The Memory Remains III: Muhammad Hassan

[DethMetal]

Quite possibly the best heel character in the last decade. I mean, this man was pure gold. His gimmick was basically an Arab American who was sick of the racist jackwagons of our country, and took a stand. He proved that he was main event material by having great matches with guys like Chris Benoit, Shelton Benjamin, Chris Jericho, Hell, the Undertaker. He was going to be the next big thing by defeating the Undertaker at the Great American Bash(which happened to be his last match) and going on to face Batista(?) for the World Heavyweight Championship. However...
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This happened to be aired(not taped) on the same day of the London Bombings, thus leading to more blind racism and undeserved aborrhence for Hassan. As a result, his character was killed off at the GAB. My questions are:

• Did you enjoy this character? Why or Why not?
• Would you bring this character back? Why or why not?
• What would you have liked to see him do then/now(feuds, alliances, etc.)?

 

[abuduru1]

i really enjoyed his character. it took chances and had the potential to be the next top heel. if he was able to stay, im pretty sure he would have main evented a few wrestlemanias and ended up winning the belt. its a shame he didnt get to stick around longer.

 

[Gomez13]

i was just watching some old footage of hassan yesterday. man i miss this guy and what he could have been. he had a great thing going for him and was an exellent heel. it was extremely unfortunate that the london bombings occured at the same time. its a damn shame hassan was fired through no fault of his own. they should have killed off the character at the bash like they did, but they should have sent him to fcw for 6 months and instead of releasing the guy they could have re-packaged him and maybe send him to raw. i hope he returns, but i doubt it.

 

[D2J2009]

I was a huge fan of him, he was the BEST heel of the decade, and i wished he could have stayed longer, HOWEVER, the way u say that his departure was due to racist jackwaggons is a littlle bit stretched, WWE released him to avoid negative media attention after the bombings, not b/c of racism but b/c of an unfortunate bombing, but i do agree that he SHOULD have stayed and he would have been a main event player in the WWE, but some thing u jus can't control

 

[Defekt]

Did you enjoy this character? Why or Why not?

Not really. I think I'm one of the jackwagons you speak of

It wasn't that great a character. Remember the Ground Zero Mosque controversy? Most arabs on TV say the same crap Hassan was saying. Him coming to the ring with terrorists was kinda funny, although the timing was unfortunate (7-7 bombings).

Would you bring this character back? Why or why not?

Maybe, if the WWE continued the same storyline. In all likely hood, they would eventually bow to special interest group pressure and turn him into an American flag waving muslim.

What would you have liked to see him do then/now(feuds, alliances, etc.)?

Cena or Angle could have had interesting programs with him I suppose.

 

[Odisho]

I SEARCHED HIS AGE ON GOOGLE, AND HES ONLY 29 YEARS OLD, HE'S VERY YOUNG.

I THINK WWE SHOULD BRING HIM IN, AND MAYBE HE CAN ARGUE OH HOW HE GOT FIRED ALL BECAUSE OF THE RASICT FANS OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.

HIS CHARACTER DIDNT REALLY APPEAL TOO ME TOO MUCH, BECAUSE I WAS ONLY ABOUT 7 WHEN I WATCHED HIM ON TV, BUT EVER SINCE I STARTED LOVING HEELS, I ALWAYS ENJOYED WATCHING HIM.

HE WOULD HAVE AN INTERESTING ANGLE WITH JOHN CENA, IT COULD BE THE NEW GENERATION OF THE IRON SHEIK VS HULK HOGAN.

 

[CitiBoy7]

Man the early 2000s were very good and exciting for me and this is an example but 2006 was like the last good year and then I stopped watching for a while.

Well he was destined for greatness and I would like to see him back but he has no more interest in wrestling and even if he came back in another gimmick it's not look we wouldn't recognize him. I wonder was this all really that bad that he had to be released for this. America can be so sensitive sometimes but I understand what happen in london was major and they needed to mourn their lost but it not like anybody got hurt at the wwe show.

But I say stop thinking about the past and look at the future in Jinder Mahal who can be the Indian version of Hassan. Jinder Mahal has a incredible size with a conniving look and is pretty good in the ring. I don't know how good he is on the mic but he sure looks confident and believable.

So im almost positive that we will soon have a Hassan 2.0 for the future or maybe even better.

 

[BobbyDigital]

The idea for his character was sheer genius. The promos before his debut were fantastic also. His release was a sign of how sensitive this country has become. Sgt. Slaughter was going to dedicate his victory against Hulk Hogan to Saddam. The Sarge didn't get released, he only received death threats

 

[OnTheBrink]

I personally loved to hate this guy. Now that I'm older, looking back on it, this guy was absolute GOLD. He could get the crowd to hate him no matter what.

