21 Years Of WWE SmackDown Mistakes

15. 2005 - The Undertaker Vs. Terrorism

In July 2005 Muhammad Hassan was rumoured to be a contender for World Champion Dave Batista following several dire 'USA: LOVE IT, OR LEAVE IT!' feuds, but a distasteful and horrendously-timed segment with The Undertaker finished the dated persona for good.

Following a beatdown of Hassan cohort Daivari by 'The Deadman', a gang of masked assailants struck at the praying Hassan's behest, garotting him with piano wire before carrying "martyr" Daivari out on their shoulders. Taped July 4th, the segment inexplicably aired in full on international (though not British) broadcasts on July 8th despite the London 7/7 bombings killing 56 and injuring hundreds more. Livid network complaints forced WWE to hit the panic button on the character.

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