WWE and Vince McMahon are at the epicenter of controversy again. In a pretty shocking turn of events, WWE and Vince are being sued by a former writer who faced racial discrimination for rejecting one of WWE’s racist storylines. The scrapped storyline involved Mansoor revealing to Aalyah that he orchestrated the 9/11 incident. Raunchy and racist promos were common in the old era. But WWE can no longer create storylines on sensitive issues. Vince McMahon once went too far when he made The Undertaker fight the kayfabe Al-Qaeda.
Back in 2005, The Undertaker was involved in a feud with Muhammad Hassan. Hassan played the gimmick of an Arab-American who had a chip on his shoulder.
In addition, he’d victimize his opponents with the help of Shawn Daivary and a gang of masked terrorists. McMahon went rather over the top with the idea when he introduced them as members of a terrorist group.
#OnThisDay in #PopCulture and #WrestlingHistory:#July13:
1977-#NYCBlackout
1985- #AViewToAKill is released
2005- UPN asks #WWE to remove the #MuhammadHassan character after a terrorist angle with #Undertaker, which was shown in London…the same day of their terror attacks. pic.twitter.com/KLQbRPrB6W
— Saved By The Pod® (@savedbtpod) July 13, 2020
Vince McMahon once made The Undertaker fight the kayfabe Al-Qaeda in 2005
During an edition of SmackDown, The Undertaker was brutally attacked by Muhammad Hasan’s terrorist group. After the kayfabe-Al-Qaeda decimated The Phenom by choking him with a piano wire, Hassan put The Deadman in a Camel Clutch.
The group then proceeded to hoist the lifeless body of The Undertaker and made their way backstage. Unfortunately, the SmackDown edition was taped just days before the infamous London 7/7 bombings in the UK. The incident tragically killed 56 people.
In the wake of the incident, WWE was heavily criticized for its storyline. This instigated WWE’s TV partner to urge WWE to scrap the angle. And so, Muhammad Hassan’s budding career went up in smoke. Hassan last competed in WWE against The Undertaker at the Great American Bash PPV.
Hassan was rendered unconscious after taking a devastating last ride from The Undertaker through the ramp. Today, Hassan whose real name is Marc Julian Copani, works as a school principal.
Unfortunately for Hassan, WWE in 2005 didn’t know what “nuance” meant and quickly turned him into a stereotypical terrorist character in a storyline with the Undertaker. This tasteless angle led to UPN wanting Hassan off their network and his planned world title win scrapped. pic.twitter.com/QOExxMhZBy
— The House that Kami Built (@KamitronPTW) April 24, 2023
WWE is seemingly not going to comment on the lawsuit filed
The plaintiff, Britney Abraham, joined WWE in 2020. But she was later fired for taking home a WrestleMania-branded chair. According to reports, the former writer is seeking reinstatement, restitution for wrongful termination, declaratory judgment, and an order that prevents the company from encouraging exploitative business conduct.
I’m told WWE will not be commenting on the lawsuit filed
— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) April 26, 2023
Although social media is buzzing, Sean Ross Sapp reports that WWE will seemingly refuse to comment on anything on the ongoing lawsuit. Vince McMahon’s return to the fold has palpably done more harm than good so far. But then again, such lawsuits are a common occurrence in WWE. We will have to wait and see how this story develops.
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