[Mr. Nerfect]

Originally Posted by Champion of Europa I love it. The promo cemented that the character rules, and unlike a lot of you, I've seen him in the ring. He's brillant.

There are some many posts in this thread I'll like to comment on, but I can't be bothered to quote twenty or so people, so I just repped everyone (I hope I got everyone), and decided to talk about the issues that have come up in this thread.

But the one I'm really eager to respond to is Champion's post. I agree Muhammad is a FANTASTIC wrestler, although I have yet to see him wrestle, I have heard he has a high-impact, impressive looking and unique finisher (I really hope they let him use it). I've forgotten the name of the move, but I think it was something like "The Problem Solver" or something of the such. I'm pretty sure there was an "M" in their somewhere. If you could help it would be greatly appreciated.

One thing I'm a bit nervous of is how they'll book Muhammad to look. Randy Orton, Orlando Jordan, Rene Dupree, Batista, Danny Basham, Doug Basham, Charlie Haas, John Cena, Shelton Benjamin and Rob Conway. I'm sure there are others, but all these people have two things in common. One is they're fantastic wrestlers that graduated from OVW, and another is that they are either extremely toned down in the WWE mainstream, or they rarely get the chance to really go.

Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin have received their chances, but they don't get them every week (as they would in OVW), while The Bashams haven't gotten their chance to really show off, and have become just decent WWE wrestlers. John Cena has sacrificed his wrestling abilties to fuel his gimmick if you will, something I hope they DON'T do with Muhammad Hassan.

Anyway, here are some things I hope they don't do with Muhammad Hassan.

Job Him
He loses, he's done. Especially if it is his first match. I have faith the WWE will give him some strong wins starting off, but winning is only half the problem.

Have Him Cheat
This could be probably the worst direction they could take with the character, IMO. Have him play the role of a gladiator, so down the line he can just say, I am Muhammad Hassan and it should inspire fear. Do not have him pull the tights, do not have him use the ropes, do not have him use Khosrow illegally, have him win CLEANLY, and fairly decisively. The only excuse a face should have is that they didn't expect him to be that good.

Have Khosrow Play Dirty
I personally think there is just as much room for developement with Khosrow as there is for Muhammad. If I were booking, I wouldn't have Khosrow budge from his position. Have him stand there watching, his expression rarely changing (maybe even never if it wasn't for someone trying to get DQ'd on purpose or something). I would mark out if Daivari didn't back down either.

Knowing the WWE, Muhammad's first match will be against Foley, and Daivari will get up on the apron, Foley will then go hit him, but Khosrow will jump down, then Foley wil chase him around the ring, then Daivari will scaramble into the ring and Muhammad will attack Foley. I hate this idea. Daivari should look into the eyes of Kane and not flinch. Build-up intrigue to him, and his relationship with Muhammad. Why does Muhammad need Khosrow at ringside? Who is the leader of the two? Is Muhammad Khosrow's Weapon of Mass Destruction? By having these two lose their intrigue, you run the risk of dumping these two in the Red Sea of Anti-American gimmicks that don't float.

Anyway, here are my ideas for the characters' futures:

It's All An Experiment
How much heat would it draw if they went the classic "Way of turning Eugene back into Nick Dinsmore" route, and had Muhammad announce he is really Mark Magnus, and this is really Shawn Daivari, and we are from *insert educational research facility here*, and we decided to do an experiment to see how you people react to an Arab-American asking for a fair chance. Then they go on about how Magnus now HATES us because the fans that booed "Muhammad Hassan" give Real Americans a bad name. This can lead to feuds extremely easily with The Rock and Hulk Hogan. They can then avoid turning this into a race thing, with The Rock or Hulk Hogan saying the fans didn't boo Muhammad Hassan because he was Arab-American, they booed Mark Magnus because he's a jackass.

You can then move Shawn Daivari to SmackDown! (but I would love to see a Mark Magnus & Shawn Daivari vs. The Rock & Hulk Hogan match first), and have him play the lead heel in the cruiserweight division. Or you can keep him on RAW with the same intensity he has now, and have him team with Magnus as a heel tandem, which is basically an undefeatable combination (storyline-wise), so you cna move both up when the time is ready. Then maybe Daivari could marry Magnus' "sister", which could bring in a diva for the two to share.

Iraq SmackDown! Special
This could be interesting. While it may be foolish to have Muhammad show up at the SmackDown! special, and while it could be a HUGE mistake, if the WWE wants real controversy, they could do one of many things.

They could have Muhammad cut a promo when Mick Foley's out, and then have Foley challenge for the Angle's medal, then have Muhammad cost Foley the match (or you can just have Mick lose fairly, or have a masked Muhammad come out and cost Foley the match, then reveal himself on RAW).

I would LOVE to see Muhammad as the hometown hero, and see him beat Angle for his gold medal, after a GREAT match. Maybe have him ask for another chance before the match via titantron, to represent his home coutnry, and ask for another chance to be accepted as a true American. Then have him talk about respecting an American Hero like Kurt Angle. Maybe have him suck up to the soldiers but telling them what a noble job they're doing. As lnog as they have Muhammad win the match.

What would make this scenario MUCH more interesting is to have Foley the Special Guest Referee for this match (announced before Hassan is the opponent), and have him take an oath to be fair and impartial in the match (again before Hassan is announced the opponent), and have Foley count the 1-2-3 for Hassan's debut match.

Then you can have Muhammad appear on RAW and cut a promo either about how he lied when he said he respected the troops just so he could avoid being shot out of spite, or about how he really does want a second chance. (in a more sincere Kenzo-style type gimmick, where he admits he doesn't like the war, but what Foley said really spoke to him). This can lead to Angle vs. Hassan, and Foley vs. Hassan (since now Muhammad respects Foley). You could then have The Rock come back and tell Muhammad that he doesn't care what Muhammad believes in, which can lead to a sympathy face feud with The Rock, which if done right, could lead to a MASSIVE fanbase for Hassan (if he already doesn't have one).

I just hope they handle this all right, and most importantly, do what's right for Hassan's direction, not "what the fans want to see". I'm sure the marks are hoping Muhammad is made to look like just another Rob Conway (American who "betrayed" his country, now is looking for justice but is no real threat), but they should really use Muhammad as a "Stone Cold" tough Hassan, to the point where JR can speculate which one is tougher.