Adnan Al-Kaissie

Adnan Bin Abdulkareem Ahmed Alkaissy El Farthie (born March 1, 1939) better known professionally as Adnan Al-Kaissie is a former professional wrestler and a manager best known as Sheik Adnan Al-Kaissy, Billy White Wolf or General Adnan.

Career

Adnan El Kassey was born Adnan Bin Abdulkareem Ahmed Alkaissy El Farthie in Baghdad,Iraq. According to his biography he came from a fairly distinguished family, with his father being an imam or Muslim holy man. One of his high school classmates was a young Saddam Hussein (again according to the autobiography). He had an amateur wrestling career in Iraq and went to Oklahoma State University, starting to wrestle in the state of Oklahoma in 1959, as "Adnan Kaissey".

Kassey wrestled for Pacific Northwest Wrestling in the 1960s and in the World Wide Wrestling Federation in the 1970s under a Native American gimmick as Billy White Wolf and won the World Tag Team Titles with Chief Jay Strongbow.

During the 1970's, he took pro wrestling to Iraq under the direction of Saddam Hussein. In one such match, he defeated Andre The Giant in Baghdad.

In 1978, he wrestled in Hawaii and was the master of the "Indian Death Match" until his arch-rival, Tor Kamata, defeated him.

Not long after this he returned briefly to Iraq with the intent of introducing pro wrestling there. By this time his old classmate Saddam was ruler of the country. By his own account, it was a difficult time, for although Kaissey was very popular and had some success introducing pro wrestling to Iraq, Saddam was already becoming paranoid about potential rivals, and he saw Kaissey in this light. Kaissey fled back to the US and never returned, though he'd kept touch with his family in Baghdad.

In 1981, with tensions between the US and Middle East running high, he debuted in the American Wrestling Association as "Sheik Adnan El Kaissey" and teamed with "Crusher" Jerry Blackwell. He had to quit wrestling when he was injured by Ken Patera but he stayed there until it folded in early 1991 as a heel manager.

In the WWF in 1991, he allied with Sgt. Slaughter and the Iron Sheik as General Adnan in their pro-Iraqi gimmick that feuded with Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior.

He formerly managed his own company, the World All-Star Wrestling Alliance, that he co-owned with Ken Patera.

On November 22, 2006, he appeared on FOX News Channel's Hannity & Colmes describing his encounters with a young Saddam Hussein.

Championships/Accomplishments

• 1-Time WWWF World Tag Team Champion (with Jay Strongbow)
• 1-Time AWA World Tag Team Champion (with Jerry Blackwell)
• 1-Time NWA World Tag Team Champion (Texas version) (with Hogan Wharton)
• 1-Time NWA United States Heavyweight Champion (Hawaii version)
• 1-Time NWA Texas Heavyweight Champion
• 2-Time NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Champion
• 4-Time NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Champion (with Shag Thomas, Pepper Martin, Bearcat Wright and Johnny War Eagle)
• 1-Time NWA Hawaii Tag Team Champion (with Peter Maivia)
• Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) ranked him # 410 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003.

Wrestlers Managed by Kassey

• King Kong Brody
• Sgt. Slaughter
• Iron Sheik
• Superstar Billy Graham
• Bobby Duncum
• Chris Markoff
• Boris Zhukov
• Jerry Blackwell
• Ivan Koloff
• Alexis Smirnoff
• Mr. Saito
• Ken Patera
• Jonnie Stewart
• Masked Superstar
• Abdullah the Butcher
• Kamala
• Nord the Barbarian
• King Tonga
• Stanislaus Ustinov
• Teijho Khan
• Luke Graham
• Leilani Kai
• Bob Orton, Jr.
• Hercules Hernandez
• Mr. Hughes

Other Gimmicks

• Adnan El Kaissie
• Adnon Kaissie
• Adnan El Kassey
• Shiek Adnan El Kassey
• Shiek Adana El Kaissie
• General Adnan
• Billy White Wolf

Autobiography

On June 30, 2005 Triumph Books published his memoirs in The Sheik of Baghdad: Tales of Celebrity and Terror from Pro Wrestling's General Adnan.