15 Things We Learned From Dark Side Of The Ring: Muhammad Hassan
The rise, fall and rebirth of the man behind WWE's most controversial character.
Muhammad Hassan will always be viewed as one of the most controversial characters in WWE history. The timing of his arrival on the scene couldn't have been more knowingly inciteful (not insightful!); people in the United States were still picking up pieces from the harrowing events of terror attacks in New York on 11 September 2001 when Vince McMahon introduced his latest creation in 2004.
Aspiring hopeful Marc Copani was cast in the role, and it'd change his life forever, but...not everything was as it seemed with Hassan initially. VICE's series finale for this season of 'Dark Side Of The Ring' peeled back some of the layers to reveal what was really going through Copani's mind as he tackled such sensitive subjects as racial tension, immigration, outright xenophobia and more via top WWE shows like Raw or SmackDown.
Some of his answers might not be what fans expect. Also, unlike a lot of what VICE produces for 'Dark Side', this story has a happy ending. It's been a long, often arduous journey to get to this point for Copani though, and he examined the mental impact of watching a dream die through no fault of his own during the documentary.
Want to know how one episode of Sunday Night Heat nobody remembers changed everything? You got it. Wonder what Hassan's punishment was for questioning Eddie Guerrero backstage? That's here too. There are quite fascinating tales on everyone from Vince McMahon, his daughter Stephanie, The Undertaker, the bizarre "Wrestler's Court" and more.
Here's everything learned from a 'what might've been' look at the all too brief WWE career of Marc 'Muhammad Hassan' Copani.
15. Jim Cornette’s Reaction To WWE’s Repackage Job
Say what you will about Jim Cornette (and people do!), but he did a sparkling job of running old WWE developmental talent factory OVW. Whilst there, Jim helped nurture and produce the likes of Brock Lesnar, John Cena, Randy Orton, Batista and many, many more. Between 2002-2004, Marc Copani was one of his brightest prospects for attaining main roster success.
Cornette had booked Copani solidly for around two years as vain villain Mark Magnus. He became OVW Heavyweight Champion, and Jim knew it was only a matter of time before WWE called the guy up to their main roster. However, what Cornette didn't expect was that Vince McMahon would fancy a complete repackage job.
His reaction to that phone call coming in is priceless on the show: “All of a sudden I get a call from the WWE office…saying they wanted to make him an Arab. I said, but he’s an Italian from Syracuse!”. Copani had been an arrogant heel along the lines of ‘Ravishing’ Rick Rude in OVW, so this was a complete 180 turn to say the least. It clearly caught Jim totally by surprise, because he likely figured WWE bosses would want more of the self-obsessed heel stuff.
Not quite.
There's a brilliant moment during 'Dark Side' when Cornette's face drops and he stares right into the camera. The developmental booker knew he couldn't protect his OVW roster from anything that happened to them in the major leagues, but he had to be really worried for Copani if this was the sort of thing McMahon had in mind for him.