UPN and World Wrestling Entertainment are being attacked because of last week's "Smackdown" episode where it showed WWE wrestler, the Undertaker, being the victim of a terrorist attack. It also just happened to be July 7th, the day of the London terror bombings.
Now, for me to continue writing this, I'm going to have to admit that I actually watched this, which means everyone will think I spend my free time watching pro-wrestling on TV. I don't! I promise! I just happened to be flipping around and noticed something that caught my eye.
Apparently, WWE has a relatively new wrestler added to their roster. He goes by the name of Muhammad Hassan. He's 243 pounds of over-tanned muscle, with one of those seemingly painted on beards. Oh, and one more thing. He is the stereotypical Arab Muslim man, complete with Ghutrah (scarf Arab men often wear) and Iqal (black cord used to secure scarf) on his head. His intro video consists of flashes of a busy American street, followed by images of the White House and the Statue of Liberty and a house with a white picket fence. Very American. In the background, Arab music is playing and there are shots of Hassan doing a typical Muslim hand movement in praise of Allah. Can they play into this anymore?
When I flipped to this last Thursday night, on the bottom of the screen UPN had a scrolling alert that read, "In light of today's tragic events in London, parental discretion is advised in viewing this episode."
Now, I'm all about controversial subject matter. I think it's good once in a while to keep people on their toes. However, what I saw during this ten minute or so "act" was this:
Hassan and his little short sidekick/manager, who goes by the name Khosrow Daivari, came out; Hassan dressed in Arab attire, his manager in a suit. Everyone, naturally, booed loudly and I noticed on some of the faces of people in the audience looks of pure hatred and anger, deeply rooted, obviously. The match itself was the typical play acting of wrestling which nearly put me to sleep, but I kept watching, interested to see what would happen. I mean, this is UPN and on a day of terrorist attacks, something is bound to happen, right? At the end, with the Undertaker laying prostrate in the center of the ring, Hassan got into a praying position and a group of "terrorists" wearing black ski masks and camouflage pants came out and started to "beat up" the Undertaker. It was gruesome, crass, disgusting and just to add to it all, one of the pseudo-terrorists pulled out a cord and went on to choke the Undertaker.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Eric Olsen
very good job on this JV, I didn't know anything about it - thanks and welcome!
2 - Matt Paprocki
They put the warning up, it was all filmed on Tuesday, as Smackdown always is. They had nothing else to fill the time slot. It had nothing to do with the terrorist attacks. They choked the Undertaker. They didn't blow him up. If you didn't follow the warning, hey, that's your fault.
3 - Matt Paprocki
And for the record, Hassan is used as a digruntled Arab-American who is sick of the predujice. That's his angle, and the reason for the intro video. They did this years ago in the early 90s with the Iron Shiek and Hulk Hogan. Same angle.
4 - Everett W.
WWE has some of the best video engineering capability imaginable. The fed could easily have reedited with Smackdown with substitute footage (as it did for U.K. audiences) and had the new version sent to UPN in time for that evening's broadcast. Vince McMahon chose to provoke a controversy instead. To paraphrase one of his wrestlers, that's how he rolls.
5 - simon hb
Matt:
They had nothing else to fill the time slot.
Apart from being perhaps the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard - they don't have a library of old shows to show again? they don't have anything else? - if they really didn't have anything else to show, why not show nothing at all? Or a photo of some flowers with some music over it?
Or how about some UPN executives being forced to do something worthwhile, like setting up a dog-walking service or something?
6 - Jones Violet
Eric - thanks! i'm honored to be here!
Matt - I heard about it being filmed earlier, and it simply seems to be a case of bad timing, but I still think they could have held that eipsode for a later date.
7 - Matt Paprocki
They don't show old shows. There are NO reruns in pro wrestling. It was filmed Tuesday (maybe even Monday). The attacks happened, the tape was sent. The simple fact is, they warned people. They told you it COULD be offensive. If you were curious and offended, it's no ones fault but your own.
They have storylines to move. Starting controversy over something this ridiculous is only going to increase ratings.
What did the UK show air? When does it air over there as opposed to the US?
And what's the embarrasment about watching pro wrestling?
8 - balletshooz
I have to admit. I DO watch professional wrestling. They did the same type of things years ago with communists, having them come out with soviet flags, and being the bad guys, etc. Yes this skit is even closer to the line of offensive, but it is comedy and the characters always do represent conflicts in society like this.
9 - RJ
Look, if you take "pro" wrestling seriously at all, you really need to have your funny bone tested. I think it might have been irrepairably damaged...
