West Coast Connection Forum
Lifestyle => Sports & Entertainment => Topic started by: Perfection on July 21, 2005, 06:11:36 PM
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Source: WrestlingObserver.com
-- Dave Meltzer is reporting that WWE will be dropping the Hassan character, and he will not be moving back to RAW
-- No word on Daivari, who at current state of play, WWE wish to keep.
This comes on the heels of UPN telling the WWE that they never wanted to see Hassan on their network again
Source: PWTorch.com
The rumors of UPN asking WWE to permanently remove the Muhammad Hassan character are indeed true, and WWE writers are hard at work devising a way to write the character out of the program.
One idea being tossed around is to have Undertaker kill the character off at Great American Bash, although that is not confirmed.
Between the media outrage, complaints sent to WWE and UPN headquarters and backlash from affiliates and sponsors, UPN apparently saw no alternative.
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Source: WrestlingObserver.com
As reported, UPN has requested that WWE remove Muhammad Hassan from SmackDown. The WWE writing team has not made an official decision regarding Hassan's future as a character, but only two suggestions are really getting notice at this point.
One, as noted earlier, would see Undertaker kill the Hassan character off at Great American Bash. Since Hassan was scheduled to defeat Undertaker and wrestle Batista for the World Title at Summerslam, it would be interesting to see how WWE would go about changing plans for this Sunday's PPV and, consequently, Summerslam.
The other would be to send Hassan back to RAW, so that Hassan could go into a tirade about being censored by SmackDown. The fear associated with moving Hassan to RAW is that the media would continue to express outrage and force Spike TV to also nix the character, at which point, WWE would look foolish. In fact, Spike TV might have already informed WWE that it has no interest in carrying the character, which would force WWE to further investigate the other option.
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why doesn't UPN want him around?
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Yeah..I saw this. This all started cause they showed the taped episode of Smackdown on the same day that the first London explosions happened and it so happened that Hassan character brought out like 5 guys w/ black ski masks on like terrorists and it offended alot of folks. WWE had the note across the screen all night that night saying Parental Advisory Is Suggested. But I can't believe that a billion dollar a year company couldn't edit that out 12hrs before it was shown in the eastern time zone. Truly tasteless.
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oh well.. I hate that Hassan guy anyways, fuck him
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the dude was dope!
He was funny too..they should keep him on some how...maybe convert him to like a pro-american wrestler..and change his name to Whitey Ford
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the dude was dope!
He was funny too..they should keep him on some how...maybe convert him to like a pro-american wrestler..and change his name to Whitey Ford
Well in real life he is Italian so it's not too hard to pretend he's not Arab. They should just work how he's Italian in the storyline and expose him as a fraud. Then he can either be a whiny heel about it or turn baby face and go against management for forcing him to hide where he really comes from.
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I think he's a strong performer who they shouldn't drop. They should manipulate the fans opinion of him, I'd do shit like have him show up at RAW, and then show him backstage walking in, and the security guard won't let him in, and he looks all hurt and ashamed, and goes "But I'm American!" and they arrest him or something...
Then show shit like this happening for a few weeks, and instead of having him get angry, have people feel sorry for him, and then you could have him play this whole huge "Just because I'm Arab doesn't mean I'm not an American too" angle where he's proud of his heritage, and talks about how America is the land of equal opportunity for everyone regardless of their background, and keep trumping it up until he finally returns and wins the title or something like this.
If they're GOOD, which I hope they are, they could turn him into a HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE Babyface. HUGE. You could run this whole discrimination angle, and he could do spots about how you're still american if you disagree with the politicians in Washington, etc.... if they scripted it right, they could do a huge turnaround on him.
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I think he's a strong performer who they shouldn't drop. They should manipulate the fans opinion of him, I'd do shit like have him show up at RAW, and then show him backstage walking in, and the security guard won't let him in, and he looks all hurt and ashamed, and goes "But I'm American!" and they arrest him or something...
Then show shit like this happening for a few weeks, and instead of having him get angry, have people feel sorry for him, and then you could have him play this whole huge "Just because I'm Arab doesn't mean I'm not an American too" angle where he's proud of his heritage, and talks about how America is the land of equal opportunity for everyone regardless of their background, and keep trumping it up until he finally returns and wins the title or something like this.
