Brutal Michigan Wrestler Featured on New Season of ‘Dark Side of the Ring’

For many fans of professional wrestling the Vice TV series Dark Side of the Ring is a weekly must-watch. The series tells stories from the underbelly of the wrestling world.

A sixth season is set to debut in March 2025 and a brutal wrestler from Michigan is getting a profile - the Original Sheik.

👇🏼BELOW:  Real Names of Current and Former WWE Superstars👇🏼

The Sheik rose to fame in the 1950s working in the Detroit area. He went from in-ring performer to promoter of the Big Time Wrestling, the Detroit-based promotion that held shows at Cobo Hall.

Born Edward Farhat in Lansing, he wrestled regularly into the 1980s and sporadically in the 1990s before retiring.

READ MORE: This Northern Michigan Border Town Once Hosted Smelt Wrestling

In announcing the slate for season 6 of Dark Side of the Ring, the episode on the Sheik:

Blood, Fire and the Original Sheik – “The Sheik, whose violent career spanned fifty years, is revealed by his family and the few who survived his hardcore bloodbaths.”

The episode appears to be the second to be released so that gives an expected air date of April 1.

The Sheik is considered an early creator of what went on to be the 'hardcore' style of wrestling with the use of fire, foreign objects and lots of blood.

Expect plenty of Detroit and Michigan connections in the documentary.

Beyond his Detroit roots, another key Michigan connection is the wrestler's career-long feud with Bobo Brazil. The man who is credited with breaking down racial segregation in the ring and a fan favorite with is 'coco butt' headbutt maneuver made his home in Southwest Michigan in Benton Harbor where he lived until his death in 1998.

Check out this primer on the Sheik from the archives of the WWE: