The most controversial wrestler in WWE history is Muhammad Hassan. In this video, Hassan breaks character and reveals what really went on behind the scenes during his WWE career.
Thank you guys the great gimmick. You played it so well and so excellent that they had to take you off TV. Who can say they excelled the character despite not wanting to do it you made a huge difference and an impact on the business. I’m shocked this guy is only 44, I grew up watching it and I’m only 5 years behind. All the best guy
He’s in good health, but damn I can tell he’s been through a lot with the full grey hair, especially at his age. To be honest, he is doing extremely well being a school principal and all. Good luck to him and I wish him all the best. Let’s just say Marc Copani was absolutely brilliant as Muhammed Hassan, so much so they had to cancel him.
He started as an Arab American speaking out against discrimination and got heavily booed, they then turned him into a terrorist who summoned jihadists from the sky to attack the undertaker. Sorry but the fact is he was first booed for being simply "Arab American" ,in fact the character himself was a "proud American, just as American as you" , but that was WAY too nuanced for pro fking wrestling lmao
@@geedee1264 Like John Cena said "These people don't hate you because you're an ARAB American... They hate you because you're an ASSHOLE American!" That phrase stayed with me.
This is the funny thing to Americans he was a heel who hated America because he dared to criticise but he never really was a heel because like Marc said he was just showing America the injustice of what was going on
@@mrmoviemanic1for sure. He’s def in the underrated tier of the likes such as Shelton Benjamin, Elijah, Booker T, Finley, Santino Marrello, Maven, Raven
He did it so well they had to cancel him. I feel bad for him, but hey, in this instance, it was never Marc’s destiny to continue on in the WWE. I am glad he’s found happiness and success in his own way. This man is genuine and down to earth and has lived life the hard way - this is why I like him.
One of the biggest dropped balls of the last 25 years. He was so good at what he did, and for WWE to not even try and repackage him after Vince completely failed to understand the Hassan character… mind blowing. WWE left a lot of money on the table with you, Marc.
I do think Vince dropped the ball with him. They didn't need to scrap the character, just do enough not to piss off the advertisers. I am really shocked vince didn't just repackage him into another character since he had the look Vince loves.
@@mattm7798 Well him doing that angle with undertaker and piano wire was bad timing but since Smackdown was taped it could have been cut from the broadcast and nobody would have noticed. The Network Smackdown was on at the time did not want Hassan on their show so the only way he could have continued is if he was on RAW. Also a repackaging wouldnt work either cause the character made such a impact in a small amount of time he really couldnt be cause everyone would say its ''Muhammad Hassan'' and it wouldnt work unless he kayfabe threw the company under the bus and went on with that instead
@@Venemofthe888 To your first point, I think they definitely could have done that. To the second, tons of guys who were recognizable underwent repackaging. He wouldn't necessarily have to change his name, just change or tweak the gimmick some. It's interesting how many chances Vince would give some guys but not others. I'm still trying to figure out why Vince didn't push EC3 to the moon. He seemingly had everything Vince looks for.
As an Arab, watching this Hassan character and his manager do their thing without speaking a single word of Arabic was just so strangely funny to me. The fact that the gimmick ended abruptly due to public backlash is insanely ironic.
It didn't end due to public backlash it ended because he went from an Arab American who spoke out against discrimination to summoning terrorists by appealing to the heavens , this episode aired around the day the London bombings happened so the networks crapped their jocks. He had heat for being an Arab American just speaking out 😂, then they literally just turned him into a terrorist
So what did u think back then? We’re u like “ When the hell they gone speak Arabic”? 😂😂 What’s also crazy is us non Arabics thought he was speaking Arabic 😂😂
I thought it was pure bullshit, as an American that knew both people of Arab background and people of Indian and Pakastani background, I saw the shit they had to go through after 9\11. I was hoping and praying that WWE would allow Hassan to be a babyface and to show how our shitty American first bullshit was hurting innocent people who just happened to be the same ethnicity as the terrorists. There was a convenience store around the corner from my house that i stopped in almost every day after school to buy a bag of chips and a soda, the kid behind the counter was the most awesome person I could have ever met (it's been 20 years now so I don't remember his name), but I remember he was shot to death because he was an "A Rab" but he was actually Pakistani. Such senseless violence all around.
@@nlee4566 Every time Daivari opened his mouth I would just laugh. It was very cringy because it was obvious those two are not even 1% Arab. I also obviously hated the stereotype that came with the character, it painted people like me in a very bad and I'm glad Marc Copani shed light on that in this interview. Today however, I'm glad we have Arab wrestlers like Mansoor, Sami Zayn, Mojo Rawley, Mustafa Ali, and others, wrestlers that I, an Arab, can watch do great work without fearing that they'd be stereotypically misrepresented.
