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Post by The Beast Disincarnate on Oct 31, 2013 13:08:44 GMT -5
The guy looks like a freakin irish!! They should give the gimmick to Sheamus, pretending he found god and converted to islam during his recovery. I'm guessing people are just going to ignore the fact there are white people born Muslim. I know that man, but it's just too confusing for wrestling fans. The wrestling storylines are supposed to be caricatures of real life, subtlety is not possible. If you want to portray an evil/face muslim gimmick, it has to be a dark skinned guy, or a white guy who converted and insist on that point ten times every minutes. I actually think a converted guy would be more interesting.
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Post by Andrew is Good on Oct 31, 2013 13:39:41 GMT -5
White people can be born muslim, but it also can come across essentially as white washing or cultural appropriation. Plus, while muslims can be white, not every Syrian is muslim either.
WWE isn't known for it's cultural knowledge anyway. That's why were have Puerto Ricans playing Matadores because they're hispanic enough I guess. This is why women don't talk about anything other then boys or looks. This is why Alberto Del Rio made fun of Jack Swagger by making taco jokes. This is the same company that thought the Lord Tensai gimmick was good and wouldn't be ruined by anything.
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Post by Hit Girl on Oct 31, 2013 13:42:09 GMT -5
More likely it'd be an opportunity to kill his career.
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67 more
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Post by 67 more on Oct 31, 2013 14:03:04 GMT -5
Why not have him be a face? You know, the Muslim version of religious HBK? It doesn't need to be overt, challenge perceptions in a positive way, no need for the evil foreigner every time. Which is exactly what I said in the OP.
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Post by Wolf Hurricane on Oct 31, 2013 15:11:11 GMT -5
The time has passed. Hassan worked because of the weirdness of the world post 9/11, the issue is no longer a hot button. While it may not be as bad as it was immediately post 9/11, the sentiment's still out there. Plus, Syria's been in the news recently, given what's been happening over there, so it's a lot more current than you'd think.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 31, 2013 15:16:47 GMT -5
I'm not gonna lie, I'd love to see the angle the OP suggested I just don't trust the WWE to do it.
I mean, it's exactly what I want out of Sami (Him to play a strong, morally just face) and the Real Americans (Being xenophobic jerkfaces). There's so much there to like.
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Post by celticjobber on Oct 31, 2013 15:17:45 GMT -5
I don't think Muhammad Hassan was ever meant to be anything more than a stereotypical terrorist heel. People read more into his initial promos than they probably should've.
So while your idea isn't bad, it wouldn't be doing Hassan right. And ultimately, I don't think it would work because much of America isn't ready for an Islamic babyface at this point. And WWE isn't exactly known for handling issues of politics or religion very well.
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Post by tigermaskxxxvii on Oct 31, 2013 16:44:13 GMT -5
Even John Cena at his most paAngles like this are tough because they always come off as lame ass after school specials. Turns out JBL's xenophobic tendencies are tied to his drug use "I need help Sami! I need help! I think he should be ostracized for his Canadian heritage. just like how there's a difference between moderate Christians Canadians and the Westboro Baptist Church Hart family.
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Post by "Gizzark" Mike Wronglevenay on Oct 31, 2013 16:50:35 GMT -5
The problem with angles like this is you can't have anyone who's purely whitebread or totally irredeemable because the nature of the business has changed. People like Cena at the moment aside, in the old territory days most people would work face or heel for years at a time and rarely turn. Then the Attitude Era happened and everyone was turning left right and centre. So having a character who is absolutely whitebread babyface, even one trying to raise awareness of a religious prejudice or any other kind of prejudice, means you end up having that character be a dead end and eventually that wrestler will need to be released or repackaged. You can't spend all this time building up this babyface Muslim who everybody loves and then turn him heel, because you just open yourself up to all sorts of criticism from the media for having a stereotypical Muslim villain, even, and I stress this, even if you are not making him stereotypical at all. Also, just from having a white guy Muslim you're going to get a shitload of criticism from people that is undeserved, namely for not having a black guy or an Asian playing the Muslim, which would make the angle more obvious and also give an opportunity to a minority. I think someone mentioned in a differernt thread --or maybe on Youtube-- about him, though, is that Sami should be able to keep his happy-go-lucky, demure personality because it works for him. That would give credence to the angle, especially if he gets jumped by the established heels. Not being dickish but I really don't get your point in relation to my post?
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Post by sportatorium on Oct 31, 2013 19:02:30 GMT -5
My favorite part of the idea is that part of the build involves turning down pork sandwiches. Having Zack Ryder show up each week with varied sandwiches containing pork & Sami eventually snapping. "No! I don't want a cubano- brutal beatdown."
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Post by KobashiChop on Oct 31, 2013 19:11:11 GMT -5
That honestly sounds really lame. A guy as good as Zayn really needs a "less is more" thing to get him to the show.
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thirteen3
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Post by thirteen3 on Oct 31, 2013 19:18:45 GMT -5
The time has passed. Hassan worked because of the weirdness of the world post 9/11, the issue is no longer a hot button. While it may not be as bad as it was immediately post 9/11, the sentiment's still out there. Plus, Syria's been in the news recently, given what's been happening over there, so it's a lot more current than you'd think. So he should be a heel dictator character who battles with another heel syrian rebel character? With Cena about to intervene but then backs out.
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Post by RI Richmark on Oct 31, 2013 19:23:58 GMT -5
In my opinion, the WWE should treat Zayn's heritage the same way they treated Darren Young's sexual orientation, by not making a big deal about it.
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Post by CATCH_US IS the Conversation on Oct 31, 2013 19:35:43 GMT -5
Him looking like a ginger pretty much kills the believability. The PG era (let alone anything getting into religion) buries it under a foot of concrete and pissed on the grave. But it's a creative idea! I liked The Way Muhammad Hassan turned out aside from the being forced out of the company for shit beyond anyone's control. Actually him being a ginger would be perfect to rehash the Hassan gimmick. Have Sami be a violent, enraged militant ginger who is tired of the discriminatory treatment that he and other gingers receive from non-gingers. He is disgusted by vile practices like Kick a Ginger Day, and the fervent accusations that he and his people do not have souls make him sick. He demands respect and equal rights for all gingerkind, and if he doesn't get it, he'll beat it out of each and every one of you.
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Post by tekkenguy on Oct 31, 2013 20:53:36 GMT -5
Zayn's last name is going to backfire against him.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 31, 2013 20:58:04 GMT -5
In my opinion, the WWE should treat Zayn's heritage the same way they treated Darren Young's sexual orientation, by not making a big deal about it. Well, you figure they never mention Damien Sandow's ethnicity, so I don't see why they would have to mention Zayn's unless it was part of his character. Honestly, he doesn't need it.
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Post by CATCH_US IS the Conversation on Oct 31, 2013 21:03:51 GMT -5
In my opinion, the WWE should treat Zayn's heritage the same way they treated Darren Young's sexual orientation, by not making a big deal about it. Well, you figure they never mention Damien Sandow's ethnicity, so I don't see why they would have to mention Zayn's unless it was part of his character. Honestly, he doesn't need it. It kind of IS part of Zayn's character. Zayn speaks Arabic in his promos. Sandow doesn't.
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Post by SCCB Was Told To Do Steroids on Nov 1, 2013 10:48:49 GMT -5
I think someone mentioned in a differernt thread --or maybe on Youtube-- about him, though, is that Sami should be able to keep his happy-go-lucky, demure personality because it works for him. That would give credence to the angle, especially if he gets jumped by the established heels. Not being dickish but I really don't get your point in relation to my post?
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Post by froggyfrog on Nov 1, 2013 12:33:08 GMT -5
Awful idea. Why would someone be offering him Pork backstage in the middle of the show lmao
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Post by crowwreak was WRONG on Nov 1, 2013 12:54:32 GMT -5
Zayn's last name is going to backfire against him. So I'm not the only one who noticed?
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