One of WWE's most controversial characters, Muhammad Hassan, was written off TV in 2005 after a year on the main roster. Two decades later, fans are yet to see Hassan step back in the ring, but could that change one-day?
Speaking to TheA2theK Wrestling podcast, Mark Copani, the man behind the Hassan character, reflected on a potential return. Given the controversy of the character two decades ago, and the ongoing political climate, Copani would be wary about revisiting the role of the Arab-American heel.
It depends how it's presented because I can never go out there and pretend to be Muhammad Hassan. I mean, crying out loud, I'm the director of human resource. My job is the rules and perception.
Copani's days of angering fans worldwide with themes of racial discrimination and prejudice are behind him, but wrestling may not. Copani would be lying if he said he wasn't interested in returning in a way "without p*ssing anybody off."
You miss that energy from the crowd. You know, I I miss everything about being in the ring. I miss everything about wrestling. I don't miss the travel, at least the extent to which you have to travel... I'd be lying if I said I'd never want to have that experience again.
For Copani, any kind of return would not be the start of a second run, but instead a "one and done" situation. But with tensions in politics continuing to rage, it remains to be seen if Copani will ever get the tactful one-off return he hopes for two decades after his WWE exit.
