Muhammad Hassan won't be returning to wrestling.
From the moment Muhammad Hassan made his WWE television debut in 2004, he was a controversial figure, presented as an Arab-American who rallied against prejudice and stereotypes created by the 9/11 attacks. Hassan was a featured player on WWE TV, feuding with the likes of Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels, and Batista.
On July 4, 2005, WWE taped an angle for SmackDown that involved Hassan summoning masked men to attack and choke The Undertaker with piano wire. The angle ran on July 7, the same day as the London bombings. The angle gained national attention and UPN reportedly pushed WWE to pull Hassan from their network. At The Great American Bash on July 24, Hassan was written off WWE television with The Undertaker delivering a Last Ride through the stage ramp. Hassan went back to developmental to change his character, but was released from WWE in September 2005.
"The character got more radicalized, and after the incident with the London bombings everyone got upset,'' Hassan said in an interview with Syracuse. “Hassan became too controversial for wrestling. I was heartbroken. I put everything I had into the WWE, and had it all taken away from me. I just withdrew from wrestling all together.”
Hassan would make a handful of independent appearances in 2018, but when asked about a future in wrestling he said, "I’m never doing it again."
Hassan, real name Marc Copani, doesn't seem to hold any grudges, saying "It was a blessing in disguise because today I love being a principal.”
He currently serves as principal of Fulton Junior High School in New York.
