UPN Bans Hassan Permanently

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

I'm generally surprised by all the Hassan hate. To me, he was the most interesting character on WWE tv over the past few months. Granted, I didn't see the terrorist angle, and by all accounts it was in terrible taste, but is that enough to kill the character off?

 

The guy is fantastic on the mic and his lacking in-ring skills seem to be far more a result of inexperience instead of lacking the attitude to learn the craft (Cena, Carlito). Why would you want a 24 year old with immeasurable upside who's over as shit to be buried and removed from the roster>

[SuperJerk 0]

Doesn't change the fact that it's a bitch move on their part. They allowed it to happen, and now when there's a backlash they BAN the character from TV altogether? Nah. Fuck them. Nothing to do with being on Vince's dick or being retarded. It's a bitch move on their part to save face. I STILL can't see why this situation has turned into this big fucking deal, and UPN must've felt the same way to some extent or they wouldn't have allowed this "tasteless, terrorist display" to air on national TV. But they did, and now they want to play this bullshit blame game? Fuck them.

 

I'll agree with you insomuch as that UPN should've never aired the segment in the first place.

 

Over the past few years, many innocent people have been kidnapped by terrorists and murdered. Some of those murders were recorded and broadcast on the internet. This segment with Hassan and his faction is a reenactment of portions of those recordings.

 

Vince McMahon is using real life murders to get a wrestling angle over. Anyone who doesn't find that offensive probably doesn't find ANYTHING offensive, and thus is not a reliable source for what should or should not be allowed by UPN to air on their own network.

[RedJed 0]

The guy is fantastic on the mic and his lacking in-ring skills seem to be far more a result of inexperience instead of lacking the attitude to learn the craft (Cena, Carlito).  Why would you want a 24 year old with immeasurable upside who's over as shit to be buried and removed from the roster>

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Fantastc on the mic - not my my standards. Playing off against the war is cheap heat in it's most mediocre form, Davari could do as good of a job if not better than him. I dont see at all where anyone thinks he can cut great fantastic promos. They all come off boring, tedious, and predictable to me. Not one has actually made me want to see Hassan work a program with ANYONE. How can you make a feud with a hot off the HOF returning Hogan and a very over Michaels boring as fuck?

 

Immesurable upside? Huh?

 

And where are people getting it that he's fucking over?!!! Is he drawing huge quarter hour ratings? No. Did he draw against one of the easiest and most successful babyface draws EVER in Hogan? No. Did people care when he went back and forth with Austin (meaning did the quarter hours soar through the roof)? No.

 

The reality of the situation is now WWE, I think, realizes playing off the controversy wont work, nothing has worked to get this guy over as a draw, and they finally gave up. I would too if I was them.

[cbacon 0]

While it was an incredibly stupid move on the WWE's behalf to execute the angle, UPN are no better when it comes to censoring it. I highly doubt Vince will alter his perception of what makes for 'good tv' considering the only reason UPN is making such a fuss is because of post 9/11 sensitivity. If UPN were to censor the Al Wilson angle for example, they'd have a bit more credibility, even though I don't agree that it should have been. If UPN felt so strongly about the WWEs content, they should just cancel it all together.

[Guest jumpingbombangel]

And for people that are so ridiculously overjoyed that this "awful" storyline might be over, what exactly entertains you all?

 

Hassan in funny boots that curve into a horn at the toe and speaking in a ridiculously overstated accent, spitting on all that is the USA and riding in on a camel would entertain me. Seriously.

 

Don't give me nuanced angsty "I'm an American too!" bullshit. I like my foreign heels stupid and cartoonish so I can call them dirty yellow Japs or damn Rooskies or sand people. That's pro-wrestling.

[snuffbox 0]

Now the bookers have to scramble to fix such a retarded gimmick. It proved itself to be worthless drawing-wise so far but they wanted to keep pushing it...now its been shut down completely. Cheap heat is bad for business.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

The guy is fantastic on the mic and his lacking in-ring skills seem to be far more a result of inexperience instead of lacking the attitude to learn the craft (Cena, Carlito).  Why would you want a 24 year old with immeasurable upside who's over as shit to be buried and removed from the roster>

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Fantastc on the mic - not my my standards. Playing off against the war is cheap heat in it's most mediocre form, Davari could do as good of a job if not better than him. I dont see at all where anyone thinks he can cut great fantastic promos. They all come off boring, tedious, and predictable to me. Not one has actually made me want to see Hassan work a program with ANYONE. How can you make a feud with a hot off the HOF returning Hogan and a very over Michaels boring as fuck?

