You remember Mohammed Hassan?
 

http://sabbah.biz/mt/images/mohammedhassanWWE_01.jpg

Didn't he leave to pursue acting? He was money during his short time in WWE

So I know UPN (or whatever network Smackdown was on at the time) wanted WWE to get rid of this character. So, why didn't WWE just put him back on Raw instead of ending his WWE career?

Probably because of the general backlash surrounding his character/the piano wire incident airing the day of the London bombings. If he stuck around they probably believed they were risking significant negative publicity.

Muhammad Hassan?

I don't remember Hassan. I was on a break.

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:'(

Of course I remember him!

The funny thing is, he gets released yet Davari returned to Raw a few months later...WTF?

Daivari kinda got lost in the shuffle after Hassan left. Nobody cared about him. He was best when he was just a mouthpiece. I think he bacame Khali's mouthpiece for a while too, didn't he?

Yeah he did, and I do miss Muhammad Hassan.

From what I remember he wasn't that good in the ring, but he was a good speaker and definitely had the right gimmick to get heat. Shame he was released though.

It was an amicable end.

He was scheduled to win the title at Summerslam?

WOW.

:nono: I do not like to talk about this subject. such a waste

He was scheduled to win the title at Summerslam?

WOW.

Lol, you've just been Mohammed Hassan rolled!


In all seriousness though, he was used as a scapegoat because of what happend coincidentally on the day of the airing. The only relationship to what happened is the fact that he was playing an Arabic character. The point of his gimmick was that he was an American that was treated differently even though he wasnt Muslim. WWE just completely buried him and it was a loss of a potentially great talent

WWE must've been really high on him to want to put him over both Taker and Batista.

lol wtf at posting that twice.

He was shit anyway, why the fuck were they putting the title on him

Is there any confirmation they were actually gonna put the belt on him or just get a shot at the belt? If he actually did, he probably would have been the youngest champion at the time...

Yeah he did not seem to wrestle many matches from what I remember, that would have been a HUGGE step up

hes from syracuse and used to routinely shop at where I used to work (for non wrestling atire) he was a very quiet and reserved guy so it was always funny to see him on tv and his character be the complete opposite of him. Never had any issues talking about wrestling and his programs, always a good guy

I remember when threads used to get hijacked with his theme

ALLLLLEEYYALALLLLLALLLLALLALALLLLALLALALLALALLALAAAA!

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He was Fucking Awesome... They could have repackaged the guy though...

How can I forget? This forum reminds me of him every month!

Knowing WWE they would have turned him into a disgruntled convience store owner which would have been equally offensive anywho I always thought this guy was pretty good much rather had seen him in the title picture than JBL ugh.

How can I forget? This forum reminds me of him every month!

haha, yeah.

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Probably the last really good, really well written character the WWE came up with. An Arab-American, born in the USA, who plays off of the racist and ignorant members of American society who hate him for being a "terrorist." Kind of like CM Punk, Hassan preached against the WWE fans and was basically in the right with his thinking, but just came off as a total asshole anyways.


Yep, way too smart for WWE fans.

I guess it makes sense that they would get rid of a great character like Hassan, but give a fucking retard like Eugene Dinsmore constant airtime for 2-3 years.

I had a dream a few weeks ago where he came back as a higher power for Nexus or something. I forgot most of the dream but anyways he came back to be a huge force on Monday Night Raw.

Maybe it had something to do with him funding the Mosque in New York City or something like that.

WWE could have made him a face from the start I think it was open-ended. The first crowd that booed him made him a heel for his entire run. He was just asking for a chance to make a living in the WWE and they booed the shit out of him forcing him into the evil genius we knew and loved. He was a great gimmick at a great time where the truth wasn't being told about the War in Iraq and in the "War on Terror."

Muhammed Hassan message that not all Arabs were terrorists and the biggest mistake of his character was using those masked henchman and then acting like the second coming of the Iron Shiek in his final match. He could have come back as the "i'm just trying to make a living here stick" and blame it all on the shitty WWE writers like Big D. Johnson.

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One of my favorite Rumble moments.

Yeah really. Tbh I never really saw what the big deal was with him.

Exactly.

