The Greatness of Muhammed Hassan

[Boxer 0]

So here's a character that was hijacked and pretty much had his actions dicated at a bad time. But let's back track a bit.

 

In 2004, a character debuts, starts off acting like a face, the character seemed geared towards a babyface. But it was not meant to be. He does start off as a heel. Trying to prove a point. That's all fine and dandy, but did something happen, because the next thing I know is that he is aligned with "terrorists" I use that term loosely and then all of a sudden he becomes what he was against. What was up with that?

 

The potential of this character is what intrugies me. He could've been a decent babyface at the same time he could've been a monster heel, but the London Bombings didn't help him.

 

With that said, here's a few things to discuss.

 

Did you see the potential of the Hassan character to do good or do evil?

 

Did you like the fact that he was ganged up at during the 05 Rumble?

 

Was this character to edgy for WWE TV?

 

After the London bombings what would you do with him as a character?

[Richard 0]

So here's a character that was hijacked and pretty much had his actions dicated at a bad time. But let's back track a bit.

Intresting choice of words.

 

[Ian_Austin 0]

Did you see the potential of the Hassan character to do good or do evil?

 

I think it could have done either of them successfully, but needed to be more subtle. In this day and age, having a cliched anti-American character doesn't work. There need to be more layers.

 

Did you like the fact that he was ganged up at during the 05 Rumble?

 

It seemed a little odd. On the one aspect he's a heel... but on the other, it seemed like they were ganging up on him because of his race more than anything else. The smarter solution would have been for him to interupt several interviews/matches prior to the Rumble, then have him in the ring at the same time as all of them - then you can have him beaten up because he's a loudmouth, rather than have it seem racial.

 

Was this character to edgy for WWE TV?

 

I don't think edgy is the right word. Prior to choking The Undertaker out (poorly thought out as it was, they didn't 'know' the London bombings were going to happen), it was just the usual anti-American character; ableit with a slightly more topical edge.

 

After the London bombings what would you do with him as a character?

 

Renounce it.

 

I'd have him come out on screen, and let the crowd boo the Hell out of him. When he gets there he's acting sombre and downbeat. In the ring, he cuts a scathing promo condemning the attacks. Really brutal promo, almost a shoot. He pledges to people that he's sorry for what he did, and he's not going to stay on that path. From there I'd have him slowly gain acceptance from the locker room - why should they trust him, etc? He becomes a babyface, this guy whose fighting for respect. The Undertaker destroys him at the GAB (naturally), but he takes the beating. After the match he asks for a handshake, but doesn't get it. So then you do a few months of him asking for respect. Put him in a feud with someone like Mark Henry, where he takes real beatings but keeps coming back. Then, when the feud's over, have The Undertaker come out. He shakes the guy's hand in the middle of the ring, endorsing him.

[Jingus 0]

The main problem with Hassan and Daivari is that, in today's world, too many people are gonna be pissed off at exploitation of real-world events just in order to get heat on a heel. That's been one of wrestling's great weaknesses in the age of political correctness; they simply don't care if they offend anyone, and then they get perplexed as to why the mainstream public treats them like a bad joke. They'd already gone through an earlier and milder form of this back when they did Sgt. Slaughter's "Iraqi turncoat" heel turn in 1991, which not only angered many people but also did relatively terrible business as well.

 

Hassan had character potential in one specific way: he was supposed to be an born-&-bred American citizen, not an actual Middle Easterner. Unfortunately, the company seemed to put that in there more to cover their ass in case of controversy instead of anything else. ("But they're NOT terrorists, they're Americans who are dissatisfied with the current political zeitgeist! We don't order our fans to boo them!") They never played it up as part of his character, and it was only mentioned this in Hassan's earlier promos. Sure enough, way too quickly they had Hassan and Daivari both playing standard evil towelhead characters, practically identical to what the Iron Sheik had been doing decades earlier.

 

This eventually devolved to the batshit insane decision to not only run a complete terrorist angle (choking out Undertaker with piano wire in reference to the recent beheadings, an unconcious Daivari being carried out by masked Mohammedans like the body of a dead martyr), but also the even batshittier insaner decision to leave the segment in the pretaped Smackdown broadcast when the London bombings happened. Don't believe the company's lies that it was too late to edit the show; they had enough time to stick in a Viewer Discretion warning before the segment, which was an awesomely cynical move. UPN was so pissed off that they insisted the character of Hassan never appear on their network again. And for the millionth time, the WWE went into whiny crybaby mode, playing the victim over something which was 100% their fault and easily predictable for anyone who doesn't share their bizarre mindset.

 

And oh yeah, having Hassan be played by an Italian dude who wasn't a very good wrestler sure as hell didn't help.

[Black Lushus 0]

I think the writers just plum didn't know how to handle the character properly, probably panicked and went to the good ol' stand by: evil anti-american! They had a good thing going with him basically being a guy that was tired of being looked down upon because of his heritage. Sure it was edgy, but it was good stuff. I didn't view the Rumble elimination as a race thing at all. He came out and basically tried showing the participants in the ring that he was the shit and they all said fuck that and beat his ass.

