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Muhammad Hassan, real name Marc Copani, suspected that his time in WWE was over when John Laurinaitis advised him against buying a new house.
WWE removed Hassan from television in July 2005 shortly after his controversial terrorist angle with The Undertaker coincided with the London bombings. The character was written off television following his loss against The Phenom at The Great American Bash.
Speaking on Rene Dupree’s Cafe de Rene podcast, Hassan recalled how he told Laurinaitis that he planned to buy a house. In response, WWE’s Head of Talent Relations dropped a major hint that his days with the company could be numbered.
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“It was Johnny Ace [Laurinaitis], who was Talent Relations at the time, I don’t know if he still is, but he had told me it’s just not gonna work. ‘We’re pulling this character.’ I remember telling him, ‘Hey, what’s going on? Because I’m about to buy a house.’ I remember him saying, ‘Don’t buy the house.’ That’s when I knew,” Hassan said. [18:05-18:24]
Hassan received his release from WWE in September 2005, two months after his controversial angle with The Undertaker abruptly ended.
John Laurinaitis made it clear that WWE had no plans for Muhammad Hassan
WWE originally planned to book Muhammad Hassan to defeat The Undertaker at The Great American Bash and Batista at SummerSlam. If that happened, Hassan’s victory over Batista would have made him the youngest World Champion (23 years old) in history.
Following John Laurinaitis’ warning, the former superstar continued to receive income from WWE before finally receiving his release:
“I was taken off of television.” Hassan continued, “I think my last match was July of 2005 against The Undertaker, Great American Bash. Instead of beating The Undertaker, he powerbombed me through the stage to kill off my character. You saw my character laying on the concrete with blood coming out the back of my head.” [17:40-18:05]
Hassan now works as the principal of a junior high school in New York. His only wrestling matches since his exit from WWE came on the independent scene in 2018.
Please credit Cafe de Rene and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.
