Acording to 1wrestling.com, UPN exectutives have stated clearly to WWE that they don't want the Muhammad Hassan character to appear of their network anymore because of the angle involving terrorists 2 weeks ago.
All I have to say is bravo to UPN. WWE really stepped in it and i am really glad they are getting punished for it. Maybe Hassan will have to go back to Raw now and it looks like SummerSlam has been screwed too.
>> Acording to 1wrestling.com, UPN exectutives have stated clearly to WWE that they don't want the Muhammad Hassan character to appear of their network anymore because of the angle involving terrorists 2 weeks ago.
All I have to say is bravo to UPN. WWE really stepped in it and i am really glad they are getting punished for it. <<
You're happy Hassan might be thrown off of UPN? And yet you've drafted Hassan 4 weeks in a row in the Fantasy game. Like scoring zeroes, do you?
If true, it looks like circumstances might force the possibility of Hassan becoming number one contender to Batista to be tossed right out the window.
If true, it looks like circumstances might force the possibility of Hassan becoming number one contender to Batista to be tossed right out the window.
Yet, while Undertaker/Batista is a match, status wise, that seems SummerSlam worthy, it doesn't seem like a match they'd actually like to do. Quite a bind, though I think they can write themselves otut of it.
Correct or not, they see money in the Hassan character and more over, Vince and WWE really don't take well to being told what to do. I'd think that means he's back on RAW and getting a big push, but he was at a creative end there and there's no obvious slot they could slide him in as. So who knows.
Hows about they trade Hassan back to Raw in exchange for Benjamin? Benjamin against Benoit, Eddie, Rey, JBL, Lesnar would be fantastic. Plus, SD offers more upward mobility.
I say split Hassan and Davari and let the latter work in the cruiser ranks. Or, barring that, do what I suggested months ago and put Davari and Hassan into heavy rotation in the tag division. They are a natural tag unit.
"To be the man, you gotta beat demands." -- The Lovely Mrs. Tracker
Just put him back on RAW and he can say how the American run UPN barred him for appearing on their network, etc. Gives him some more ammo to use on RAW about being teated "wrongly".
Looks like Vince's latest little attention-whoring plot has completely backfired. Can't say that it wasn't deserved.
I'd agree with trading Hassan for Shelton but Raw's face side is way too weak right now to lose Shelton. Just Cena in the main event level and just Shelton in the upper-midcard really.
"The way I feel right now, I'd trade my mother if the right deal came along." -- Isiah Thomas.
Solution: Taker wins, Taker vs. Batista on TV, Orton attacks both guys, threeway. Still a risky proposition, but I'm trying to be more creative than Batista/JBL in another rematch.
Originally posted by KawshenLooks like Vince's latest little attention-whoring plot has completely backfired.
I disagree. In the short term, maybe this is a blow, but this could be what puts Hassan over the top and legitimizes him. Vince isn't stupid, I'm sure he sees money in this. They just have to play it right.
Would it be totally out of the question to have Davairi do all the work to promote the match with Batista at Summerslam, talking about how the number one contender isn't even allowed on TV because of his heritage? Hassan could continue to cut some more killer promos on wwe.com and they could even air them on Velocity to make it seem slightly important for a few weeks.
After all, the match isn't *that* important when you consider how stacked the overall card for the show is. Smackdown even has Undertaker/Orton that they could focus on as their big match.
Of course, all of that depends on whether Davairi was part of the package UPN wants rid of.
I wish I knew what was planned for Hassan. I know originally WWE said something like, "In the end, the viewer will be taught a lesson about stereotypes. Let the character play out before judging" Something like that, basically foreshadowing that Hassan would end up as a sympathetic face. I thought that the night that Austin was reffing his match that the face turn was starting. I was definitely wrong on that one.
January 4th 1999 - The day WCW injected itself with 10 gallons of Liquid Anthrax...AKA...The day Hogan "Defeated" Nash to win the WCW title in front of 40,000.
Originally posted by dskillzI wish I knew what was planned for Hassan. I know originally WWE said something like, "In the end, the viewer will be taught a lesson about stereotypes. Let the character play out before judging" Something like that, basically foreshadowing that Hassan would end up as a sympathetic face.
Anything WWE said to this effect always struck me as disingenuous. Deflecting criticism by alluding to a future face turn when the gimmick "plays out" is an empty promise, because there's no guarantee the gimmick will "play out" to begin with. WWE can have Hassan go for cheap xenophobic heat for the rest of his career, all the while saying "Don't get on our case, because he'll turn face any day now..."
That's what offends me about the gimmick. Not the Arab guy sending his terrorist-wannabe buddies to attack heroic white guys, but WWE's two-faced manner of telling critics he's not so bad and telling fans that he really is that bad. Especially when, as in the WWE.com promo, they try to say both things to both groups with the exact same words.
CRZ is right tho, do we have any confirmation that this is really UPN's stance?
And even if it is- Last I checked, Summerslam wasnt going to be shown on UPN, If Vince wants to- Muhammad can keep furthering the storyline from RAW and he can wrestle Taker at Summerslam anyways. Would they do that? Most likely not- but who knows?
"I came to Earth with a simple dream... To kill all humans. And THIS is how it must end? Who's the real 700 ton monster here? Not, I... Not.. I..."
So is UPN (if indeed, the 1wrestling report is true) going to censor any story on their shows that hints at terrorism? Or is this just a new rule that applies to all them "rasslin'" programs out there? Will they eliminate footage of terrorist attacks in their news shows? What if they eventually land a show that covers the topic like 24 does? Would that have to be cut out as well?
I'm sorry -- and I don't mean to belittle anyone's (legitimate) concerns about this angle in general -- but where does UPN get off effectively writing off a character that suddenly is deemed too controversial? Sure, its their network, but have they done this before in the past with characters on other shows?
As far as I know, there have been no complaints about the angle from the FCC, etc. Is this being lumped in as "WWE using poor taste" the same way as the necrophilia angle (and yes, I realize that was on a different network), or are they holding it to a different standard because this guy is an Arab-American portraying a quasi-terrorist?
Again, I understand that many people feel the angle was in poor taste, and that ultimately may drive away viewers, but will UPN pull the same crap with other non-wrestling shows in the future? I guess that's my only point in this...
Oh, and also to say that apparently Muhammad Hassan makes some damned good points about the way society perceives his character.
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