Dara Shawn Daivari () (born April 30, 1984) is an Iranian-American professional wrestler better known by the ring name Shawn Daivari. He is currently signed to WWE as a producer. He is also known for his time in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling where he is a former TNA X Division Champion and has also made appearances in Ring of Honor and Lucha Underground. Daivari along with fellow wrestlers Ken Anderson, brother Ariya Daivari, Molly Holly, and Arik Cannon operate a wrestling school called The Academy: School of Professional Wrestling in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Professional wrestling career Early career Daivari grew up admiring Mick Foley and Bret Hart. His childhood hero was Shawn Michaels. He participated in his first professional wrestling match at age 15. 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 on Nitro as a fan being interviewed by Mike Tenay. He appeared on the February 26, 2003, episode of Explosion and wrestled a tag team match against Mike Sanders and Glenn Gilberti with Ken Anderson. He also appeared on the October 5, 2003, episode of Sunday Night Heat as Shawn Daivari, losing his match against Tommy Dreamer. He also made four appearances for independent promotion Ring of Honor (ROH) between April and July 2004. World Wrestling Entertainment Various alliances (2004–2007) Daivari signed a contract with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in August 2004 and debuted on the December 13 episode of Raw alongside Muhammad Hassan as Khosrow Daivari, later shortened to Daivari. Their gimmick was that of two Arab Americans who were tired of the prejudice and stereotypes they were receiving after the 9/11 attacks. Ironically, Daivari would scream instructions in Persian to Hassan when working as his manager. In the weeks leading up to their debut, the two men would appear on Raw in vignettes promoting their hatred towards "America". In the following weeks, they would back up their words with actions, initiating a feud with Raw announcers Jim Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler. At WrestleMania 21 on April 3, 2005, Daivari and Hassan were involved in an angle with Hulk Hogan. While attacking injured wrestler Eugene, Hogan came to the ring and ejected both men from the ring. The following night on Raw, Daivari and Hassan interrupted Shawn Michaels during a promo. The two attacked Michaels and left him