 

Immesurable upside? Huh?

 

And where are people getting it that he's fucking over?!!! Is he drawing huge quarter hour ratings? No. Did he draw against one of the easiest and most successful babyface draws EVER in Hogan? No. Did people care when he went back and forth with Austin (meaning did the quarter hours soar through the roof)? No.

 

The reality of the situation is now WWE, I think, realizes playing off the controversy wont work, nothing has worked to get this guy over as a draw, and they finally gave up. I would too if I was them.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

While I will agree to disagree in regards to Hassan's entertainment factor, it is really unfair to blame him for not being a draw. NO ONE IN THE WWE today is a draw. The brand draws and that's it.

[OldSchoolWrestling 0]

Hassan should get revenge on UPN.           

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

He should just bomb their headquarters.

 

Then they'll actually have something to complain about. >_>

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

They should have him borrow the tank that DX used to invade WCW and invade UPN. See how that goes over.

[AndrewTS 0]

And for people that are so ridiculously overjoyed that this "awful" storyline might be over, what exactly entertains you all?

 

Hassan in funny boots that curve into a horn at the toe and speaking in a ridiculously overstated accent, spitting on all that is the USA and riding in on a camel would entertain me. Seriously.

 

Don't give me nuanced angsty "I'm an American too!" bullshit. I like my foreign heels stupid and cartoonish so I can call them dirty yellow Japs or damn Rooskies or sand people. That's pro-wrestling.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I'd get a kick out of that too, but the WWE fans would mostly be too stupid to "get it" and on top of it we'd have Muslim/Arab groups complaining to the network that it is offensive to them.

 

Not that all Arabs/Muslims would do that, but every interest group has a minority of whiners to be the "voice" for them, making people think everyone in that group has no sense of humor.

[Guest Trecko]

They should blur him out like they did the WCW title in the early 90's.

 

UPN *pays* the WWE for their programming.  They pay them $700,000 to air Smackdown.  If Hassan truly is banned from UPN, then that's their right.  Anyone who says "fuck UPN" is retarded, or worse, hanging off McMahons balls.  The WWE deserved it, UPN has every right to decide what to show for something they are paying for, and for once Vince McMahon actually is seeing repercussions for his stupid, silly, and ignorant storylines.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Considering I'm one who said "fuck UPN", um, no? I could care less if they pay them and have the right to do it. Doesn't change the fact that it's a bitch move on their part. They allowed it to happen, and now when there's a backlash they BAN the character from TV altogether? Nah. Fuck them. Nothing to do with being on Vince's dick or being retarded. It's a bitch move on their part to save face. I STILL can't see why this situation has turned into this big fucking deal, and UPN must've felt the same way to some extent or they wouldn't have allowed this "tasteless, terrorist display" to air on national TV. But they did, and now they want to play this bullshit blame game? Fuck them.

 

And for people that are so ridiculously overjoyed that this "awful" storyline might be over, what exactly entertains you all? All of you can't possibly be the "I want to see Benoit/Regal/Angle/Benjamin in 3903902490823 minute match with amazing mat work and technology and thousands of moves because that's what it's all about, fuck 'sports entertainment' even though I still continue to watch WWE programming" type? What is so HORRID about Hassan's character/gimmick/storyline/whatever?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

If you cant see that using a storyline based off a very sensitive subject (fuck, even most TV/movie companies havent gotten to the point of using terrorists into their programs with the only exception being maybe 24 off the top of my head) and also the fact of the timing of the London bombings doesn't make airing that "a big fucking deal" then you really are out of touch with society as a whole, sorry to say.

 

Drawing off terrorism does not entertain me. Period. And a character trying to draw heat off terrorism and the Iraq war, again, does not entertain me. And I would be inclined to think neither does it for the majority of this country and others.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

How am I out of touch with society? I just see no reason to take what WWE does beyond face value. I'm not gonna play stupid and pretend I can't see for the life of me why anyone would make the connection between Hassan's actions and "terrorism" like some people have done while defending it, but that doesn't mean that I agree with that. Certain things should be taken at face value. Hassan is an Arab American that attacked a "dead man" with masked men and it had a religious theme to it. That is all I'm taking it as. I'm not seeing that, and gonna automatically say "this is WWE trying to exploit the beheadings that took place". It's a needless reach. And in that same breath, I'm not gonna see this same attack and say "damn WWE, what bad timing, airing that the same day trains in London were bombed." Again, a needless reach.

