101 Shocking Wrestling Plans You Won't Believe Almost Happened
47. Daivari Becomes “George W. Bush”
Daivari debuted as Muhammad Hassan's manager and mouthpiece who'd interfere in his matches and generally bitch/moan about the United States. Those controversial gimmicks didn't last long - Hassan and Daivari debuted in late-2004, but the former was written off by July 2005 due to negative press and pressure from SmackDown station UPN.
Without Muhammad, Daivari needed a new gimmick.
That's when Stephanie McMahon called him into her office, presumably with a beaming smile. Y'see, the WWE princess had a brand new character for Daivari to play. Would it be serious and give him a real shot at making something of himself on the roster? Behave. McMahon wanted to rename him 'George W. Bush' and have him play a caricature of American culture.
After living through some of the scary, territorial system-style heat he and Hassan had received on the road, Daivari had no intentions of heaping more hatred on himself by ripping the you know what out of the US and its heritage. Therefore, he politely declined the chance to become Bush (who, by the way, was the current President at the time).
WWE turned Daivari into a henchman and personal referee for Kurt Angle after that, then he was tied to The Great Khali. None of that would've happened for him had he said, 'Sure, I'll become George W. Bush'. Stephanie was probs rather bummed out that Daivari said no. After all, it appeared to be her idea.
Attention, people: If you run a wrestling company, don't let your children get in on creative!