The man had amazing mic skills. I remember being amazed in his debut promo against Mick Foley. Basically, the story was that Foley was a Democrat, but Hassan said that he is supporting a horrible war and all that. Foley wanted to fight Hassan for being called out, but Hassan flat out told Foley he would not fight a man he didn't respect.

The biggest problem with Hassan, right from the start, was that he was too smart for WWE audiences. The character was NOT anti-American. He was anti-anti-anti-American, in a way. He was an Arab-American who grew up loving America, watching the same TV shows, getting the same education, having the same American dreams -- but when assholes attacked HIS country -- suddenly he can't even walk down a street in his hometown without getting spat on.

It was a ballsy character that the WWE obviously really wanted to do, but would shy away from little details. The guy was from Syracuse, which would have been perfect for the character; but they changed him to being from Detroit, just to get some geographical distance between New York and the character.

Funnily enough, the guy was booked horribly in the ring. One of his first matches was against Jerry Lawler, and although King knows how to work a great story and such -- he just wasn't the guy to bring out the best in Hassan. Also, it should have been a complete walk-through for Hassan; but King got his licks in. Absolutely sucked. Hassan's promo work and character completely redeemed what was abysmal in-ring booking.

The WWE couldn't stick to the character, either. They gave him the Camel Clutch as a finishing move, and then they did that hijacking thing. I guess the idea was that Hassan was taking a "You think this is what I am? I'll give you that then, fuckers!" approach. But it was still sensational heat-grabbing tactics on the lowest level. I'd have preferred Hassan to have his own moves (I liked his "Finishing Touch" maneuver, in which he would grab his opponent's arm, spin it around and then drive his elbow into the back of their head forcing them to the mat), and to take the higher road.

I remember being quite excited when the WWE went to Canada for the first time since Hassan debuted, and sure enough, the Canadian crowd cheered the shit out of him. But Hassan cut a promo about how it's even worse in Canada. It was predictable, but they could have gone with Hassan being a hero everywhere else.

I can't remember a single great match the guy had, but the character was absolutely amazing, and survived whatever horrible missteps the WWE often took (until their last one). I think Hassan actively chose to leave the WWE to pursue acting -- which is why he never returned and yet Daivari did.

Also, I find it interesting to note on his Wikipedia page that it along with OVW training, Hassan was also trained by The Undertaker? I don't know what that is about; but it might have something to do with why Taker was so willing to put the kid over. If he had beaten Batista for the World Heavyweight Title, then Hassan would have been 24 years old when he won his first World Championship and 79 days or so removed from his 25th birthday. So I think Randy Orton would have still been a fair bit younger, as he had turned 24 in the months prior to his original World Title win, I believe.

To be honest, I was thinking the exact same thing as I was reading this thread. It would actually fit if Muhammad Hassan was helping out Nexus behind the scenes as an organiser for them, or something. I wouldn't have Wade Barrett bow down to him by any means, but a business relationship between the two could actually be made to make sense. Hassan's war on the WWE could continue...

The guy has only just turned 29. If acting isn't working out for him (and it doesn't seem to be), then he's still young enough to return to the WWE. The guy is younger than Wade Barrett is.

Completely missed this guy on my 2003-2006 WWE break.

A Muhammad Hassan vignette prior to official debut:

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Muhammad Hassan's debut segment with Mick Foley:

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A great example of how people didn't "get" the character. The crowd reactions ("USA" chants? Really?), Stone Cold's original comments, Jerry Lawler's annoying commentary and even the comments on YouTube labelling him as a "foreign" wrestler. The guy was Arab-American. It does, however, show how far the WWE were willing to go to push this guy. He got right in the face of Stone Cold Steve Austin, with Austin's kayfabe reasons being there him. One of the most popular performers in the history of wrestling also saw his point. He also got to work with guys like Batista, The Undertaker and Hulk Hogan:

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Muhammad Hassan vs. Chris Benoit. Notice how Lilian Garcia introduces Chris Benoit as "residing in Atlanta, Georgia." Vince McMahon felt that Benoit and Chris Jericho would get more over at the time if people thought they were American. Also enjoy the "USA" chants against Hassan in a match between an American and a Canadian.

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And just for fun, a promo from Mark Magnus in OVW, before he adopted the Muhammad Hassan character:

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