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A veteran WWE performer recently said that the Stamford-based promotion might never ask him to return due to his backstage behavior in the past. Muhammad Hassan added that he had changed as a person since then.
Hassan had a short-lived run in WWE from late 2004 to August 2005. He was involved in notable storylines against top names like Hulk Hogan, John Cena, and The Undertaker, among others. However, Hassan's gimmick of an Arab wrestler was controversial as people drew parallels with the real-world happenings at the time.
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WWE eventually pulled Muhammad Hassan from TV amid rising public uproar, following which he was released from the company. The 45-year-old star, who soon after left wrestling, recently sat down for a chat with Fightful Wrestling.
Hassan said he didn't expect the promotion to bring him back as his backstage conduct wasn't good during his tenure.
“No, and I wouldn’t expect them to. I mean, I have always taken responsibility for my missteps in the locker room and outside the locker room. I wasn’t a perfect person back then. I definitely learned a lot. That was a tough locker room, and Shawn had said that to me a lot of times after, and Shane Helms knows what he is talking about. I respect Shane’s opinion about anything. It was a different locker room and scene. The character would have never worked in 2016, obviously because of the change in society, but would I have worked better in that locker room? Maybe. But that’s something I look back at and accept responsibility for, and I made plenty of mistakes and have learned from them.” (H/T: TJR Wrestling)
Muhammad Hassan on his relationship with Vince McMahon in WWE
A few months ago, in an interview, Hassan opened up about his equation with Vince McMahon during his time in WWE. The retired star said he found McMahon to be approachable and added that he even flew with him.
"Vince [McMahon] was always great to me too (...) And for everything that's happened afterward, I can't speak of. But when I was there at the time working with Vince, he was always good to me. My character was kind of like his baby. I remember flying on his personal jet going to like Buffalo (...) It was really cool, but I never had any problem with him. He was always very open and accessible to me," Hassan said.
Though Muhammad Hassan bid goodbye to wrestling in 2005 to pursue a career as a teacher, he did come out of retirement to compete in a few matches in 2018.
