Will Muhammad Hassan stay in the WWE?

Answer 1

It was revealed in late July 2005 that UPN had pressured WWE to keep Muhammad Hassan off of their network, effectively removing him from SmackDown! However, Hassan had been booked as the winner in his number one contender's match against the Undertaker at The Great American Bash, setting up a Batista - Hassan match for the World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam and winning the title. With no chance of having Hassan wrestle on SmackDown!, the Undertaker won the match instead.

At the Great American Bash, after Hassan's loss, he was given the Last Ride through an open stage ramp onto a concrete floor where it was reported that he sustained serious injuries and had to be rushed to a nearby medical facility, apparently a solution aimed to end the Hassan character. Several days later, WWE.com hosted a video of a kayfabe announcement from Theodore Long, where he reiterates the stipulation that Hassan would no longer appear on SmackDown!. He said to Hassan, " You can go to Raw, or you can go anywhere else in the world. But as far as I'm concerned, you can go to hell !! "

Due to increasing public pressure, the WWE was forced to later drop the character altogether, sending Copani and Daivari to their developmental territories to alter their gimmicks. This resulted in huge fan backlash, mostly because Hassan was at the height of popularity ( or notoriety, as it would be, since the character was a villain ). Mark Copani ( Muhammad Hassan ) was released from his WWE contract on September 21, 2005.