Muhammad Hassan’s journey in WWE may not have turned out as originally envisioned, but he has come to terms with the necessity of his character being removed from television in 2005.
The dismissal of Hassan from the small screen occurred in the aftermath of a promotional speech referencing terrorism. Coincidentally, this promo aired on the same day as a tragic terrorist attack in London—July of that year.
During a recent episode of the “Insight” podcast, Hassan opened up about the choice to remove his character from WWE programming, understanding the reasons behind it.
He disclosed:
“It took me a while to realize that I didn’t want to return to the ring because it was truly devastating for me. Countless hours of intense training and preparation, and then everything abruptly comes to an end, seemingly without reason. I hadn’t done something wrong, I didn’t cause any destruction.
“I comprehend why the character was scrapped from TV, and that was absolutely essential. However, that was what broke my heart. I was just doing my level best, and suddenly, the ground was swept away from beneath my feet.”
Hassan was written out from WWE TV after an assault by The Undertaker. He never made a comeback on WWE television and was let go in September 2005.
In the podcast, he further talked about the backstage opposition his character faced, as well as a speculated run for the World Heavyweight title. If you’d like to hear more about that, it can be found in the podcast.
Muhammad Hassan’s inaugural face-off with Big Show on SmackDown from June 23, 2005, can be viewed below:
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