If Daivari could be brought back to be Tyson Kidd's manager, why not try to bring back Hassan as a heel on Smackdown or Raw. Have Daivari come back too as his heel manager.

I could see great feuds with Rey Mysterio, Christian, Jack Swagger (if he turned face), and obviously Cena. Heck you could even have a feud with HHH if he wanted to come back.

Hassan could get the crowd to hate him in a matter of seconds. He kinda reminds me of a poor man's CM Punk on the mic, can't really remember in the ring though.

Give him a shot. He could be a good IC/US champion to start off, then work his way up into the main event again.

 

[The Purse]

If UPN did not make the WWE fire Hassan, he could have been one of the biggest heels the wrestling business has ever seen. If the won the title at the Great American Bash I can only imagine what heat he could get. He was already getting HUGE heat without the title but by shocking the undertaker. He might have got death threats like SGT Slaughter.

 

[BenChiefin]

The memory remains? Really? You choose to remember this stuff? I forgot about dude the minute they wrote him off. Never cared. If it wasn't for this damn post I wouldn't remember him at all. Thanks a lot.

 

[Saeros]

Did you enjoy this character? Why or Why not?
Yes, one of the best characters in WWE in recent memory. Mark Copani had a raw natural talent that really let you delve into his character and believe that what he was spouting, was his real thoughts. While his in ring skills were above average, he still performed very well, and as mentioned, he had some very good matches.

Would you bring this character back? Why or why not?
I would myself, but with the way things are, he just wont come back. WWE cant afford to, the loss of sponsership amongst other controversies in the "PG era" But if i had my way, he'd be back as soon as possible. Why? its easy why. Simply because he was a fantastic character, and although it was blatently because of the character straight off, i havent heard anyone boo'd that much for a very long time

What would you have liked to see him do then/now(feuds, alliances, etc.)?
Id like to see him come back and jump straight into a feud with someone whos "all american" can only see that being John Cena at this point, though id have him just as an on air talent for a while, to allow him to shake off ring rust in fcw, because from what i know, he hasnt set foot in a ring since he left WWE.

 

[theshawn]

Everyone will hate me for this, but imagine if he had stayed and did something big like ended the Undertaker's streak or something huge. He could have been the biggest heel of the decade, easily. He was so good at what he did. I wish instead of letting him go, they just traded him back to RAW or something, because I believe it was UPN who didn't want to use him.

 

[bigbootydaddyV]

Did you enjoy this character? Why or Why not?
Would you bring this character back? Why or why not?
What would you have liked to see him do then/now(feuds, alliances, etc.)?

Yes, I thoroughly enjoyed this character... he was the perfect heel and one with a ton of untapped potential. He came at a perfect time and it was just really really poor planning and ego on vince's part that screwed it up for him.

I'd bring him back and have him feud with guys like Cena, Jack Swagger, Rey, the all americans and then even go after mexico for it being so close... maybe even a feud with jericho just to see the banter on the mic between the two... it would be golden... damn WWE for not being smart enough to edit their fucking show and letting a terrific heel go to waste.

 

[TheSoulTaker]

The greatest thing I remember about him, and he was sweet....was him getting the USA chant and he said go ahead...I'm from Chicago...LOL

 

[The Curtis]

His character was "genius"? Really? He was pretty much just supposed to be a modern day Iron Sheik. He even used the Camel Clutch as his signature move like Iron Sheik.

I can't really say that I was that impressed with him (personally I liked Daivari better) as a wrestler either. He was okay, but I don't really know if I agree he was on the fast track to becoming one of the biggest stars in WWE like you guys are suggesting.

Even if that controversy hadn't happened, who knows if he'd still be around anyway. I remember hearing that he had only got into the wrestling business as a way to hopefully jump start his acting career and open doors to Hollywood.

By the way, I like how he's not even really Arab but Italian.

 

[SomeAreSet]

I don't have the clearest memory of him (other than the one of him entering the Royal Rumble and getting tossed out by 10 guys),but I did remember that he was pretty good in the vignettes and promos.Horrible timing for him,and it was pretty sad that he had to be fired for the tragedy in London.He did confuse me a little though,because his gimmick was one where he was sick of Americans targeting Arab-Americans after 9/11,and yet he came down to the ring with men who looked like terrorists to assault Taker.Contradicting statements.

Now's a great time to bring him back (with Bin Laden's death still fresh on our minds),but too bad it would never happen because the extreme-right's just going to paint the WWE as some terrorist loving company,and crazy people are going to try to hurt Hussan.I mean,if those idiots are going to protest a charity event organised by a mosque,they're going to have a field day with WWE and Hussan.

