10 Most Disgusting WWE Promotional Tactics Ever

2. Going Too Far With Muhammad Hassan

Muhammad Hassan was a hot heel in WWE in 2005, but it was a character that lasted less than a year because of how controversial it was. Hassan portrayed an Arab American that pissed off a lot of American fans because of what he said and did. With tensions high among Americans and Arabs due to wars in Iraq & Afghanistan, the Hassan character added fuel to the fire. What WWE did with the angle was they would say he wasn't a terrorist and that he was just an American that wanted freedom, but he was mad because people assumed he was evil. If that was the whole storyline then it would have been fine. However, WWE crossed a line. Prior to the Great American Bash match in 2005 where Hassan would face The Undertaker, there was an angle on Smackdown that drew a lot of negative attention for WWE. There were five masked men, dressed in black shirts, ski-masks, and camouflage pants that had clubs and piano wire with them. They beat up Undertaker, choked him out and Hassan put him in the Camel Clutch. It was simulating a beheading. It was controversial because of what they were simulating, but also because three days after the angle was taped (taped on July 4) were the London bombings that saw 52 people die and upwards of 700 people were injured. The footage aired in North America although it was taken out of other broadcasts in other parts of the world. Due to the real life heat that the character was getting, WWE was pressured to take the character off television. During the Undertaker/Hassan match at the Great American Bash 2005, Undertaker beat Hassan and his allies in impressive fashion. It was the end of the Hassan character for good and it's a character that is never mentioned anymore.