6. Releasing Muhammad Hassan – 2005

Alternative SmackDown

Muhammad Hassan had so much heat at the end of his run that the UPN Network put so much pressure on WWE that the character was taken off of television. It was shameful to lose the most engaging story of that time because the UPN Network didn’t want to rub some people the wrong way.

In the early 2000’s, the United States was dealing with the aftermath of 2001. Muhammad Hassan was a character directly attacking the issue of terrorism head-on. A man of Arab descent simply wanting relief from the increased prejudice of the current events. It was a real story that was happening right in front of your face, but the backlash was too much for UPN to handle and the first time WWE had to hit the break.

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