10 - Matt Paprocki
Of course fans take it seriously. It's a great buisness if you know anything about it, and unfortunately, people don't. "It's fake."
Partly, sure. I dare anyone, ANYONE, who think it's fake to step into a ring with any of those guys and do what they do for a week and come back and tell me it's fake. You won't. It's more athletic than the four major sports. Yes, I said that. Those matches are NOT choreographed. Certain spots may be in a big match, but the majority (90%, if not higher) are all done on the fly. They get injured just as much, take a beating even harder (that ring is rock hard), and do this 250+ days a year.
11 - RJ
Dude, I never said these guys weren't talented and athletic and hard-core strong. But their little speeches and bouts are fixed. Everyone knows this.
If the big-wigs want someone to "win" a bout, he wins. If they want someone to attack a "defenseless, prone" wrestler with a savage assault, IT HAPPENS.
And why does it happen? BECAUSE IT'S FIXED!
12 - Jones Violet
Eeek.
Haven't there been some wrestlers who have died in the ring or following a match? (A Canadian comes to mind, but I can't remember his name..) I think that is proof enough it should be taken seriously to a certain degree. But those speeches....the cheesiest thing ever. I think, and this is just my personal opinion, that if they took away all the yapping and whining and fluffy stuff and just focused on the fighting and ass-kicking, it'd be taken a lot more seriously. Maybe not?
No one will deny those guys are strong, talented and hard-core. I'd never in a million years want to piss any of those guys off.
13 - Matt Paprocki
Many a wrestler have died in the ring over the years, and many more have been seriously injured enough never to do it again. Owen Hart fell from the rafters a few years back and died. Darren Drozdoff was paralyzed for life. Shawn Michaels was gone for 4+ years with a back injury. It's brutal stuff, and some people just won't admit it, simply because of the theatrics.
And of course it's fixed. So is a movie or a sitcom, but you watch those, right? How do they determine who wins? It's the guy that can get a crowd of 10,000+ behind him. It's not just a matter of saying "Ok, he wins tonight." No. There's far more behind that, from in-ring talent, storylines, to merchandising.
The speeches are no different from trash talk in any other sport, just acted out. There's a way it needs to be done, to either get a crowd booing you or cheering. Sure, some of it is cheap (and some of these guys should NEVER pick up a mic), but get a guy like Ric Flair, Roddy Piper, or the Rock, and tell me it's not entertaining as hell. Besides, they need to overact. A person sitting in the worst seat in the house needs to be able to read a reaction just as easy as the guy in the front.
14 - Matt Paprocki
Just so everyone knows, you can hit the WWE website for an in-character rebuttal from this weeks Smackdown. It's hilarious as they rip apart a New York Post writer for the critiscm.
15 - Muhammad Hassan fan club member
Dear moron,
You have no idea what you're talking about so I don't know why you wrote an article about it. You see this character, and that's what it is, a character, for 5 minutes and make a judgment about it. I don't know if you watch television besides the few minutes you flip through wrestling, but other shows use terrorist characters much worse than this. And if you stopped to listen to what this guy has to say, you will realize that even though he's an Arab American, he's not a terrorist. Yeah, hard to believe right? Well I guess it is for a racist. I could spend more time explaining how wrong you are, but it's not worth it. Oh, and by the way, you got his 'real name' wrong...you must have done some nice research, huh?
Just for the record, this show was filmed on Monday and that part was not shown in the UK.
16 - Jones Violet
Actually, if you had not jumped to conclusions and labeled me as a 'moron' and a 'racist' and simply asked why I had posted this article, you would have known that I am by no means racist and that the reason why what I saw bothered me so much was because of how it might hurt the already damaged image of Arabs in America (and the world) because of how quick people are to label them as a terrorist. Next time don't be so quick to judge.
17 - Muhammad Hassan fan club member
You're right. I am sorry that I called you a moron.
However, you say "don't be so quick to judge." Well, that is exactly what you did. You call the men that helped Hassan terrorists. Why are they terrorists? Is it because they wore black masks, or because they have camo pants? Or is it because their leader is an Arab American? I'm sorry, I just find this whole thing stupid. Hassan is not allowed to be on Smackdown! (at least not this week) thanks to the event you described. It makes no sense. If you watched the WWE more, you'd see that much worse things than this have been done and it just makes me mad that UPN is forcing him off of the show. Once again, I'm sorry, I just wanted to discuss how I feel.
18 - Jones Violet
Perhaps I was wrong to call them terrorists, but that's what they were refered to on the show and in news articles about it. I didn't know what else to call them..pseudo terrorists? Who knows. Yes, I judged, as well, that's true.
