Hoodslam Founder Dark Sheik Talks Being A Trans Wrestler And Dealing With Stereotypes

Founded in 2010 in California, Hoodslam is a popular underground wrestling company that appeals to adults. 

The company was founded by Sam Khandaghabadi, who performs under the name The Dark Sheik. 

Joining Women’s Wrestling Talk, Dark Sheik discussed a variety of topics including being a trans wrestler and how she deals with stereotypes. 

“I will say there is definitely like a shift. Shift maybe a little bit too generous., but there is a change though. People are like… it’s not like wrestling is starting to like be wiser… the fans are starting to be louder on what they want to see. And most of the time, that’s representation and storylines that don’t feel like they have been written by some white man who has no perspective of the people they are writing about. So, you are seeing a lot more of that demand, and it’s always been, you know not to plug Hoodslam again; we’ve always said what separates us is a lot of things, but as a rule, we don’t insult the audience’s intelligence,” she said. “I feel like and I’m not really faulting this, but what’s happened on television, things have become so produced and overproduced that the spirit of wrestling is kind of lost. It’s really shiny and really polished and I’m not saying it’s bad. But the moments of spontaneity and creativity come from the performer I think are really muffled. And they are not able to excel and find themselves. Maybe they are not all ready today, but like Steve Austin wasn’t Steve Austin the first day he wrestled.”

Dark Sheik has a new project she’s about to take on, saying she’s found a church of wrestling. 

On her new religion, she said, “I’ve started a religion. A church of wrestling, I’ve done the government paperwork to make it legit. And it’s the first one that has ever been done. And I’ve seen churches for Star Wars and Simpsons and so many other things. Why not for wrestling? Why don’t we put that love really first, really put it up front and really look out for each other within that?”

Performers such as Peter Avalon, Leva Bates, Shotzi Blackheart, and Brian Kendrick have performed for Hoodslam. 

Thanks to Women’s Wrestling Talk for passing along the quotes. You can view the full interview in the video above.