10 Most Infamous WWE Ruthless Aggression Era Controversies
8. The Muhammad Hassan Character
Bruce Prichard claims that Vince McMahon, when presenting the idea of the Muhammad Hassan character to his creative team in 2004, said that Arab-Americans had been unfairly portrayed and vilified in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks - and he wanted to correct that.
This was complete nonsense, of course. WWE knew precisely what they were doing, anticipated the audience reaction to the character, and used it as pretext to "develop" it from persecuted Arab-American lashes out to shoot terrorist. It is remarkable, frankly, that WWE even went to the bother of doing the first bit.
Very quickly, WWE could not help themselves. Steve Austin, babyface, said "I see sand people" right in Hassan's face. The avatar for the common man racially abused Hassan in the script. The fans were absolutely not meant to receive Hassan as a persecuted figure. In any other world, that Austin angle would have babyfaced Hassan, but the foreign menace can't possibly work in wrestling when they are a white American, can it?
Also: Jerry Lawler on commentary bemoaned that Hassan would order women to cover everything except their eyes.
Won't someone think of the real victim here - Jerry Lawler's erection?!