You'd be surprised how many people can't see the difference between the two. A lot of people will just look at Arab and Persian and just assume it's the same thing in places I've lived.
Thank you for this. Any time he does an interview I watch it. Muhammad Hassan will live forever in the minds of fans who lived through it. This character was GREAT, Jim Johnston NAILED the entrance music, and the amount of heat he had was unreal. I'll never forget being in the TD Garden in Boston for a RAW and not being able to hear Daivari screaming into the mic because the boos were so loud.
Vince wrote this. Vince McMahon offended the audience with the character. Vince McMahon fired an employee who did what he was told. And Vince was the hero for firing the guy who had nothing to do with the idea but did what Vince told him to do. we live in an evil world.
Dude is still in phenomenal shape. This guy had THE MOST heat back in the day. The sound of his entrance theme would entice a roar of boos and USA chants 😆
His theme was an absolute banger and the fact he went all in on this character and executed so damn well, like. I get the reasons why he was let go, but man. He was so convincing as a character. Short heel career but one that folks who grew up and watched this still remember to this day. Glad he is doing well. I love these kinds of interviews. Keep up the awesome content Maven.
And to this day still push that gimmick under the carpet, it was genuinely one of the few "real" characters that came out of that time. It really deserved it's flowers
Real character??? He was an Arab American who was speaking out about discrimination and got heavily booed, then they turned him into a terrorist, a caricature of America's racism, nothing real about him suddenly becoming a terrorist, because that means discrimination is retroactively justified 😂😂
This was great, I love seeing guys like this getting to talk about their day in the sun without any pressure. I had fallen out of watching WWE by the time Hassan had his run but I really enjoyed it. And seeing how he's genuinely happy with his life now and has a sweet-as-nuts family, I was genuinely smiling. Great job!
Not gonna lie, the ending almost brought tears to my eyes seeing how Marc’s life came full circle. Maven’s channel is so underrated and 10 year old me appreciates the outlook on this.
yeaaa, i didnt know that he was teaching after he did wrestling and im like saying to myself. "this man is winning life right now" and im happy for him and his family.
I am glad Mark is doing well. I am not Arab myself, but my first significant other was from Morocco, and it was a life changing experience. I have much respect for the people from North Africa, and the near east.
Muhammad Hassan is one of my fav heels from this era. Much respect to Marc and Divari for making me think deeper about the psychology of heels for the first time back in my early wrestling days.
This guy could be really bitter about everything that happened near the end of his career but went on to be successful in a completely different industry and seems to be doing well. Love to see it.
He should have been a full blown babyface at first, give him 3-4 months of doing the "right thing" and let the natural prejudice of the crowd turn him heel
The armchair booker in me agrees with you but as someone who watched it as it was happening, it's hard to argue with how WWE went about it. Dude got nuclear heat and got it fast!
That's a pretty good idea. I wonder if they would of accepted him as a face because, I'm not sure how old you were at that time and that's not a dig in any way, but the country was so so so tense and on edge with the war I'm not sure they would of took him as a face. But I love that idea because I'm sure the heat would of been ten fold and that's saying something considering how hot it was!
@@Thwagger My thoughts exactly. I think the other way would have worked, but you're right: why would they trade a slow build for nuclear heat off the bat?
So glad he's doing well. He was given the No Winingest of No Win angles and still made a memorable character.I wish he was able to be repackaged and had a longer WWE Career, he was so good in the ring.
Muhammad Hassan is genuinely one of the greatest heels of all time. What an indelible legacy he left in only a matter of months. More memorable than some people who have been in the industry 15+ years.
There was an indy promotion here in California that had a heel that we loved to hate (He was such a good guy outside of the ring, we are still friends on facebook even though he retired from in ring competition a couple years ago). He's Puerto Rican which means he's an American Citizen, however my group that always sat next to each other at shows decided one night to start chanting USA USA USA at him, and he would stop mid-match and scream "Are you guys stupid? I'm From Puerto Rico that makes me an American" So it became a running gag, and one of the last time he performed in the US before going to Korea, he met up with us and said it was one of the funniest shit he's ever been apart of because of how absurd it was. Even to this day I still drop a USA USA USA comment on random facebook posts he makes. Like i said in another comment, he should have been an uber babyface and let the crowd's prejudice turn him heel, and he never should have done anything fundamentalist that's where the gimmick jumped the shark.
@@ericdodson3630 Fun story. Thanks for sharing. Muhammad wasn't a love to hate guy for me. I didn't hate him. Like he said, he was telling the truth. I cheered him.
This is sweet. Over the years I only heard how Hassan had heat backstage and how his life was made miserable during his time in WWE so it's really great to see him in good spirits and happy.
Maven, great interview, may I suggest something? Let your guest complete their sentences before jumping in. Couple of times you cut him off and he was going to say something interesting. But I love the MHassan character and he is true to himself!
I wish this character can come back at least just one episode guest appearance. I think we are at a point that we can accept Muhammad Hassan as a product of its time and just seeing him in the ring just one more time would feel nostalgic.
I love you Muhammad Hassan. I get on WWE videos every week and suggest bringing you back with Davari. I listen to your theme song weekly. Also, you were right about America. You were the true face of the company. WWE needs to bring you back. With Davari.
This was one of the best behind-the-scenes videos I've seen in a while. Huge respect to Marc for his passion, both for his character and who he is as a person. Thanks for putting this together, Maven!
Despite the bullshit and ribbing he put up with in WWE, Marc got his happy ending where some of those jealous fuckers didn't and I couldn't be happier. Karma always collects.
Its amazing how he first came in talking about how he has been treated with injustices. And then he gets fired for reasons beyond his control. The irony.
What a great interview. Dude absolutely sold that character. I had heard somewhere that he wasn't actually Arab, but he played that role so well. Much respect.
Oh Man. This Is the video i dream of! I Love Muhammad Hassan! So Glad seeing him with Maven :D Thank you Maven for making this possible, Never thought seeing Muhammad Hassan with Maven. MANNN I Love this man You can't imagine how happy am i.
I can honestly say the character of Hassan changed my life, I HATED him so much and what he did that in 2005 I signed up and joined the army. I now have a family, retired and living my best life. He’ll never see this but Marc, thank you for doing what you did. I’ve grown and learned so much about different cultures/people. Thank you
@@CaponeGoes did I say it was for a good reason?? No I didn’t. I swear people only see what they want. I learned from hatred and grew to be a different person. I’m saying that he was an important reason why I became who I am now.
Every other wrestling channel look for stories of top guys this is the only genuine channel that goes and look for stories of mid card guys and that's so cool specially from that era 2002-2008 so many stories such a different era!
Thank you for this interview Maven. It's great to see Mr. Caponi talk some more about his time. It was extra special that you interviewed him. To hear y'all's stories was great. I was mad when he was taken off TV but happy he's doing good now.
Man, He killed that character. I would have never known back then he was Arabic. Also, speaking of “Ruthless Agression” classic heels. I would love for Maven to interview Kevin Fertig, for his “Mordachai” character.
WWE really screwed Muhammad over. It wasn't even his fault. He was just doing what was told of him. By now, he'd have been a former world champion or at least have held either the Intercontinental or U.S. title.
And i thought the last video with Spike Dudley was great, this one was also a great one. Well done, Maven. Hope to see you with more guests like this. Makes for some great content.
That ending was a really nice surprise. So good. It left a really great taste in my mouth. Hassan was one of my favorite characters back in the day. So sad when he disappeared. Was a blast to see the real life person and see how he is doing. More of this please.
Hassan is actually one of the guys I was hoping you'd interview one day. The story behind his character and its abrupt end was always interesting to me, so it's cool to hear about it from the guy himself. They kind of jumped the shark when the terrorists kidnapped Undertaker, but everything leading up to that was really great. This guy even managed to get JBL cheered while he was arguably the #1 heel in the company at the time.
Maven genuinely being interested in what Mark teaches is such a former-teacher moment. Also, Mark's son specifying which letters are uppercase in his handle is such a little-kid moment.
Met Hassan at WrestleCon in 2016 and he’s one of the best wrestlers I’ve met. Took time to make sure we had a good conversation and was extremely kind. I’m glad to see he’s happy and thriving now
Also that WM 21 Segment with Eugene & Hogan was a moment I watched over and over again as a kid. WrestleMania 21 was the first dvd I got as a kid and that segment was a standout moment on a card filled with amazing moments.
Hassan had huge potential as an 'Arab-American with real life grievances but being a dick about it' heel, the huge mistake was making him terrorist-lite on Smackdown. Even without 7/7 happening, there would have been trouble with going down that road soon enough.
It's insane see you guys in Fulton high school auditorium, that's where I went to highschool. Being a kid watching Muhammad Hassan, it's crazy seeing him in my highschool
With the American company Motorola rigging pagers to explode, and kill thousands in Lebanon, I agree with the Mohammed Hassan character. This video is so relevant, you have no idea, Maven. Timing is grimly precise.
Im not even American but i used to hate his character. It proves how good he was at his craft. How talented he was. Very happy to see him happy with his family and in a good shape. Thanks for the interview.