 

And Hassan's character wasn't simply about "drawing off terrorism". He was an Arab American facing prejudice in a world where Arabs are looked at different because of the actions of OTHER Arabs. He debuted with that and has stuck with that, citing that everytime he's been done "wrong" in his eyes. He wasn't running around with a machete, lopping wrestlers heads off backstage in a turban. He's no different than the UnAmericans were in that sense, but with a deeper story behind it that actually holds weight. If that doesn't entertain you, fine. But people being offended by something that people believe was INTENDED, not blatant, but INTENDED to put terrorist thoughts in your head, and then reacting in such an extreme matter WITHOUT LETTING ANYTHING BE CLEARED UP OR EXPLAINED is ridiculous.

 

And I find it interesting that a lot of people here seem fine with that because they didn't think Hassan was shit in the ring. Funny how people are calling for Hassan's release, but hoping this results in a push for Daivari. Gives me the feeling that if Hassan was putting on ***** matches that people might be just a LITTLE more against potentially dropping him. But that's a whole different story....

[RedJed 0]

The guy is fantastic on the mic and his lacking in-ring skills seem to be far more a result of inexperience instead of lacking the attitude to learn the craft (Cena, Carlito).  Why would you want a 24 year old with immeasurable upside who's over as shit to be buried and removed from the roster>

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Fantastc on the mic - not my my standards. Playing off against the war is cheap heat in it's most mediocre form, Davari could do as good of a job if not better than him. I dont see at all where anyone thinks he can cut great fantastic promos. They all come off boring, tedious, and predictable to me. Not one has actually made me want to see Hassan work a program with ANYONE. How can you make a feud with a hot off the HOF returning Hogan and a very over Michaels boring as fuck?

 

Immesurable upside? Huh?

 

And where are people getting it that he's fucking over?!!! Is he drawing huge quarter hour ratings? No. Did he draw against one of the easiest and most successful babyface draws EVER in Hogan? No. Did people care when he went back and forth with Austin (meaning did the quarter hours soar through the roof)? No.

 

The reality of the situation is now WWE, I think, realizes playing off the controversy wont work, nothing has worked to get this guy over as a draw, and they finally gave up. I would too if I was them.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

While I will agree to disagree in regards to Hassan's entertainment factor, it is really unfair to blame him for not being a draw. NO ONE IN THE WWE today is a draw. The brand draws and that's it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

You just said he was a draw though (or should I say "over" which is the same to me as a "draw", now you're saying he's not and just the brand is?

[Guest jumpingbombangel]

And for people that are so ridiculously overjoyed that this "awful" storyline might be over, what exactly entertains you all?

 

Hassan in funny boots that curve into a horn at the toe and speaking in a ridiculously overstated accent, spitting on all that is the USA and riding in on a camel would entertain me. Seriously.

 

Don't give me nuanced angsty "I'm an American too!" bullshit. I like my foreign heels stupid and cartoonish so I can call them dirty yellow Japs or damn Rooskies or sand people. That's pro-wrestling.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I'd get a kick out of that too, but the WWE fans would mostly be too stupid to "get it" and on top of it we'd have Muslim/Arab groups complaining to the network that it is offensive to them.

 

Not that all Arabs/Muslims would do that, but every interest group has a minority of whiners to be the "voice" for them, making people think everyone in that group has no sense of humor.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

You know, I still say the reason Hassan is even a heel is because he's supposed to be the whiny voice of the minority interest group...and that's pretty dumb even though I'm sure Arab-Americans just love the guy to pieces.

 

If they can have the Mexicools riding out on lawn mowers every week they can have this sand puppy lumber in on a camel. I think it's easier to feed a mass amount of people simple stupid shit rather than angles like these that cause the fans to actually think of themselves (rather than the WWE) as racists.

