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{{Unreferenced|date=March 2007}} | ||
| {{Infobox Wrestler|name=Mark Copani | {{Infobox Wrestler|name=Mark Copani | ||
| |names=Mark Magnus<br>Muhammad Hassan | |names=Mark Magnus<br>Muhammad Hassan | ||
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| |debut=]}} | |debut=]}} | ||
| '''Mark Copani''' (born ], ]) is a currently inactive ], best known for his appearances with ] (WWE) under the ] '''Muhammad Hassan''', a controversial ] wrestler forced into an unceremonious exit. | '''Mark Copani''' (born ], ]) is a currently inactive ], best known for his appearances with ] (WWE) under the ] '''Muhammad Hassan''', a controversial ] wrestler forced into an unceremonious exit. {{Fact|date=June 2007}} | ||
| ==Career== | |||
| Copani was born in ], ] to an ] mother and an ] father<ref name="Copani">{{cite web | last = Amanullah| first =Shahed| authorlink =| coauthors = | title="Muslim" Wrestlers Get Smackdown In Wake Of Bombings| publisher =alt.muslim| date =]| url =http://www.altmuslim.com/perm.php?id=1505_0_26_0_C| format = | doi = | accessdate =2007-02-14 }}</ref> and raised in ], where he graduated from CNS (Cicero-North Syracuse) high school. Using Mark Magnus as his ], he made his professional wrestling debut in ] at WWE's training ground, ] (OVW). He was once managed by ].{{fact}} | |||
| == |
==References== | ||
| {{reflist}} | |||
| He made his WWE ] debut on '']'' as Muhammad Hassan on ], ] in an in-ring segment with ] after wrestling ] and ]s for about two months. His introductory video and ] featured him and his ], ] introducing themselves. He described himself as a ]-American wrestler wanting relief from the increased ]s created by the ], as he enters professional wrestling. He then concludes with a controversial extension of hands and praise to ]. He stopped praising Allah vocally due to complaints by Muslim-Americans, but still extended his hands during his ring entrance. His speech followed by a supposedly ] translation of his speech (in truth ]) by ]. Hassan's gimmick also involved him interrupting ]s by other wrestlers with his theme music and approaching the ring to cut promos of his own, typically complaining about being held back due to anti-Arab prejudice. This gimmick would often be parodied on YTMND.com | |||
| Making his entrance into the WWE, he berated the way the media have characterized Arab-Americans after September 11. As an example, he focused his anger on ''RAW'' announcers ] and ]. He then defeated Jerry Lawler in his debut match at ]. In the course of his undefeated streak, Hassan defeated wrestlers such as ], ], ], and ]. | |||
| Hassan had attracted so much heat as a heel, a fact which was evident at the ], in the Rumble match itself. When Hassan entered at number 13, everyone who was in the ring at the time: ], ], ], ], ], ], ] and ] immediately ganged up on Hassan and eliminated him. | |||
| At ] on ], ], Hassan and Daivari were featured in a segment with ] that saw Hogan coming to the rescue of wrestler ] who was being attacked by the two Arab-American performers. | |||
| The next night on ''RAW'', Hassan and Daivari came out to confront and assault fan favorite ]. The following week, Michaels approached ''RAW'' General Manager ] demanding a handicap match with Hassan and Daivari. Bischoff refused but did tell Michaels to find a partner and he would grant a match. Michaels then made a plea for Hulk Hogan to come back and team with him. On the ] episode of ''RAW'', Hassan again led an attack on Michaels until Hogan appeared to save Michaels and accept his offer. | |||
| At the '']'' pay-per-view Hassan and Daivari lost to Hogan and Michaels, with Daivari being pinned. Hassan would blame and attack Daivari for the loss the next evening on ''RAW''. | |||
| On ], 2005, Hassan faced popular ] ] and was ] in the biggest match of Hassan's career. While Hassan won via disqualification, he and Daivari were severely beaten by Batista after the match. | |||
| The next week, Hassan was granted a 2-on-1 Handicap Match with Daivari for the ] against ] after threatening ''RAW'' General Manager Eric Bischoff with a ] for Batista's actions. After Hassan initially appeared to pin Benjamin and win the title, the referee realized Benjamin was on the ropes and reversed his decision. Benjamin eventually pinned Daivari to retain his title. | |||
| On ], Hassan and Daivari interrupted a ] by ] ] to complain about how Hassan was "screwed" out of the Intercontinental Title; Bischoff took the opportunity to punish Cena by booking him against Hassan in a WWE Title defense. However, Hassan's losing streak in title matches continued as Cena dominated him in a one-minute squash match, pinning him cleanly and thus ending his "unpinned" streak. | |||
| ===SmackDown! === | |||
| On the ], 2005 episode of '']'', it was revealed both Hassan and ] were drafted to ''SmackDown!'' in the 2005 ]. Hassan's move to ''SmackDown!'' would spell the beginning of the end of the Hassan character and ultimately Copani's tenure with WWE. Hassan won his first ''SmackDown!'' match, a match against ] with help from Big Show's rival ]. The following week, Hassan was involved in a confrontation with ]. | |||
