Muhammad Hassan Mark Copani ( November 7 , 1981 ) is an American retired professional wrestler , best known for his appearances with World Wrestling Entertainment ( WWE ) under the ring name Muhammad Hassan . He was a controversial heel wrestler forced into an unceremonious exit due to backlash from various groups , not the least of which was the UPN Television Network . UPN was airing the WWE ' s SmackDown ! brand at the time , and refused to put the character on television ever again . Early life . Copani was born in Syracuse , New York to an Italian father and an Jordanian mother . He graduated from Cicero – North Syracuse High School in 1998 . Copani enrolled in the State University of New York in Buffalo , New York , studying for a degree in history . In 2002 , he left university in order to pursue a career in professional wrestling . Professional wrestling career . Ohio Valley Wrestling ( 2002 – 2004 ) . Copani joined the Louisville , Kentucky - based promotion Ohio Valley Wrestling ( OVW ) in 2002 . He debuted in the same year under the ring name " Mark Magnus " . On August 13 , 2003 , Copani defeated Johnny Jeter to win the OVW Heavyweight Championship . The title was vacated on December 10 , 2003 when Copani was pinned by both Jeter and Nick Dinsmore in a triple threat match . In 2004 , the promotion World Wrestling Entertainment approached OVW seeking a wrestler to portray an Arab American character . Despite being ethnically " 100 per cent Italian " , Copani was offered the opportunity by OVW booker Jim Cornette . World Wrestling Entertainment ( 2004 – 2005 ) . He made his WWE television debut on Raw as Muhammad Hassan on December 13 , 2004 in an in - ring segment with Mick Foley after wrestling dark matches and house shows for about two months . His introductory video and gimmick featured him and his manager , Khosrow Daivari introducing themselves . He described himself as a Middle Eastern - American wrestler wanting relief from the increased stereotypes created by the 9 / 11 attacks , as he enters professional wrestling . He then concluded with a controversial extension of hands and praise to Allah . 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 Persian translation of his speech by Daivari . Hassan ' s gimmick also involved him interrupting promos 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 . On a side note , Hassan ' s entrance theme became a meme , due to it being heavily featured on YTMND , depicting various celebrities , politicians , and fictional characters accompanied by Hassan ' s image and / or entrance theme to create the impression that these pop culture icons had been interrupted by Hassan ' s entrance 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 Jerry " The King " Lawler and Jim Ross . He and Daivari faced the two announcers in an in - ring debate on RAW ' s January 3 , 2005 episode . He then defeated Jerry Lawler in his debut match at New Year ' s Revolution . In the course of his undefeated streak , Hassan defeated wrestlers such as The Hurricane , Sgt . Slaughter , Chris Benoit , and Chris Jericho . Hassan had attracted much heat as a heel , a fact which was evident at the 2005 Royal Rumble , in the Rumble match itself . When Hassan entered at number 13 , everyone who was in the ring at the time : Chris Benoit , Chris Jericho , Edge , Shelton Benjamin , Booker T , Eddie Guerrero , Rey Mysterio , and Luther Reigns immediately ganged up on Hassan and eliminated him . Notably , Reigns and Edge were also heels at the time . At WrestleMania 21 on April 3 , 2005 , Hassan and Daivari were featured in a segment with Hulk Hogan that saw Hogan coming to the rescue of wrestler Eugene who was being attacked by the two Middle Eastern performers . The next night on Raw , Hassan and Daivari came out to confront and assault fan favorite Shawn Michaels . The following week , Michaels approached Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff 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 April 18 episode of Raw , Hassan again led an attack on Michaels until Hogan appeared to save Michaels and accept his offer . At the WWE Backlash 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 May 30 , 2005 , Hassan faced popular World Heavyweight Champion Batista and won by disqualification , in the biggest match of Hassan ' s career . However , he and Daivari were beaten by Batista after the match . The next week , Hassan was granted a 2 - on - 1 Handicap Match with Daivari for the Intercontinental Championship against Shelton Benjamin after threatening Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff with a lawsuit 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 June 20 , Hassan and Daivari interrupted a promo by WWE Champion John Cena 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 . Hassan ' s losing streak in title matches continued as Cena dominated him in a two - minute squash match , pinning him cleanly and thus ending his " unpinned " streak . On the June 23 , 2005 episode of SmackDown ! , it was revealed both Hassan and Daivari were drafted to SmackDown ! in the 2005 WWE Draft Lottery . Hassan ' s move to SmackDown ! would spell the beginning of Hassan ' s most famous and infamous few weeks , but also the end of Copani ' s WWE career . Hassan won his first SmackDown ! match , a match against the Big Show with help from Big Show ' s rival Matt Morgan . The following week , Hassan was involved in a confrontation with The Undertaker . SmackDown ! controversy . On the episode of SmackDown ! taped on July 4 , General Manager Theodore Long put Muhammad Hassan in a match against The Undertaker at The Great American Bash 2005 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 in black shirts , ski - masks , and camo pants . Armed with clubs and a piano wire , 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 London bombings took place . Without sufficient time to properly edit the segment out of the show , UPN showed the footage unedited in the United States and on The Score in Canada with an advisory warning shown several times during the broadcast . It was removed from the Australian and European ( including in the UK ) broadcasts . The angle elicited national attention in the New York Post , TV Guide , Variety , 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 July 14 airing of SmackDown ! , but when UPN announced that the segment would be edited , WWE decided to host the video of the segment on its official website . In the segment , Hassan , reiterates that he is an Arab - American and that the American people automatically and unfairly assume that he is a terrorist . Despite being in character , he referred to the real - world media coverage of the storyline , singling out the New York Post ' s Don Kaplan by name , and denouncing his description of the events on SmackDown ! , such as Kaplan ' s comment of the masked men being " Arabs in ski masks " . [ 25 ] On the July 14 episode of SmackDown ! , Hassan ' s absence was explained by a statement delivered by his lawyer , which said that Hassan refused to appear on the show until that month ' s Great American Bash due to the way he had been treated by the media and WWE fans . It was revealed in late July 2005 that UPN had pressured WWE to keep Hassan off of their network , effectively removing him from SmackDown ! . Hassan lost the match to The Undertaker at The Great American Bash and was written off with The Undertaker doing a Last Ride through the stage . Copani was released from his WWE contract on September 21 , 2005 . After his release , he retired from pro wrestling . Retirement . Upon retiring from professional wrestling , Copani relocated to Los Angeles , California in an attempt to become an actor and screenwriter . While in California , Copani helped fellow WWE alumnus Shad Gaspard develop a screenplay he had written into a graphic novel , titled " Assassin and Son " . Copani later returned to New York to complete his degree with the intent of becoming a teacher . In April 2010 Copani appeared as Muhammad Hassan for one time alongside with Daivari at Wrestle Fest VI Wrestling event in New Jersey , his first wrestling appearance since quitting wrestling . Copani was a student teacher at Hannibal High School for 9th grade global history in 2011 - now . As of 2013 , Copani has become a recruiter on the independent wrestling circuit . He is now a social studies teacher at Hannibal High School .