50 Ruthless Aggression Era Superstars Ranked From Worst To Best

Pros:

1. Great heel gimmick

2. Young and willing to learn

3. Excellent mic skills

Cons:

1. Nuclear backstage heat

2. WWE was doing well with his gimmick at first, but then went off the deep end

3. Had terrible timing

Despite the character intending on rousing xenophobic reactions from the audience, especially in a post-9/11 context, the Hassan character was actually very reasonable during its first phase. He was nothing more than an Arab-American who didn’t want to be stereotyped as a terrorist which, given the geopolitical climate at the time, was more than understandable.

But WWE took that initial gimmick and caved in to outlandishness. Hassan soon became more aggressive and seemingly less-reasonable which this culminated in one of the most controversial segments in modern WWE history.

After ‘sacrificing Daivari to the Undertaker’, Hassan knelt down and ‘prayed’ and 5 thugs appeared and assaulted the Deadman, culminating in them ‘choking him out with piano wire’. That segment aired in the UK on the day of the 7/7 London Bombings, and the subsequent controversy would lead to Hassan's eventual termination from WWE.

It was later rumored that Hassan was supposed to win the WHC from Batista in Washington, DC. That would’ve brought him nuclear heat, and could’ve launched the career of a new Superstar. Alas, fate had other plans, and Hassan’s WWE legacy is one of bad gimmicks, worse backstage problems, and the worst timing in the world.

Final Rating: ***