General Adnan Passes Away At 84-Years-Old

We are sad to report about the passing of General Adnan. He was a fixture in WWF and many other promotions throughout his career. His real name was Adnan bin Abdul Kareem Ahmed Alkaissy El Farthie, but he was known as Sheik Adnan Al-Kaissey and Gen. Adnan during his WWF run.

General Adnan passed away at the age of 84. His cause of death was not noted. His passing was first announced by former WWF and AWA announcer Ken Resnick, who 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.”

General Adnan, originally from Iraq, had a high school friendship with Saddam Hussein. During high school, he was involved in amateur wrestling and football. He earned a scholarship to the University of Houston for football before transferring to Oklahoma State University. In the realm of wrestling, he came close to qualifying for the U.S. Olympic team.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Alkaissy transitioned to professional wrestling under the persona of Billy White Wolf. He primarily competed in the Pacific Northwest and Oklahoma during this period and became a naturalized American citizen in 1964.

As Billy White Wolf, Alkaissy achieved success by winning the WWWF Tag Team Championship with Chief Jay Strongbow in 1976. However, he suffered a neck injury that required surgery, and an angle was created in which Ken Patera, a prominent heel at the time, broke his neck with a swinging neckbreaker, leading to the titles being vacated.

Alkaissy also wrestled for Eddie Graham’s Championship Wrestling from Florida and in Hawaii, where he had a feud with Tor Kamata. He toured with New Japan Pro Wrestling in the mid-1970s, facing opponents like Osamu Kido, Haruka Eigen, and Antonio Inoki. He often teamed up with Nikolai Volkoff and was billed as The Sheik of Sheiks of Baghdad. He also had stints with WCW in Australia.

In the 1970s, Alkaissy organized live wrestling events in Iraq, featuring matches against wrestlers like Bob Roop and Andre the Giant. Despite enjoying immense popularity and financial success from these events, he left Iraq in 1980 due to concerns for his safety. Saddam Hussein, known for his paranoia regarding potential political rivals, made Alkaissy believe his life was in danger after overhearing certain conversations. Consequently, Alkaissy fled back to the United States.

We are sending our best to General Adnan’s family, friends, and fans at this time. May he rest in peace.