10 Times WWE SmackDown Went Too Far

8. 7/7 Hassan Attacks

Dawn Marie
WWE.com

A dated and horribly-timed segment with The Undertaker that ultimately went so far that it brought his p*ss-weak story with Muhammad Hassan to an abrupt halt, this wasn't just SmackDown going too far but WWE going too stupid then going too far in letting it air.

To reset; Hassan had bitten off more than he could chew with The Undertaker, as was obvious to all at the time. To try and balance the books, he led a gang of masked associates in an assault of 'The Deadman' on a SmackDown episode taped on July 4th. The group garrotted him with piano wire before carrying "martyr" and manager Daivari out on their shoulders.

America's birthday, cheapest heat, jingoism, you get it. But you never should have.

The segment inexplicably aired in full on international (though not British) broadcasts on July 8th despite the London 7/7 bombings killing 56 and injured hundreds more. Hassan's WWE career (in real and storyline terms) was appropriately laid to rest by the former 'American Badass' at the Great American Bash later that month. It was the only possible (and failed) way to try and walk back one of the grossest run-ins ever.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett