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Post by arthuradams2002 on Mar 11, 2011 3:17:55 GMT -5
Do you look back on this angle and say this was very poor taste on the WWE's part ?
I know there was a bombing in London around the time they shot this angle, but even if that had not had occurred, could we still look back and say it was a bit too much.
For crying out loud, you had a guy depicting an Arab, coming to the ring with guys depicting insurgents, such as Al Qaeda.
I know it was revealed that Val Venis was one of them, but has it ever been documented as to who the other "terrorist" were ?
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Post by kevservo on Mar 11, 2011 3:21:28 GMT -5
Not so much poor taste, but rotten timing. Remember, the Hassan character was supposed to be a twist on the Arab Heel character in that the arab in question was in fact, an Arab-American who was fed up with all the post-9/11 racism that was being directed toward his people, and he wouldn't stop whining about it.
I really dug Hassan's original run. It was when they moved him to Smackdown when things really went to shit. He and his 'terrorist' goons beat down the Undertaker and then like a DAY later, may have been two, the London subway bombings happened, and that was pretty much it. They could not in good conscience continue the current angle they were running.
At least that's how I remember it.
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Post by arthuradams2002 on Mar 11, 2011 3:29:32 GMT -5
When would have been good timing to run a mock terrorist attack in wrestling ? Just like the question is the comedic world, when is too soon ?
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Post by kevservo on Mar 11, 2011 3:32:19 GMT -5
When would have been good timing to run a mock terrorist attack in wrestling? When a real one happens a day later.
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Dave at the Movies
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
VINTAGE D-DAY DAVE! Always cranking dat thing.
Posts: 18,224
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Post by Dave at the Movies on Mar 11, 2011 3:33:53 GMT -5
How is it any worse than The Iron Sheik? I guarantee you the Iron Sheik would not have been as big or gotten a big push if it hadn't been for the Iranian Revolution in the late 70s.
I think the Hassan gimmick was kind of stupid from a political and wrestling sense. The whole thing didn't make any sense at all from the very beginning. How in the hell was he considered a heel in his run on RAW? At most he should have been a tweener.
The part where the terrorists attack Undertaker was about the only thing that made any sense in the angle although it was still pretty stupid.
I thought the Truth Commission stable made more sense even though most people had no clue what they were suppose to be.
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Post by James McCloud IS John Godot on Mar 11, 2011 3:40:18 GMT -5
When would have been good timing to run a mock terrorist attack in wrestling ? Just like the question is the comedic world, when is too soon ? I can't answer that, but I can guess that the exact same day as a major terrorist attack in London is probably not it.
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Post by kevservo on Mar 11, 2011 3:49:35 GMT -5
When would have been good timing to run a mock terrorist attack in wrestling ? Just like the question is the comedic world, when is too soon ? I can't answer that, but I can guess that the exact same day as a major terrorist attack in London is probably not it. Actually it happened two days before. Smackdown is taped, remember? It was AIRED the same day as the London attack. I remember the negative publicity it caused pissed UPN off something horrible. Under normal circumstances, a mock terrorist attack is no worse than Triple-H having sex with a dead woman in her coffin. How is that any more objectionable? Bad taste? f*** yeah, but that's the WWE for you. The London bombings changed the game. It was really the first time the network really stepped in and it set in motion a chain of events that got the guy Future Endeavored.
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Post by James McCloud IS John Godot on Mar 11, 2011 3:51:30 GMT -5
I can't answer that, but I can guess that the exact same day as a major terrorist attack in London is probably not it. Actually it happened two days before. Smackdown is taped, remember? It was AIRED the same day as the London attack. I remember the negative publicity it caused pissed UPN off something horrible. He asked when it was ok to run it, not when it was ok to tape it. Come on, dude, no need to be so pedantic.
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Post by Muskrat on Mar 11, 2011 3:52:53 GMT -5
Muhammad Hassan was just one massive f*** up after another. The only good part of his run was the Hulk Hogan thing at 'Mania 21. Other then that it was terrible, which is a shame because it had potential
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Post by Rorschach on Mar 11, 2011 3:55:10 GMT -5
I still say he was sympathetic in his initial debut and RAW run. It was just that, with that music, he was gonna get heel heat like HELL no matter where he wrestled. I thought it was even dumber that they go out of their way to announce him as being from "Detroit, Michigan" and the fans STILL chant "USA!" at him.
I stand by my assertion that that character was too "deep" for the "at face value" thinking of a lot of wrestling fans.
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Post by arthuradams2002 on Mar 11, 2011 4:04:43 GMT -5
I think they could have kept him off tv and then repackaged him as an Italian from New York, which was what he really was.
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Post by kevservo on Mar 11, 2011 4:09:23 GMT -5
Can you believe Diavari actually had more of a wrestling career than the guy he was managing?
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Post by Muskrat on Mar 11, 2011 4:09:51 GMT -5
I still say he was sympathetic in his initial debut and RAW run. It was just that, with that music, he was gonna get heel heat like HELL no matter where he wrestled. I thought it was even dumber that they go out of their way to announce him as being from "Detroit, Michigan" and the fans STILL chant "USA!" at him. I stand by my assertion that that character was too "deep" for the "at face value" thinking of a lot of wrestling fans. He was definitely sympathetic in his vignettes, and his first one the crowd wasn't sure how they were supposed to react. And then he ended the promo by saying "Praise Allah". Those 2 words killed any chance of him being a face, or even a tweener. WWE knew damn well that the crowd would boo that, and it quickly turned him into a stereotypical evil "foreigner". Ugh, seriously. That whole thing leaves a bad taste in my mouth now
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Dave at the Movies
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
VINTAGE D-DAY DAVE! Always cranking dat thing.
Posts: 18,224
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Post by Dave at the Movies on Mar 11, 2011 4:12:15 GMT -5
I still say he was sympathetic in his initial debut and RAW run. It was just that, with that music, he was gonna get heel heat like HELL no matter where he wrestled. I thought it was even dumber that they go out of their way to announce him as being from "Detroit, Michigan" and the fans STILL chant "USA!" at him. I stand by my assertion that that character was too "deep" for the "at face value" thinking of a lot of wrestling fans. I would agree with that to a point although it isn't just wrestling fans that wouldn't be able to understand that. I'd say most people are like that especially when it comes to nationalism. Down in Mexico they were very nationalist and Konnan was the first foreigner who really got over as a huge star followed close by Vampiro and later by Mark Jindrak as Marc Corleone. The Hassan gimmick was stupid to begin with and they shouldn't have even tried it. Wrestling isn't a dramatic TV show like that prison show Oz where the black Muslim guy became a favorable character with the audience. What in the hell are they going to do with a character like that when their head RAW writer is a former sitcom writer?
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Post by Wade Barrett = WRESTLING GOD!! on Mar 11, 2011 5:36:48 GMT -5
mike knox was 1 to
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Bub (BLM)
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Fed. Up.
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Post by Bub (BLM) on Mar 11, 2011 5:43:35 GMT -5
Can you believe Diavari actually had more of a wrestling career than the guy he was managing? Yes, because Daivari is actually a good wrestler and has passion for wrestling. Hassan was green as hell, a one trick pony, and only wanted to use WWE as a stepping stone to an acting career.
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Post by Cela on Mar 11, 2011 6:00:51 GMT -5
It could have worked if they actually went with the gimmick rather than have him do typical heel bs like cheat to win matches and interupt fan pleasing segments. Then came the terrorist army, and damn.
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Dave at the Movies
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
VINTAGE D-DAY DAVE! Always cranking dat thing.
Posts: 18,224
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Post by Dave at the Movies on Mar 11, 2011 6:29:30 GMT -5
It could have worked if they actually went with the gimmick rather than have him do typical heel bs like cheat to win matches and interupt fan pleasing segments. Then came the terrorist army, and damn. How could it have worked? People were already booing him. I honestly don't think they knew what the hell they were doing with that gimmick.
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Post by Rorschach on Mar 11, 2011 6:32:42 GMT -5
It could have worked if they actually went with the gimmick rather than have him do typical heel bs like cheat to win matches and interupt fan pleasing segments. Then came the terrorist army, and damn. How could it have worked? People were already booing him. I honestly don't think they knew what the hell they were doing with that gimmick. I agree with you on that. They came up with a deep, interesting idea that in the right hands could have gotten over; if the NWA back in the 1980s could make "evil Russian" Nikita Koloff a lovable babyface in the DEEPLY patriotic South, WWE ought to have been able to work SOMETHING with Hassan. But I agree that once those first few interviews were given, and they had him "praise Allah"....it was all over.
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Post by jabronidrive on Mar 11, 2011 6:39:03 GMT -5
Had they just kept his gimmick as "Muslim-American who feels discriminated against" and not put terrorist stuff in there, he would've been the biggest heel of this generation by a long shot.
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