10 Worst WWE Moments Of 2004

Wrestling has learned the hard way to stay away from certain topics. The industry has never been able to handle subjects like mental illness, racism or sexuality sensitively. Everything has always been cloaked in a clumsiness that feeds stereotypes and can even do more harm than good. Then, in retrospect, WWE has occasionally rewritten history to claim they were misjudged or people took things the wrong way.

Muhammad Hassan was an awful concept from the moment Jim Cornette received a phone call down in OVW about promising star Marc Copani's new role on the main roster. Cornette couldn't believe what Vince McMahon had in mind for his developmental rookie, but WWE ploughed ahead with Hassan. Then, on the 13 December 2004 Raw, Muhammad and his handler Daivari debuted opposite Mick Foley in a trash segment that acted as a warning of things to come.

Hassan introduced himself as a wrestler who wanted to bite back at prejudice he’d faced since the 9/11 terror attacks in 2001. That, predictably given the political climate, was booed. Mick was incensed by Muhammad's words about America, and a not-so-thrilling debate about the United States army ensued.

Somehow, things would get even worse for the character heading into 2005, but this was a rough start.

WWE should've known long before 2004 that they couldn't be trusted to tackle such a sensitive subject as racism. Toss terrorism into the mix and it was a recipe for calamity. Internally, Copani knew that his new character was going to turn heads for all the wrong reasons, but he also wanted to please his employer and make a name for himself.

Dude ended up with an entire 'Dark Side Of The Ring' episode on VICE, so...congrats?