Welcome folks! No time to waste, let's get to it!
I bring forth another installment in the saga that is known to the internet as
"Storee Time With The Great Brown Hope"
Wrestling has had its fair share of gimmicks and personalities. Some have failed, some have been successful, and some have been controversial. But no gimmick or personality garnered as much BLIND hate as that of Mark Copani's character, Muhammad Hassan.
Muhammad Hassan and Khosrow Daivari made their presence felt early in the form of vignettes. The video packages that aired for these characters prior to their debut addressed their frustrations of the unfair treatment of Arab Americans post the 9/11 tragedies.
"Because we're of Arab decent, we are singled out. We are humiliated. And often we are strip searched because my name is Muhammad and his name is Khosrow. We are Arab Americans, and we demand the same rights that any American has."
Hassan and Daivari made their on-screen debut interrupting Mick Foley as he showed a video of the WWE superstars that had recently gone on to visit troops overseas. A heated exchange of words ensued with Hassan dissecting the errors in America's "War" whilst Mick Foley defended the troops. What was building up to be what would've been a great scuffle to watch, fizzled out to Hassan walking away to fight another day.
Months followed and Hassan began to build a winning streak with victories over Jerry Lawler, The Hurricane, Val Venis, Sergeant Slaughter, Rhyno (twice!), Chris Jericho, and others.
He had his first shot at WWE gold when he took on Shelton Benjamin in a series of handicap matches with Daivari for the Intercontinental Title. Although they were successful in the first handicap match, Hassan failed to capture gold the second. Hassan presented an uncontested, undisputed, video testimonial and a one on one match was granted by Stone Cold Steve Austin. Hassan was once again unable to walk away with the gold. Hassan's unpinned streak continued which up to that point had lasted 6 months. The following week on RAW, his streak was broken by none other than John Cena in a WWE Title match.
internet implodes
Hassan was drafted by Smackdown in the 2005 WWE Draft Lottery and debuted on Smackdown immediately after his pin fall loss to John Cena. His Smackdown on-air debut on June 23, 2005 will forever mark the beginning of the end of Muhammad Hassan.
On the July 7 aired episode of Smackdown, Daivari was placed in a match against The Undertaker. The Undertaker won the battle against Daivari, but could not rise against the beating he received following the match. Hassan was aided by 5 masked individuals in what is labeled one of the most controversial moments of professional wrestling. This incident received nothing but negative attention from all media outlets from here to the Rings of Saturn. The network that carried Smackdown was forced to pressure the WWE to keep Hassan off TV.
On the following week's episode of Smackdown, a segment was to have aired of Hassan addressing and responding to an article written by Don Kaplan. The article by Kaplan identified Hassan and Daivari as "Terrorists". Kaplan even went as far as tagging Hassan's 5 masked friends as "Arabs in Ski-Masks".
"So, if Don Kaplan of the New York Post has never met us, how does Don Kaplan know we’re terrorists? Don Kaplan also wrote that 'Arabs in ski-masks carried Daivari out as a sacrifice last week.' Arabs in SKI-MASKS…in SKI-MASKS…in a ski-mask. How does he know that they were Arabs?"
That alone would be more than enough to piss anyone off. I myself, at a younger age then, knew that this wasn't right at all. The fact that people in our "free" country felt this way of people left a very sour taste at the roof of my mouth. Not to mention that Mark Copani, Muhammad Hassan, is an American just like the rest of us. That article by Kaplan alone was more than enough to prove everything that Hassan spent his career fighting against was true.
My name is Muhammad Hassan. I am an Arab American. And I am very proud of my heritage. But as an American, my first amendment rights have been trampled. And I stand here before all of you; ashamed of my country.
He did not appear again until his final appearance at The Great American Bash against The Undertaker where he was written off TV for good. The potential heights this man could've reached were astronomical. Copani could've been one of the biggest heels of our time and times ahead. A career that had it's plug pulled far too soon for all the wrong, unfortunate, ill timed reasons.
Muhammad Hassan fought for all the right reasons. People only hated the man because of his heritage and to partake in the sheepish tendencies they feel the need to follow. Natural, gifted talent gone far too soon, because well... 'Merica.
Thanks for reading. Follow The Great Brown Hope on Twitter/X @TGr8BrwnHope
Playlist
Kid Rock "American Bad Ass"
Lana Del Rey "American"
Lady Gaga "Americano"
Eric Derringer "A Real American"
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