If they're GOOD, which I hope they are, they could turn him into a HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE Babyface. HUGE. You could run this whole discrimination angle, and he could do spots about how you're still american if you disagree with the politicians in Washington, etc.... if they scripted it right, they could do a huge turnaround on him.
lol vince macmahon has been replaced
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Yeah..I saw this. This all started cause they showed the taped episode of Smackdown on the same day that the first London explosions happened and it so happened that Hassan character brought out like 5 guys w/ black ski masks on like terrorists and it offended alot of folks. WWE had the note across the screen all night that night saying Parental Advisory Is Suggested. But I can't believe that a billion dollar a year company couldn't edit that out 12hrs before it was shown in the eastern time zone. Truly tasteless.
The networks that air are incharge of making final edits to the show on the day that Smackdown is supposed to air. That part was edited out of of all the Smackdown! broadcasts execpt for the US one on UPN & the Canadian broadcast on the Score
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he sucks
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He was going to get a title match against Batista at SummerSlam
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Hassan was dope in my opinion. He's okay as a wrestler, but great on the mic. I don't know why they moved his ass to SD. He should of stayed on Raw and carried the IC title for awhile. He's got potential, he could turn out like The Rock did with his micwork.
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Hassan was dope in my opinion. He's okay as a wrestler, but great on the mic. I don't know why they moved his ass to SD. He should of stayed on Raw and carried the IC title for awhile. He's got potential, he could turn out like The Rock did with his micwork.
Prob. moved him to Smackdown to give him that belt! The Smackdown belt is more dispensible than the Raw belt, plus they can't keep ALL the good stars on Raw, they have to send some over to anchor Smackdown or nobody'd watch.
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oh my lord, i cant beleive wrestling still exists
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oh my lord, i cant beleive wrestling still exists
That's a dumb thing to say considering that Raw is the #1 rated show on cable television, & Smackdown! has sometimes put UPN ratings wise ahead of networks like Fox & ABC on Thursday nights.
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oh my lord, i cant beleive wrestling still exists
That's a dumb thing to say considering that Raw is the #1 rated show on cable television, & Smackdown! has sometimes put UPN ratings wise ahead of networks like Fox & ABC on Thursday nights.
Well to be fair, Raw isn't really the number one cable show. I think Monk beats it every time, and the only time UPN beats anyone is when the other Networks are on reruns. If SD showed reruns then UPN wouldn't even beat WB on Thursdays.
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I got a huge kick out of Muhammad Hassan's character. I saw him wrestle live at Madison Square Garden and dude really knows how to work the crowd. It's a shame what they're doing.
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I got a huge kick out of Muhammad Hassan's character. I saw him wrestle live at Madison Square Garden and dude really knows how to work the crowd. It's a shame what they're doing.
I'm not trying to say he's bad on the mic, in fact I always thought he was quite good, but getting the crowd to hate you by calling the US a joke and Americans racist losers isn't exactly hard. It's called cheap heat because anyone can really do it. People say Benoit isn't so great on the mic but if you gave him an anti-American gimmick he would get loud boos too. A new gimmick will truly show how god Hassan is at getting the crowd involved.
Remember Jim Duggan? All he did was yell out "Hoooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaah" and scream "USA, USA, USA" and the crowd cheered all night, but he was by no means a great talker. He just knew how to get cheap pops. After a while he did become so lovable that outside of USA he ciuld get the crowds to chant it, but it all started with cheap heat.
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I was reading that the Undertaker is suppose to kill the guyat Great American Bash lol. That would be a pretty shitty idea if you ask me.
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Yeah but Muhammad's character is so over the top, that it had insane potential. There have been other wrestlers to have the Anti-American gimmick in recent history ( Lance Storm & Christian to name a couple ), and their heat didn't remotely equal Hassan's.
When Hassan moved to Smackdown, and he cut that promo with four guys already in the ring, you could see the hate in everyone's eyes for the character. They pushed it to be real believable. Even JBL looked like he was about to break character and strike him. That Royal Rumble angle where they all ganged up on him is another example.