I had no idea UPN was forcing him off the show and I do agree with you that that is pretty bad. Personally, I think the whole thing would have been a whole lot different if the this episode didn't happen to be on the same time as the London bombings. I think people were extra sensitive, more prone to be offended by things that on a typical day would have passed off with a raised eyebrow and nothing more.
Anyway, I do apologize if I offended you (or anyone), it was certainly not what I wanted to do at all.
19 - Dan
Being a Family Friendly Pro-Wrestling Group, The World Wide Wrestling Alliance is appalled at that conduct. There is Never any reason to capitalized on tragedies going on oversea. And I am not just talking about the London incident. The WWE showed no regard for the feelings of the families who have lost love ones in the Middle East to terrorist, and our brave Men & Woman putting their lives on the line everyday in Iraq.
Acts like this is what give the GREAT sport of Pro-Wrestling a bad name.
20 - Matt Paprocki
UPN has told the WWE they can no longer put Hussan on their network. They had a story on wwe.com a day or two ago. They're not sure what they're going to do with the character, let alone the guy playing him.
21 - Kris
I am a long time wrestling fan and to quickly dismiss all the comments about wrestling being "fixed" or "fake" I have this to say: Any fight scene or action sequence you have ever seen on TV or in the movies is 'fake'. The difference is pro-wrestlers do the same type of action LIVE and obviously without the benefit of retakes, stuntmen and camera tricks. Just some food for thought.
Regarding the Muhammad Hassan situation; I do believe that this character since his first appearance on Smackdown is offensive. It's clear that WWE writers hatched the idea as a result of the 9/11 attack and the resulting war in Iraq. Knowing their would be instant outrage if the character was positioned as a terrorist from a Middle Eastern country they tried to create the same type of character but cleaned him up slightly by angling him as an Arab-American angry with discrimination in America. It should be noted that this is not the first time ethnic stereotypes of "topical" characters have been used by the WWE. Who can forget the Nikoli Volkoff (of the USSR) who was created during the cold war or the contemporary Tajiri who's tactics in the ring are often referred to as "Kamakazi-like" However I believe Hassan and his manager Davari are in particular bad taste due to the horror of 9/11 that lives in the recent memory of all Americans. I hope that Hassan's character is discontinued. This is truly an all-time low, even for Vince McMahon.
22 - Angry American
[Personal attack deleted] Wrestling is a show and Hassan is an American. What happened to the melting pot? Just because he's of Arab descent doesn't mean he's a terrorist. To me, your saying that just cuz someone is black, they should be a slave. You should [personal attack deleted] quit making judgements on people you dont even know. O, and he grew up in Detroit Michigan. Last time I checked, that was in the US.
23 - Jones Violet
"Angry American" - did you even read the article? Learn how to read informantion before you run your mouth.
24 - Kris
I know I shouldn't even dignify Angry American's response with a reply but unfortunately I will.
First of all Hassan is a character. The pro-wrestler who plays him on TV my guess is not even of Middle Eastern decent and like Scott Hall before him just has spent countless hours tanning and "researching" his character. Having said that-THAT'S NOT THE POINT!!
The point IS, as much as the WWE tries to clean him up he is supposed to be "terrorist-like" otherwise why position him as a "heel"? Frankly I think a character who claims to be the victim of discrimination would truly be much better as a "face". The answer is obviously because in today's America that character wouldn't be controversial and wouldn't sell tickets. Finally with your regards to "making judgments about people I don't even know". Are you claiming to personally "know" the wrestler who plays Muhammad Hassan? C'mon!
25 - Muhammad Hassan fan club member
If anyone didn't see The Great American Bash last night, Muhammad Hassan was basically 'killed off', for a lack of better terms. Undertaker destroyed all of his friends/supporters and Daivari. Hassan was crawling away, battered and beaten after a loss to Undertaker just moments ago, but Undertaker caught him. He chokeslamed Muhammad on the steel stage and then gave him the Last Ride from the top of the stage to the concrete floor below. Hassan was bleeding and unconcious, and he had to be rushed to the hospital.
There is no difference between what I just described and what took place three weeks ago. Well, one difference: The guy getting beat up was the Arab American rather than the guy doing the beating. I don't see why you people are still arguing and upset about this. How hard is it to realize that the men were not terrorists? I myself am upset because my favorite guy, Muhammad Hassan, will no longer be on Smackdown!. I can only hope that he will go back to Raw on October 3, 2005 when WWE returns to the USA network.