| On the episode of ''SmackDown!'' taped on ], General Manager ] put Muhammad Hassan in a match against The Undertaker at the ] and placed Daivari in a match that night against the Undertaker. Daivari was defeated easily, but Hassan began to "pray" on the ramp, summoning five masked men, dressed almost completely in black. Armed with clubs and a ], they beat and choked the Undertaker out, and Hassan put him in the Camel Clutch. Afterward, the masked men lifted Daivari above their heads and carried him away. Three days later, hours before the episode was scheduled to air, the ] took place. Without sufficient time to properly edit the segment out of the show, ] showed the footage unedited in America and on ] in ] with an advisory warning shown several times during the broadcast. It was removed from the ] and ] (including in the ]) broadcasts. | |||
| The ] elicited national attention in the '']'', '']'', '']'' and other major media outlets. In response to the criticism, UPN decided that it would monitor the storyline closely and that it did not want the Hassan character on its network that week. Hassan later delivered a promo to the live crowd for the ] airing of ''SmackDown!'', but when UPN announced that the segment would be edited, WWE decided to host the video of the segment on its . In the segment, Hassan, reiterates that he is an Arab-''American'' and that the American people automatically and unfairly assume that he is a ]. Despite being in character, he referred to the real-world media coverage of the storyline, singling out the ''New York Post's'' ] by name. On the July 14 episode of ''SmackDown!'', Hassan's absence was explained by a statement delivered by his ], which said that Hassan refused to appear on the show until that month's ] due to the way he had been treated by the media and WWE fans. | |||
| It was revealed in late-] that ] had pressured WWE to keep Hassan off of their network, effectively removing him from ''SmackDown!'' However, Hassan had been ] as the winner in his #1 Contender's match against the Undertaker at The Great American Bash, setting up a Batista-Hassan match for the World Heavyweight Championship at ]. With no chance of having Hassan wrestle on ''SmackDown!'', the Undertaker won the match instead. | |||
| At ] 2005, after Hassan's loss, he was given the ''''']''''' through an open stage ramp onto a concrete floor where it was reported that he sustained serious injuries and had to be rushed to a nearby medical facility, apparently a solution aimed to end the Hassan character. Several days later, when hosted a video of a ] announcement from Theodore Long, where he reiterates the stipulation that Hassan would no longer appear on ''SmackDown!''. He said to Hassan, "You can go to RAW, or you can go anywhere else in the world. But as far as I'm concerned, you can go to hell!!" Due to increasing public pressure, the WWE was forced to later drop the character altogether, sending Copani and Daivari to their developmental territories to alter their gimmicks.This resulted in huge fan backlash, mostly because Hassan had developed a cult following and had been booked to fight for the the World Title at SummerSlam. | |||
| Although Daivari would report to ] (and later would return to WWE), wrestling reports indicated that Copani would not, and on ], ], Copani parted ways with WWE. While the WWE article detailing his release indicated that he may return in the future (possibly in his Hassan character), Copani was quoted as being eager to pursue a career in acting. However, he has left open the possibility of returning to wrestling in WWE. | |||
| ==In wrestling== | |||
| *'''Finishing and signature moves''' | |||
| :*'''''Weapon of Mass Destruction '''''/ '''''Box Cutter''''' (]) | |||
| :*'''] | |||
| :*''']''' | |||
| :*''Finishing Touch'' (]) | |||
| :*] | |||
| *'''Managers''' | |||
| :*] | |||
| *'''Quotes''' | |||
| :*''"We are sick and tired of your prejudice and your racism!"'' | |||
| :*''"If you people don't open your eyes..."'' | |||
| :*''"If you won't give us the respect we demand, then I will beat it out of anyone who gets in my way!"'' | |||
| :*''"I blame every single one of you!"'' | |||
| :*''"My New Years Resolution is to personally beat some sense into America!"'' | |||
| :*''No, because I'm not gonna wrestle a guy I don't respect!"'' (Towards ]) | |||
| ==Championships and accomplishments== | |||
| *''']''' | |||
| :*] (]) | |||
| ==Footnotes== | |||
| <div class="references-small"><references/></div> | |||
| ==External links== | ==External links== | ||
| * | * | ||
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Revision as of 17:01, 12 June 2007
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| Mark Copani | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 7, 1981 Amman |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Mark Magnus Muhammad Hassan |
| Billed height | 188 cm (6 ft 2 in) |
| Billed weight | 107 kg (235 lb) |
| Billed from | Detroit, Michigan |
| Trained by | Nick Dinsmore Danny Davis |
| Debut | February 2003 |
| Retired | September 2005 |
Mark Copani (born November 7, 1981) is a currently inactive professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) under the ring name Muhammad Hassan, a controversial heel wrestler forced into an unceremonious exit.