Arab-American Pro Wrestling Character KO'd

ABC News ^ | July 29, 2005 | Rose Palazzolo

[rightwingintelligentsia]

Arab-American professional wrestler Muhammad Hassan, played by Italian-American Mark Copani for World Wrestling Entertainment, has seen his last day in the ring, according to a WWE spokesman.

The smackdown of Hassan during last weekend's "Great American Bash," an annual pay-per-view event, came after UPN and World Wrestling Entertainment received several letters and protests complaining that the character was an offensive stereotype of Arab-Americans and Muslims.

Hassan, whose storyline is that he's Arab-American born and raised in Detroit, rants and raves about being profiled and discriminated against, especially since Sept. 11, and is usually accompanied by other angry Arab-American men. An episode featuring Hassan that aired on July 7, the day of the terror attacks in London, turned out to be Hassan's ultimate undoing.

[rightwingintelligentsia]

Another victim of political correctness.

[taxesareforever]

And the dumbing down of America continues.

[Mr. Mojo]

"The whole point of the storyline and this character was to point out the injustices Arab-Americans have suffered since 9/11," Davis (a WWE spokesman) said.

No, the point was to make money.

[SunnyD1182]

This was a hilarious character, made the show that much better. Too bad a bunch of politically correct whiners totally ruined it. I find it incredible how the same people who tolerate women as sex objects, all sorts of violence, and Mexicans/Latinos/all sorts of other nationalities being made fun of on the show (WWE is an equal opportunity offender), get mad over THIS of all things.

I think this is just yet another point for Osama to laugh at us on. We're so scared of the mention or mere INSINUATION of the word "terrorist" that our politically correct society and media FLIP OUT even over FAKE TV shows like this.

[nuconvert]

[Fiddlstix]

No, the point was to make money.

Bingo!

[ASA Vet]

played by Italian-American Mark Copani for World Wrestling Entertainment

NO! NO! NO!
It's all real!
I've known that since I saw Gorgeous George and Haystacks Calhoun live at the National Guard Armory.

[ozzymandus]

Wait a minnit!! Rasslin' ain't real??

[Bombardier]

WWE = Wienies, Wusses, Eeediots (to quote Ren Hoek). Sheesh....they didn't do this to "The Iron Sheik" back in the '80s......

[Dark Skies]

...offensive stereotype of Arab-Americans and Muslims

I guess it's hard to be seething at the infidel and have a sense of humor at the same time.

[Mr. Mojo]

I've known that since I saw Gorgeous George and Haystacks Calhoun live at the National Guard Armory.

Those two go way back. I watched in the early 70s when John "The Golden Greek" Tolas and Freddie Blassie were big.

[nuconvert]

It's a huge loss.
I can feel the tears starting to well up as I type.

[ElkGroveDan]

Arab-American born and raised in Detroit, rants and raves about being profiled and discriminated against, especially since Sept. 11,

Wait a minute. I've heard him on talk radio. He's real. He's with an organization called CAIR. He calls in all the time.

[Fast Ed97]

I used to watch the Iran Sheik and have his figurine.

[nuconvert]

Well, the Iran Sheik is a mixed metaphor. Iranians don't dress that way. Arabs do.

[HitmanLV]

I was a fan of Hassan. ;-)

[nuconvert]

Do you realize that thousands of people may know your secret now?

[billbears]

I watch off and on. As a heel, it played for awhile but it really got boring. It was time for him to go in general. Nothing to do with what UPN was complaining about, he was just getting boring. Was reading elsewhere about where the storyline was planning to go after the latest PPV with him and it does have the WWE scrambling a bit for a rewrite

[nuconvert]

They'll never be another Bruno Sammartino......

[HitmanLV]

It's no secret. I have been a fan of the WWE (at the time the WWWF on UHF stations in nyc) since the tender age of 7, in 1975.

It was much better then: the era between 1975-1984 (before the dawn of Hulkamania) remain my personal golden age of wrestling!

Anyway, I always preferred the heels to the faces. I've been a 'sheet reader' way back in the early-mid 1980s, when Meltzer typed it out and reduced it (and reduced it again) to fit on 8-10 pages.

What can I say? The heel worldview more closely mirrored my own. ;-)