10 Cruelest WWE Superstar Exits Ever

Just like talented stars sometimes get saddled with awful gimmicks, there are lousy wrestlers who are given major pushes they can't handle. Mark Copani fell into the latter camp when he was called up from OVW and given the gimmick of Muhammad Hassan, a Muslim-American who had experienced constant discrimination since 9/11.

The gimmick may have worked if handled in a more sensitive fashion, but WWE didn't want to make people think - they wanted to make them boo and chant "U.S.A." Hassan was pushed hard as a heel, despite demonstrating terrible ring work. Behind the scenes, wrestlers hated and resented the naive Copani for his success and his ignorance of backstage etiquette.

WWE had big plans for Hassan - reportedly, he was even going to get a run as World Heavyweight Champion. He feuded with The Undertaker leading up a match at The Great American Bash 2005, but a particularly tasteless angle designed to evoke images of terrorist beheadings led UPN to ban the character from the network altogether.

Confronted with the prospect of Hassan's banishment from Smackdown, WWE decided to write him off TV. At The Great American Bash, The Undertaker gave him a Last Ride through the stage, leading to severe (kayfabe) injuries. Hassan, who was earmarked for a push so recently, was never seen again.