]
In October 2012, Daivari gained attention for choking a drunk, disruptive passenger unconscious with arear naked choke on alightrail en route to theMinneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport, after police were slow to respond to another passenger hitting an emergency button.[55][56]
In 2016, Daivari and fellow WWE alumniKen Anderson,Molly Holly, and independent wrestlerArik Cannon founded The Academy: School of Professional Wrestling.[57]
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