[jester 0]

Hassan had character potential in one specific way: he was supposed to be an born-&-bred American citizen, not an actual Middle Easterner.

 

I always thought what would have been cool AND potentially given WWE some mainstream respect if they played that up as a face character.

 

Hassan should have been an American who happened to be Muslim. And he came to WWE to compete just like any other athlete.

 

But a dickish heel character like Bradshaw starts hassling him over his heritage. Hassan emphasizes that yes, he's a Muslim, but he's also an American and he loves his country and Bradshaw has no right to question his patriotism.

 

Unfortunately, that take would probably get lost on a typical WWE audience. It would be "Hey, evil foreigner! BOO!"

[Boxer 0]

I guess the whole Michaels and Hogan feud didn't help either eh?

 

Again, too bad the way the character ended. It could've been something, especially if he won the US title, he could've gotten over as a good heel or face, depending on how he treated the "United States" championship.

 

The promo of his life:

 

 

Dude should've turned face right there and then.

 

Damn fans booing, why? He spoke the truth people.

[cabbageboy 0]

The simple truth about Hassan is that the guy sucked. Let's say WWE is in fact right and he successfully does this gimmick where he critiques America as an Arab-American. What does it really do? Trying to make him a face in that scenario wasn't going to happen, and it's the sort of heel schtick where he might be right but it makes fans uncomfortable and doesn't draw the right kind of heat. Even if it worked better than it did I fail to see why any of it would make fans want to see the guy get his ass kicked. The irony about the whole terrorist angle that deep sixed the character is that the angle did work on that level....after seeing that I definitely wanted Taker to crush this dude.

 

The 2005 Rumble bit wasn't really racist, I always took it more as an idea that everyone on the roster disagreed with Hassan's views and kicked his ass.

 

But at the end of the day, the reality is that Mark Copani wasn't very good. He was a bland, boring OVW style wrestler with no decent moves and his promos were long winded and tiresome. For instance, WHY was the guy supposed to be that great other than getting a blatant push? There was nothing in his wrestling skill, size, whatever.

[Papacita 0]

Don't believe the company's lies that it was too late to edit the show; they had enough time to stick in a Viewer Discretion warning before the segment, which was an awesomely cynical move. UPN was so pissed off that they insisted the character of Hassan never appear on their network again. And for the millionth time, the WWE went into whiny crybaby mode, playing the victim over something which was 100% their fault and easily predictable for anyone who doesn't share their bizarre mindset.

In fairness, a lot of the blame for that angle lied with UPN too, who could've just as easily decided not to air that segment. As you pointed out, everybody knew well in advance that that was a sensitive area, and I think it was actually UPN's idea to put the ticker in there. Not to take any of the blame off WWE, but it was kinda weak for them to come down on WWE like they did when they have ultimate control of what gets broadcast.

 

But yeah, I didn't mind Hassan when he was around. For all you can say about his gimmick, he was probably the only one of the new guys around that time whose push didn't really seem out of place. Back in the day, a lot of us were initially resistant to pushes of guys like Brock and Orton because it seemed as if they had pegged those guys for top spots and were gonna make fans accept them if they had to drag them kicking and screaming (as opposed to a Batista or Cena, whose big pushes really came after fans started reacting favorably). While Hassan was booked strongly out of the gate, they didn't try to make him seem like he was more than he was and didn't try to shove him down the fans' throats. They gave him just enough time to develop an on-screen persona and kept him just strong enough so that by the time he was programmed with Shawn Michaels, he was established enough that the pairing didn't really seem all that far-fetched. Compare that to when Chris Masters was paired with Michaels a few months later.

 

His mic work gets a bit of a bad rap as well. He wasn't Foley level or anything, but he was completely passable and better than a lot of guys who were in WWE at the time.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

WWE edited the entire angle out of International versions of Smackdown. UPN could have refused to air the segment, yes, but WWE could have easily edited the angle out themselves. They had the presence of mind to edit it out of the International versions of Smackdown, and the only reason they didn't do the same for the US version is they didn't think it would cause that much of a fuss.

[Papacita 0]

Not to beat a dead horse, but again, both sides were aware of the risk airing the segment. I agree that comparitively, much more fault lies with WWE, and I'm not disputing that they had the power to remove the segment on their own, but in the event they didn't deem in necessary, it's UPN's job to step in and do something. UPN knew about the bombings, they anticipated the backlash (that they, not WWE, inserted the warnings supports this), and they let it air anyway. WWE shouldn't have put them in that position, but the fact is that they did, and therefore UPN deserves its share of the blame for not handling it correctly.

[Bix 0]

WWE edited the entire angle out of International versions of Smackdown. UPN could have refused to air the segment, yes, but WWE could have easily edited the angle out themselves. They had the presence of mind to edit it out of the International versions of Smackdown, and the only reason they didn't do the same for the US version is they didn't think it would cause that much of a fuss.

It was apparently that they thought Americans didn't care about anything that happened internationally, which was worse.

[Star Ocean 3 0]

Disappointed he never once said HASSAN----CHOP!