[snuffbox 0]

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

NO ONE IN THE WWE today is a draw. The brand draws and that's it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Wow.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

They should have the whole SD locker room come out during the match and drag Hassan out of the ring. Then take him out of the arena. Then right before the main event, air "LIVE!" footage (aka pretaped) of the guys throwing Hassan off the bridge or something.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

The guy is fantastic on the mic and his lacking in-ring skills seem to be far more a result of inexperience instead of lacking the attitude to learn the craft (Cena, Carlito).  Why would you want a 24 year old with immeasurable upside who's over as shit to be buried and removed from the roster>

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Fantastc on the mic - not my my standards. Playing off against the war is cheap heat in it's most mediocre form, Davari could do as good of a job if not better than him. I dont see at all where anyone thinks he can cut great fantastic promos. They all come off boring, tedious, and predictable to me. Not one has actually made me want to see Hassan work a program with ANYONE. How can you make a feud with a hot off the HOF returning Hogan and a very over Michaels boring as fuck?

 

Immesurable upside? Huh?

 

And where are people getting it that he's fucking over?!!! Is he drawing huge quarter hour ratings? No. Did he draw against one of the easiest and most successful babyface draws EVER in Hogan? No. Did people care when he went back and forth with Austin (meaning did the quarter hours soar through the roof)? No.

 

The reality of the situation is now WWE, I think, realizes playing off the controversy wont work, nothing has worked to get this guy over as a draw, and they finally gave up. I would too if I was them.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

While I will agree to disagree in regards to Hassan's entertainment factor, it is really unfair to blame him for not being a draw. NO ONE IN THE WWE today is a draw. The brand draws and that's it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

You just said he was a draw though (or should I say "over" which is the same to me as a "draw", now you're saying he's not and just the brand is?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Over does not equal draw in my book. A character that is over receives a strong reaction from the fans, be it positive or negative. Hassan receives a reaction by playing an interesting character. The crowd pops when he comes out and boos when talks. That's over.

 

A draw denotes someone who makes money for the company, of which there are none on the current roster. WWE shows and PPVs make money because of the brand name, and not any single character.

[The Mandarin 0]

NO ONE IN THE WWE today is a draw.  The brand draws and that's it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

What? Would that imply that everyone comes to see the scratch logo on the ring aprons and nothing else?

[cbacon 0]

Doesn't change the fact that it's a bitch move on their part. They allowed it to happen, and now when there's a backlash they BAN the character from TV altogether? Nah. Fuck them. Nothing to do with being on Vince's dick or being retarded. It's a bitch move on their part to save face. I STILL can't see why this situation has turned into this big fucking deal, and UPN must've felt the same way to some extent or they wouldn't have allowed this "tasteless, terrorist display" to air on national TV. But they did, and now they want to play this bullshit blame game? Fuck them.

 

I'll agree with you insomuch as that UPN should've never aired the segment in the first place.

 

Over the past few years, many innocent people have been kidnapped by terrorists and murdered. Some of those murders were recorded and broadcast on the internet. This segment with Hassan and his faction is a reenactment of portions of those recordings.

 

Vince McMahon is using real life murders to get a wrestling angle over. Anyone who doesn't find that offensive probably doesn't find ANYTHING offensive, and thus is not a reliable source for what should or should not be allowed by UPN to air on their own network.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I can think of a lot more offensive things out there then some silly wrestling angle. I've never found anything in wrestling particularly offensive, but I would think that the Katie Vick and Al Wilson angles were far worse. The terrorist angle was tasteless and stupid, but you can only let yourself be offended by something as much as you let it, especially in the jingoistic world that is professional wrestling.

[Black Lushus 0]

he's saying as a whole, not a singular person i.e Hogan, Rock, Austin...

 

Cena is on the way there, but no one is currently at that level...

 

EDIT: this was a response to CM who was responding to cheech...

[Guest Trecko]

What is so HORRID about Hassan's character/gimmick/storyline/whatever?

 

It's basically the same anti-American gimmick that's been used for 20 years?

 

Let's face it, the idea of Hassan being a tweener and the whole "I'm an Arab-American that's been looked at differently since 9/11" direction of his character waved bye bye LONG ago. Now, he's just a complete whiner, and the fans are getting sick as hell of his schtick. They SHOULD push Daivari with the cruisers if Hassan is done, since he seems to be halfway decent at least.