Aside from Daivari, Hassan had no allies. Details like that just build him up as a TRUE heel. WWE fucked this up big time. Then again, it's a case of bad timing if you ask me. Really bad timing and a crazy coincidence.
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Yeah but Muhammad's character is so over the top, that it had insane potential. There have been other wrestlers to have the Anti-American gimmick in recent history ( Lance Storm & Christian to name a couple ), and their heat didn't remotely equal Hassan's.
When Hassan moved to Smackdown, and he cut that promo with four guys already in the ring, you could see the hate in everyone's eyes for the character. They pushed it to be real believable. Even JBL looked like he was about to break character and strike him. That Royal Rumble angle where they all ganged up on him is another example.
Aside from Daivari, Hassan had no allies. Details like that just build him up as a TRUE heel. WWE fucked this up big time. Then again, it's a case of bad timing if you ask me. Really bad timing and a crazy coincidence.
It's still cheap heat. Storm and Christian were never in a main position with any kind of anti American character. Bret Hart was, and look how much heat he got from the crowd. Same with Slaughter in the early 90s, or Iran Shiek before that. Anti American heels are so commonplace in wrestling history. Also, it's one thing to make fun of the US with jabs and another to outright hate it with anger. I feel anyone given the position Hassan got could have gotten the crowd to hate them, particularly if they were playing an arab.
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I feel anyone given the position Hassan got could have gotten the crowd to hate them, particularly if they were playing an arab.
I agree with you there. It's a touchy subject, so naturally, there's gonna be heat. I'm just saying, Hassan's real good at portraying the villain here. He's got charisma.
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I feel anyone given the position Hassan got could have gotten the crowd to hate them, particularly if they were playing an arab.
I agree with you there. It's a touchy subject, so naturally, there's gonna be heat. I'm just saying, Hassan's real good at portraying the villain here. He's got charisma.
I'm not doubting that. I'm just saying he may not be as good with out the crutch to lean on. I don't think he is bad at all. I was just saying that now we'll get to see for sure aince he'll have to change characters.
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oh my lord, i cant beleive wrestling still exists
That's a dumb thing to say considering that Raw is the #1 rated show on cable television, & Smackdown! has sometimes put UPN ratings wise ahead of networks like Fox & ABC on Thursday nights.
Well to be fair, Raw isn't really the number one cable show. I think Monk beats it every time, and the only time UPN beats anyone is when the other Networks are on reruns. If SD showed reruns then UPN wouldn't even beat WB on Thursdays.
Yeah Raw is the #1 rated show on cable TV, this is coming from both TV guide & Neilson which is where the ratings come from. Monk doesn't get better ratings. And now that Raw is moving to USA, the ratings should increase. UPN beat networks like FOX & ABC as early as March.
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oh my lord, i cant beleive wrestling still exists
That's a dumb thing to say considering that Raw is the #1 rated show on cable television, & Smackdown! has sometimes put UPN ratings wise ahead of networks like Fox & ABC on Thursday nights.
Well to be fair, Raw isn't really the number one cable show. I think Monk beats it every time, and the only time UPN beats anyone is when the other Networks are on reruns. If SD showed reruns then UPN wouldn't even beat WB on Thursdays.
Yeah Raw is the #1 rated show on cable TV, this is coming from both TV guide & Neilson which is where the ratings come from. Monk doesn't get better ratings. And now that Raw is moving to USA, the ratings should increase. UPN beat networks like FOX & ABC as early as March.
Do you actually look at the numbers. Monk does a consistent over 4 cable rating, and when ESPN has Football Raw doesn't even come close. ABC never loses to UPN and Smackdown has never beaten a new episode of the O.C. There's no point arguing this. I'm not trying to get on your case. I'm just stating facts. Check any weekly rating here; http://tv.zap2it.com/tveditorial/tve_main/1,1002,272|||,00.html and you'll notice WWE has never come in 3rd on a Thursday.