 

[thatcrazybiatch]

i was a casual fan when hassan was around, didnt know about heels and faces, nothing etc so these are just my thoughts at the time.

for me he wasnt a character that fitted the wwe product, i remember guys with amazing charisma, the rock, jericho, etc the guys i hated for there tactics and beating on my heros, HHH, angle, etc

and then there was a terroist :S just didnt sit with me

id been a undertaker fan for awhile and to this day i still like to believe that taker is portrayed as not quiet human (i was furious at WM 26 when taker injured his leg during old school, this was a man with powers who NEVER injured himself during his own moves, not one he'd been doing for years) he had kicked out of sledgehammer shots and seemed to be back to his feet so much faster than other wwe stars, how could he be getting beatin by a torroist!

i didnt realise at the time that wwe had me right where they wanted me

i look back now and yeah i admit it takers alot more human but what better way to bring heat than with a terroist :O bloooody hell!!!!!!!! but to me he just fit in, hassan beating anyone else would of been ok........ but not the deadman!!

just my take on it, if he was that skilled i duno why they didnt just repackage him 6 months later as a face with nothing to do with terroism, let him sink or swim by his own tallents

 

[masonwade313]

wwe dropped the ball on Hassan...they could have just moved him over to Raw..they was to worried about their capitol than whats good for the future...sure they woulda got some heat but it wouldve died down..i always said Hassan was one of the greatest heel characters of all time and hated even more than sgt slaughter anti american run.. I always said he had the tools to be one of the biggest stars wwe ever had...think..if he can cause this much hate that the tv execs was willing to bash a wrestling characters...imagine how much money they couldve made if he was in a match at wreslemania against triple H, cena or randy orton.

 

[gbswim972]

This Man had it.. He was the biggest heel That the WWE could have ever had!!!! But they cracked under the pressure... I wish he would have got his shot.. I say bring him back, doubt he would want to... but right now it would be easy... Throw him on Smackdown, become the leader of a stable with Khali and Jindr Mahal.... and Go right for the WHC against Orton!!!!! Could be classic!!

 

[adam]

I'd love to see the Hassan character come back for imagine
the character throwing fire like the original Sheik. If the
character was established during the attitude era, they might
have gotten away with a six month suspension but in this
era with no juice, there's no way he could ever return.

 

[harrythem]

The memory of this gimmick only remains because it was killed off quickly due to network pressure, not because it was a particularly good gimmick. Rose tinted glasses tend to lead you down that street...

Before his debut his gimmick was very interesting. He was angry about the abuse he got, even though he was an American citizen. All things considered it was a very reasonable request from a heel, and seemed to be a sign that the WWE had learnt from the Sgt Slaughter fiasco of 1991....

Alas, no, they didn't. Within weeks he's gone down classic "I hate America" villany and became, as someone said, a modern day Iron Shiek.

Did you enjoy this character? Why or Why not?
At first? Yes, the potential to do something majorly different was interesting but, they pissed on that almost straight away. (Well, after he made JR & King look like tools using 1960s American 'love it or leave it' stick)

Would you bring this character back? Why or why not?
I wouldn't bring it back because, the bloke was a shit wrestler. He was called up way too soon (as most guys are), and, as I've said, the WWE can't do the gimmick the way they first started because that'd require sensitivity (instead of having grown men doing fart jokes).

What would you have liked to see him do then/now(feuds, alliances, etc.)?

I'd like for them to have actually followed through on the original gimmick because, as he was, I can't really see where they could've headed with him.

Oh, and stating he had good matches with HBK, Benoit and the like is a bit dumb, seeing as pretty much everyone has a good to great match with them...Talk about his matches against Lawler and the like and the fact they were complete shit (and don't blame Lawler either, he showed against Miz he can still have a good match with a talented bloke)

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

Hassan would have been nowhere near the greatest heel of all time as so many of you claim he was going to be. You can only go so far with his gimmick and I didn't see much of him in the mic or in the ring that would make me think he was going to be great. He came and he went. That's about it.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

Personally I thought Muhammed Hassan was a GREAT heel and was someone that the crowd legitimately hated. He played his character to perfection and was probably the hottest heel they have had in the last decade (like the OP said). The guy was a heat seeking missile and was so hated people would actually PAY to see him get beat, and that is the characteristic of a great heel.

Sadly I don't think the character would work today. The character came at the perfect time when America was at war with Afghanistan and Iraq, middle easterners were kind of frowned upon at that time in America and here comes a guy that is basically calling America out for their actions and embracing the Arab people telling Americans they are racist while at the same time playing the Arab stereotype to a tee.

Sadly times have changed and he wouldn't get nearly as over today even though he played his character great. We got to remember both Saddam and Osama are now deceased, the war is over and enough time has moved on that the Arab people aren't nearly as frowned upon as before if at all.

I would like the man back because he did his job great but I don't think the character would get as over as it once did.