 

You are DREAMING if you think "Mohammed Hassan: World Heavyweight Champion" would draw a CENT. I said he should hold the US title, and that's as far as he should go until he can actually work a match that's more than 5 minutes.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

1.) I haven't been around to see many of said anti-American gimmicks, but from the one's I HAVE seen, and I can only think of the UnAmericans and La Resistance, there has been little to know WEIGHT behind their words. The UnAmericans were a bunch of Canadians thrown together and Regal, if I remember correctly, to just bash America and get heat because there was nothing better for them to do. It was lame, I didn't enjoy it, but whatever. And La Resistance just flat out sucked. Hassan's character actually holds SOME WEIGHT, even though I personally felt he came around a little late at first, but still enjoyed the fact that they did it, and the fact that he MAKES VALID POINTS. I don't know how the old school anti-American heels went, with guys like probably Volkoff and Slaughter, but I'm willing to bet I wouldn't enjoy them as much simply because wrestling has changed since then. But that's just me.

 

2.) Obviously he's not gonna come out every week and say "I'm looked at differently because of 9/11", but the idea is still there. Because of the 9/11 attacks, he's faced prejudice, and each week he's been given more and more reason to feel that the prejudice is there. As far as people getting "sick" of it, I don't know about that, but I'm personally getting sick of watching the live crowd sit and do nothing but wait for a pause so they can chant "U-S-A!" because they're too fucking retarded to understand what's being said.

 

3.) I don't think I've said ONCE that Hassan WOULD be World Champion. I wouldn't mind it to be honest, simply because I like seeing the guys that entertain me have the show centered around them. But that's me. Judging by the crowds response to him outside of "booing him because he doesn't like America", I can honestly say he probably wouldn't. I find that sad, more than anything else. And I'd like to see Hassan with the US title, which is a partial reason why I'm pissed that he's been banned from the show. They could've ran a nice program with him and that title.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

No one is a draw currently, I agree. People have their reasons for coming to the shows. Some for HHH, some for Batista, some for Cena, and so forth. Collectively though, only Cena I think, is the closest to being a draw, but people I know like Cena but wouldn't want to go out of their way to see him, if that makes sense.

[Black Lushus 0]

porter, it makes perfect sense...

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

NO ONE IN THE WWE today is a draw.  The brand draws and that's it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

What? Would that imply that everyone comes to see the scratch logo on the ring aprons and nothing else?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Look, I'm at work currently and don't have time to make huge posts, so I may not be explaining myself clearly enough. There aren't any characters that pop ratings every time they are on screen, or draw huge gates when they work house shows, or see a monster increase in PPV buys when they work a main event. There are instances of characters who have drawn recently (Batista and HHH at WM is a good example, Kane after the unmasking in 2003), but on the whole no one really makes a discernible difference in money drawn for the company. That's also because the WWE prefers it that way, too.

[Fökai 0]

"Muhammad Hassan being killed at the pay-per-view" = oh man, Magnus is going to take a fucking beating on Sunday.

 

Did he draw against one of the easiest and most successful babyface draws EVER in Hogan? No.

 

Please don't give an example that doesn't exist - he wasn't in a position to draw. Until said time where he is given top billing at a pay-per-view, we can only make assumptions as to what kind of a draw he is.

[snuffbox 0]

cheech (fitting name for your mushminded remarks) - The following are DRAWS for the wwe:

 

John Cena

Eddy Guerrero

Rey Misterio Jr

Brock Lesnar (when hes back)

Undertaker

 

And, to a lesser extent for various reasons - HHH, Batista, Angle, HBK, Hogan, SCSA, Big Show, Bradshaw, Foley.

 

These guys have proven themselves to be money draws...Eddy/Rey bring in huge money from the Hispanic demo, Cena has the youngsters, Taker for his image, and Lesnar will draw again when he returns. If an announcement is made that Austin or Foley or Rock will appear somewhere, itll be money. HBK-Hogan will sell some ppv buys no doubt. HHH is still the #1 guy in the company and his absence should see him bringin in bigger numbers when he comes back, if alls done right.

 

Hassan, however, is not and will nit be a draw.

[Guest Trecko]

Doesn't change the fact that it's a bitch move on their part. They allowed it to happen, and now when there's a backlash they BAN the character from TV altogether? Nah. Fuck them. Nothing to do with being on Vince's dick or being retarded. It's a bitch move on their part to save face. I STILL can't see why this situation has turned into this big fucking deal, and UPN must've felt the same way to some extent or they wouldn't have allowed this "tasteless, terrorist display" to air on national TV. But they did, and now they want to play this bullshit blame game? Fuck them.

