Muhammad Hassan

Hassan made his WWE television debut on *Raw* 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, Iranian-American Khosrow Daivari, introducing themselves. He described himself as an Arab-American wrestler wanting relief from the increased prejudice and 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. His speech was 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.

Making his entrance into the WWE, 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 the January 3, 2005 episode of *Raw*. He then defeated Lawler in his debut match at the New Year's Revolution pay-per-view event. 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 villain, a fact which was evident at the Royal Rumble in the Royal Rumble match itself. When Hassan entered at number thirteen, everyone who was in the ring at the time (Booker T, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, Edge, Eddie Guerrero, Luther Reigns, Rey Mysterio and Shelton Benjamin) immediately ganged up on Hassan and eliminated him. Notably, Edge and Reigns were also villains at the time.

At WrestleMania 21 on April 3, 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 on *Raw*, Michaels approached *Raw* General Manager Eric Bischoff demanding a handicap match with Hassan and Daivari. Bischoff refused, but he 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 Backlash on May 1, Hassan and Daivari lost to Hogan and Michaels, with Daivari being pinned. Hassan would blame and attack Daivari for the loss the next night on *Raw*. On the May 30 episode of *Raw*, Hassan faced then-World Heavyweight Champion Batista and won by disqualification. However, he and Daivari were beaten by Batista after the match. The next week on *Raw*, Hassan was granted a two-on-one 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 won the title, the referee realized Benjamin was on the ropes and reversed his decision. Benjamin eventually pinned Daivari to retain the Intercontinental Championship. On the June 13 episode of *Raw*, Stone Cold Steve Austin appeared as a special guest enforcer on the request of Bischoff to listen to Hassan's complaints. After listening to Hassan's problems, Austin agreed with him and ordered a match between Hassan and Benjamin for the Intercontinental Championship that night, stating that Hassan was "screwed by the system". As Hassan was about to win the match with the help of Daivari, Austin entered the ring and delivered a Stone Cold Stunner to both Hassan and Daivari, making Hassan the winner by disqualification and allowing Benjamin to retain the title as it can not change hands by a disqualification.

On the June 20 episode of *Raw*, Hassan and Daivari interrupted a promo by then-WWE Champion John Cena to complain about how Hassan was "screwed" out of the Intercontinental Championship. Bischoff took the opportunity to punish Cena by booking him against Hassan in a WWE Championship match, in which 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 episode of *SmackDown!*, it was revealed both Hassan and Daivari were drafted to *SmackDown* in the 2005 draft lottery. Hassan won his first *SmackDown!* match by defeating Big Show with help from Big Show's rival Matt Morgan. The following week on June 30, Hassan was involved in a confrontation with The Undertaker.

In one of the most controversial moments in WWE history, on the episode of *SmackDown!* taped on July 4, 2005, the *SmackDown!* General Manager Theodore Long put Hassan in a match against The Undertaker at The Great American Bash and placed Daivari in a match that night against The Undertaker. Daivari was defeated, 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. On the July 14, 2005 episode of *SmackDown!*, Hassan's absence was explained by a statement delivered by his lawyer Thomas Whitney, which said that Hassan refused to appear at The Great American Bash due to the way he had been treated by the media and WWE fans.

Hassan lost the match to The Undertaker at The Great American Bash on July 24, 2005, and was written off with The Undertaker performing a *Last Ride* 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. Several days later, WWE.com hosted a video of a announcement from Theodore Long, where he reiterates the stipulation that Hassan would no longer appear on *SmackDown!*. Hassan was released from his WWE contract on September 21, 2005.