10 Shocking WWE Angles That Crossed The Line
1. Muhammad Hassan
After the debacle surrounding the 1991 heel turn of Sgt Slaughter and his supposed affinity for Saddam Hussein, the WWE went back to the well once more in late 2004, with the introduction of Muhammad Hassan. In a 21st century update, WWE were now looking to exploit the post-9/11 hysteria in the US.
Everything Hassan said upon his introduction was designed to be truthful and justified, placing blame on the fans as the bad guys. Predictably, Hassan got over quickly as a hated heel on Raw and began to work his way up the card as 2005 rolled on. When Hassan moved to SmackDown, WWE turned the anti-American heat up considerably and poor taste combined with bad timing led to one of the worst instances to ever occur on WWE TV.
With allusions to "sacrifice", "greater good" and "reward" throughout, WWE were walking a thin line when Hassan's manager, Daivari, squared off with The Undertaker on SmackDown. The post-match mugging of 'Taker by men in balaclavas saw 'The Phenom' choked out with piano wire before Daivari was carried out by the masked men in ritualistic fashion. The crowd in attendance were stunned.
The audience at home were even more appalled, as this all hit the screens on 7/7/05 - the same day as the London Bombings.