In the list of This Day in Wrestling History moments, this is one that was one that could’ve been avoided had the WWE shown restraint and UPN said something earlier.
Since neither did, on July 13, 2005 UPN may have panicked and ordered the WWE to pull the Hassan character and his and the Undertaker’s controversial Smackdown segment aired the same day as the bombings in London.
This had been such a huge controversy that mainstream news outlets covered the storyline and it made the cover story in the New York Post.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHTrVeKDgAo&t=235s
Too much controversy
The WWE has never been afraid of dipping its toe into a pool of controversy if it makes money, and since the WWE hadn’t had to worry about networks coming down on them too badly yet, they went forward with the idea.
Then fate happened when the segment aired, so they followed it up with Tommaso Ciampa’s debut as Hassan’s lawyer saying Hassan wouldn’t reappear until The Great American Bash.
As it turned out, the backlash to the storyline and character never went way, so the WWE scrapped the character idea completely after Hassan lost to the Undertaker with a Last Ride off the stage.
And they weren’t done yet as Mark Copani, Hassan’s real name, was released two months later and retired from professional wrestling. Copani went on to be an author junior high school principal.
He also has a comic book series out called Assassin and Son and it can be found here.
What could’ve been
In the years since, tidbits about what was planned have come out, and Hassan was planned to defeat Batista at that year’s SummerSlam and become the youngest world champion in history at 23 years old.
At the end of the day, he was pushed into the upper level of WWE talent for a reason, but it wasn’t meant to be. Still, he made his mark as one of the best heel characters in the last couple of decades.
It may not have been the best or smartest storyline for the WWE to do, but it did what is was meant to and that was to make fans care and become invested in what he did.
There’s nearly always something good that comes out of a This Day in Wrestling History moment, and for many it’s the what could’ve been feud and championship run wise.
SUBSCRIBE NOW: Get The Overtimer’s Hottest Stories, Breaking News and Special Features in your email, CLICK HERE!
Remember to stay up to date with the latest news on TheOvertimer. Don’t forget to visit Gamestingr for great videos, news, and gameplay!
