10 Fascinating WWE SummerSlam 2005 Facts
5. Muhammad Hassan Was Supposed To Face, And Beat, Batista
Evolution member holds a World title, loses it to wrestler that portrays an America-bashing heel with roots in the Eastern Hemisphere, and is scripted to push stereotype buttons hard. It happened in 2017, and it would've happened in 2005 if not for horrifying real life events (and an angry network).
Muhammad Hassan went from "I'm tired of being discriminated against because of my heritage" to two-note Arabian madman before long (because WWE), and the company simulated a mock-terrorist beating of The Undertaker at Hassan's behest. The entire angle was not only in poor taste, but it aired the same day as the July 7, 2005 London Bombings, so people were in even less of a mood to sit through such hokey garbage.
Plans were for Hassan to defeat Undertaker at the Great American Bash, then go on to topple Batista at SummerSlam for the World Heavyweight title, becoming a supervillain heat magnet that fans would beg to see get his comeuppance. Instead, UPN (the network that aired SmackDown) flipped out at the storyline, demanded Hassan be removed from the show, and by early fall, the real life Marc Copani left the company, and the business altogether.