15 Things We Learned From Dark Side Of The Ring: Muhammad Hassan
12. An Episode Of Sunday Night Heat Changed Everything
There might not be a human out there who vividly remembers the 12 December 2004 episode of old 'C' show Sunday Night Heat. Why would you? A match pitting Billy Kidman and Akio vs. Paul London and Chavo Guerrero has been lost to time, and it's hardly like the wrap-up show was an ongoing concern to WWE back then. Most have probably even forgotten that Ivory and Todd Grisham hosted the thing in late-2004.
During the episode, both hyped the coming debut of Muhammad Hassan on Raw. Then, in a moment which thankfully not many people would've seen, Ivory asked Todd how he'd be getting to Huntsville for the flagship. When Grisham said he'd be driving, she answered: “Good, because I don’t want you to be flying, if you get my drift”.
Eek!
Journalist John Pollock told VICE that he thinks this was a real shift in WWE’s way of thinking and their approach towards the Hassan character. “That sets the tone for what the audience can expect”, he added. Pollock wasn't wrong. Come Raw on the following Monday, people tuning in knew they were about to see an angry Arab-American wrestler who was based on the horrific Twin Towers tragedy several years prior.
Ivory pretty much spelled that out on Heat. Copani himself wasn't privy to any of this, because he was far too busy readying for a debut segment opposite company legend and fellow 'Dark Side Of The Ring' subject Mick Foley. He would've been horrified though, surely. WWE's own announcers were almost suggesting that anybody flying on a plane with Hassan was in immediate danger.