Muhammad Hassan On Why He Was Given His Anti-American Character, Not Turning It Down

Muhammad Hassan was one of WWE’s most controversial characters, and the man behind the gimmick recalled being pitched on it recently. Mark Copani, who played the role in 2004 and 2005, spoke with AdFreeShows’ The False Finish about the character and you can check out some highlights below (per Wrestling Inc):

On being pitched the character by Arn Anderson and Jim Cornette: “No idea where it was going to go … It was Vince’s baby, and Vince wanted to bring an Arab heel back into the WWE.”

On not turning the role down: “You don’t say no to a character…[it was] a tremendous opportunity.”

On the character not being able to work today: “I would never imagine a character like this would have flown today, but back then, it wasn’t so outrageous.”

The character was abandoned after UPN pushed WWE to keep him off Smackdown due to mainstream criticism of the gimmick. Copani exited WWE in September of 2005.