Around this time period ten years ago, one of the most controversial angles in WWE history was taking place on the Smackdown brand. It was taped on July 4th and wouldn’t air until three days later.
In the segment Hassan’s manager, Daivari, would face Hassan’s opponent at the Great American Bash, the Undertaker, in a match and lose. Hassan began praying on the entrance ramp and five masked men dressed in black shirts, ski-masks, and camo pants entered the ring and beat and choked the Undertaker out with clubs and piano wire. Hassan then put him in the camel clutch. Afterward, the masked men lifted Daivari above their heads and carried him away.
Unfortunately the segment aired three days later on the same day of the London Bombings.
Ten years ago tomorrow, the WWE website aired a promo Hassan cut at the Smackdown tapings following the initial controversy. UPN had edited the promo.
In the segment, Hassan, reiterates that he is an Arab-American and that the American people automatically and unfairly assume that he is a terrorist.
Despite being in character, he referred to the real-world media coverage of the storyline, singling out the New York Post’s Don Kaplan by name and denouncing his description of the events on SmackDown!, such as Kaplan’s comment of the masked men being “Arabs in ski masks”.
On the July 14 episode of SmackDown!, Hassan’s absence was explained by a statement delivered by his lawyer Thomas Whitney, which said that Hassan refused to appear on the show until that month’s Great American Bash due to the way he had been treated by the media and WWE fans.
Hassan lost the match to The Undertaker at The Great American Bash and was written off with The Undertaker doing a Last Ride through an open stage ramp onto a concrete floor where it was reported that he sustained serious injuries and had to be rushed to a nearby medical facility, apparently a solution aimed to end the Hassan character after UPN pressured the WWE to keep him off their network.
Several days later, WWE.com hosted a video of a kayfabe announcement from Theodore Long, where he reiterates the stipulation that Hassan would no longer appear on SmackDown!.
Due to increasing public pressure, WWE was forced to later drop the character altogether, sending Hassan and Daivari back to their developmental territories to alter their gimmicks.
Mark Copani, who portrayed the Muhammad Hassan character, was released from his WWE contract on September 21, 2005 and then subsequently retired from professional wrestling.