 

I'll agree with you insomuch as that UPN should've never aired the segment in the first place.

 

Over the past few years, many innocent people have been kidnapped by terrorists and murdered. Some of those murders were recorded and broadcast on the internet. This segment with Hassan and his faction is a reenactment of portions of those recordings.

 

Vince McMahon is using real life murders to get a wrestling angle over. Anyone who doesn't find that offensive probably doesn't find ANYTHING offensive, and thus is not a reliable source for what should or should not be allowed by UPN to air on their own network.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

How? If you can honestly show me how that attack on the Undertaker was a mock beheading or using the deaths to push Hassan as a terrorist heel, I will stand there right alongside you in bashing WWE for doing something so tasteless and offensive. Just show me HOW.

[Just John 0]

They should have the whole SD locker room come out during the match and drag Hassan out of the ring. Then take him out of the arena. Then right before the main event, air "LIVE!" footage (aka pretaped) of the guys throwing Hassan off the bridge or something.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Killing someone should be the new GAB tradition. And this would be better than UT just squashing him. Still think moving him to Raw is the most painless solution, but this is the best idea for getting rid of him.

 

Although, most of the people who support Hassan being "killed off" would also most likely be offended by what you proposed, which is essentially a lynching.

[Fökai 0]

Every single one of them has been in a position to draw, save Mysterio.

 

Until I see a pay-per-view or well-hyped Smackdown headed by Hassan, this "Hassan will/won't draw" argument is silly. Since the brand extension, only Kane in summer of 2003 has done GREAT quarter-hours on a consistent basis. For everyone else, you have to figure out the demographics (Eddie, Rey and Carlito) or give them a ME spot.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

cheech (fitting name for your mushminded remarks) - The following are DRAWS for the wwe:

 

John Cena

Eddy Guerrero

Rey Misterio Jr

Brock Lesnar (when hes back)

Undertaker

 

And, to a lesser extent for various reasons - HHH, Batista, Angle, HBK, Hogan, SCSA, Big Show, Bradshaw, Foley.

 

These guys have proven themselves to be money draws...Eddy/Rey bring in huge money from the Hispanic demo, Cena has the youngsters, Taker for his image, and Lesnar will draw again when he returns. If an announcement is made that Austin or Foley or Rock will appear somewhere, itll be money. HBK-Hogan will sell some ppv buys no doubt. HHH is still the #1 guy in the company and his absence should see him bringin in bigger numbers when he comes back, if alls done right.

 

Hassan, however, is not and will nit be a draw.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

Being a draw means EVERYONE or nearly everyone wants to see you. Let's go over who you seem to think are draws:

 

John Cena: As I've said, he's the closest thing to it, yes, but there are a good number of people who could care less about him (conservatives for example)

 

Eddie Guerrero: Only hispanic people would go see him, but as a heel? Not so much.

 

Rey: Yep, he's a draw for SD in a way, but on a grander scale, no. There's a lot of people who could care less about him.

 

Brock: Where's he?

 

Undertaker: You're kidding me, right? He is like Hogan. They pop for the nostalgia but they won't pay to see him fight.

 

Those lesser extents you mentioned have merit with the exception of:

 

JBL: Remember the "lowest drawing champion in some time" tag attached to him? Yeah I do too.

 

Batista: His "drawing" power will truly be tested this Sunday, that's all I can say.

[cbacon 0]

How? If you can honestly show me how that attack on the Undertaker was a mock beheading or using the deaths to push Hassan as a terrorist heel, I will stand there right alongside you in bashing WWE for doing something so tasteless and offensive. Just show me HOW.

 

It was very subtle, and they could have easily hit him with chairs or something else instead. It's all about the context. While it wasn't totally explicit and obvious to everyone, it did seem like they were trying to draw certain parallels for the sake of the angle. Hassan praying and Davari being carried out like a martyr only exemplified this. It's subtle, so they can easily claim that it wasn't what they meant. That said, I still don't find the angle more offensive than it is stupid. It was highly illogical for Hassans character and I really don't know how they could have gone about explaining it. I agree with everything else you've said regarding the issue though.

[AndrewTS 0]

WWE is probably kicking themselves now for giving the "I'm a WASP now" gimmick to Chavo.