[NyqZoo 0]

When I first started seeing the promos I saw it as possibly the best thing ever. There would be a good arab with an evil arab manager. Evil arab cheats so they win matches but does so without the good ones knowledge. Crowd boos them both and the good one doesn't understand why. Then the good one can slowly turn and teach everyone in WWE land lesson about prejudice.

 

I just wish once they would go the non-conformist route instead of the damn jingoism that makes most people embarrassed to watch.

[daileyxplanet 0]

I see Muhammed Hassan as more of a social experiment which Middle America (naturally) failed at.

[Jingus 0]

Why "Middle America"? Was Hassan mysteriously on the receiving end of massive cheers and applause when the show went to New England or California?

[DarKnight 0]

Mark Copani wasn't just a bad wrestler, he was an AWFUL wrestler. I've stated my thoughts on the Hassan gimmick on here before, so I won't go into that again, but if he was a good worker, I would have been able to just ignore the gimmick and enjoy his matches, but the guy was terrible, so that couldn't happen.

[Youth N Asia 0]

Didn't care for the charcter, but it sucked for the guy that they wrote out a storyline for him, it went bad due to other cirsumstances and then they cut him over it

[PILLS! PILLS! PILLS! 0]

In all honesty, I remember nothing about Mark Copani's workrate. How many matches did he actually have?

 

When the company aired the first vignettes, I knew that the WWE would take the most shallow and disgraceful path that they could with the character, which they succeeded in doing.

[bob_barron 0]

I see Muhammed Hassan as more of a social experiment which Middle America (naturally) failed at.

 

How did Middle America naturally fail at it?

 

It's the WWE that pushed him down everyone's throats, quickly turned him into a generic heel and then went over the line with the Taker angle.

 

Read the threads about that stuff from 05, it's great.

[Youth N Asia 0]

I see Muhammed Hassan as more of a social experiment which Middle America (naturally) failed at.

 

How did Middle America naturally fail at it?

 

It's the WWE that pushed him down everyone's throats, quickly turned him into a generic heel and then went over the line with the Taker angle.

 

Read the threads about that stuff from 05, it's great.

 

Yeah, I don't get that either.

 

His first video was about how he wanted to do well and God bless the USA. Then before he debuted they had him go more and more heel over it to where he was a full blow baddie before he even had a match

[Golgo 13 0]

Hassan was far from an awful or terrible wrestler. He was thoroughly average, but not awful.

 

He was a bland, boring OVW style wrestler with no decent moves and his promos were long winded and tiresome.

 

He had some good moves in his repertoire that did the job and fit him well. The belly to back backbreaker and front facelock elbowdrop, which are quite unique as far as WWE is concerned, and while overused, a crisp Complete Shot as his finisher.

[DarKnight 0]

To be honest, WWE needed to just stop with the shades of gray crap with him, and just make him a terrorist heel, because like I stated in another thread about him, the fans didn't want to hear this crap of an Arab American who thinks he's descriminated against due to 9/11, because it makes the fans uncomfortable, and the guy wrestled like a heel, so WWE might as well just go all the way with it, and make him a terrorist. He would have drawn more heat that way. Of course then there was the Undertaker angle airing the same week as the London bombings, then he was toast.

[NyqZoo 0]

I don't remember too much "shades of gray" booking. I think within a month he was jumping sergeant slaughter who was wheeled out just for him. I guess if you count his "is he good or evil" videos then maybe but not after he started having matches.

[Youth N Asia 0]

Yeah, shades of grey where?

 

There was no babyface to him what so ever

[Epic Reine 0]

What's funny is that what the WWE did with Hassan is exactly with TNA is doing right now with Daivari with the vignettes and everything.

[The Truthiness 0]

Hassan was awesome, and had the potential to be one of the best heels ever. I still love the Taker angle to this day, when Hassan dropped to his knees and started to pray as the terrorist attacked Taker, that was just fantastic.

[haws bah gawd 0]

Honestly, I just pass Hassan off as an attempt at the cheapest heat imaginable by WWE. The guy got heat because of how he was booked. As someone else said, he sucked ass in the ring, but had decent-enough mic skills to get the gimmick over. As others have said as well, Rumble 2005 wasn't a racist beatdown on the guy. Why is a beatdown that happens to a wrestler who isn't white, perceived as racially motivated? The other wrestlers didn't agree with his views and kicked the crap out of him. End of story. Honestly, I dont miss the guy.

[RepoMan 0]

I loved the first incarnation of Hassan, as a proud Arab-American upset with all the crap he had to deal with after 9/11. He did more or less play a heel, but I think a heel works best when they're they feel like they are 100% in the right and the crowd is wrong for not siding with them. That's how Jericho has been working his character in his feud with HBK.

 

However, it didn't take long to dumb him down to an evil"forgeiner," and then into a right out terrorist.

 

Hassan was an average worker at best, and from all accounts just wasn't that into wrestling. I think WWE got as much use out of him as they could.

[bob_barron 0]

Hassan was awesome, and had the potential to be one of the best heels ever. I still love the Taker angle to this day, when Hassan dropped to his knees and started to pray as the terrorist attacked Taker, that was just fantastic.

 

One of the few times I ever felt uncomfortable watching wrestling. That was just awful, still can't believe Vince didn't think to edit it out