Another pseudo fact WWE is promoting now is how they are about to pass Gun Smoke for most original episodes of a TV series with 636 episodes, yet they forget to mention the 7000+ episodes of the Tonight Show. The thousands of Eps of Day of Our Lives oe Y&R or even WCW Saturday Night which hand wellover 1000 shows. But the WWE will boast about this feat like it means something. Anytime WWE announcers brag about something on TV it usually isn't true.
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oh my lord, i cant beleive wrestling still exists
That's a dumb thing to say considering that Raw is the #1 rated show on cable television, & Smackdown! has sometimes put UPN ratings wise ahead of networks like Fox & ABC on Thursday nights.
Well to be fair, Raw isn't really the number one cable show. I think Monk beats it every time, and the only time UPN beats anyone is when the other Networks are on reruns. If SD showed reruns then UPN wouldn't even beat WB on Thursdays.
Yeah Raw is the #1 rated show on cable TV, this is coming from both TV guide & Neilson which is where the ratings come from. Monk doesn't get better ratings. And now that Raw is moving to USA, the ratings should increase. UPN beat networks like FOX & ABC as early as March.
Do you actually look at the numbers. Monk does a consistent over 4 cable rating, and when ESPN has Football Raw doesn't even come close. ABC never loses to UPN and Smackdown has never beaten a new episode of the O.C. There's no point arguing this. I'm not trying to get on your case. I'm just stating facts. Check any weekly rating here; http://tv.zap2it.com/tveditorial/tve_main/1,1002,272|||,00.html and you'll notice WWE has never come in 3rd on a Thursday.
Another pseudo fact WWE is promoting now is how they are about to pass Gun Smoke for most original episodes of a TV series with 636 episodes, yet they forget to mention the 7000+ episodes of the Tonight Show. The thousands of Eps of Day of Our Lives oe Y&R or even WCW Saturday Night which hand wellover 1000 shows. But the WWE will boast about this feat like it means something. Anytime WWE announcers brag about something on TV it usually isn't true.
Did you not read what I wrote? I said that TV Guide & Neilson which is incharge of the ratings list the Raw as the #1 show on cable TV. & yeah there is no point to arguing this becuase you don't know the facts, plus UPN isn't in all markets, but the markets they're in Smackdown has helped UPN beat 2 of the 4 major networks. Not once did I say anything about the WWE saying that Raw was the highest rated show on cable TV. Not once did I say that.
You clearly don't like the WWE & love Monk. That's ok just don't let your biasness over look the facts. Also up here in Canada Raw gets higher ratings than hockey does or any sport for that matter.
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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
All the numbers come from Nielsen. Show me where it says Raw is number 1. Raw was number 1 at a time, and it may hit number 1 on the odd week, but when the other Networks are in full effect, Raw is not number 1.
http://www.nielsenmedia.com/ratings/cable_programs.html
There is an average summer week. Show me where Raw is number 1.
Also, we aren't talking about certain markets with Smackdown, we're talking about the fast nationals and final ratings. Yes UPN doesn't have all the markets, but even if it did it still probably wouldn't do any better. Meltzer did a report years ago that claimed no matter the availabilty wrestling fans always found a way to watch. If you wanted UPN anywhere in the country you could get it by telling your cable company, and if they don't have it you could get Direct TV, which at the basic level doesn't cost much.
P.S. moving to USA from Spike won't help the ratings just like moving from USA to Spike didn't hurt the ratings. The ratings willl changed based on the interest in the product. USA only is in like 2% more households.
And this has nothing to do with how much I like Monk. I haven't even seen the show, but I know what the facts are so I post them. If I said Larry Bird was taller than Michawel Jordan and you disagreed and we argued about it for an hour would that mean I hate Jordan and love Bird? No, it means I look at the factual numbers and make an obvious objective decision.
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People actually watch Monk? Fool looks too much like Greg Brady..hahaha
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i kinda agree with upn....that character seems to fuel anti-middle east hatred....it pissed me off everytime he'd come out and run his mouth and my arab friend would say..."this fuckin american is running his mouth and he prolly knows nothing about wats going on in the middle east"
and the wwe knows that this is a soft topic for americans...they have a responsibility not to fuel hatred like this...i know its just entertainment but there are lil kids watching this and they might not know that
peace
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i agree, but it's too bad cause he's a great wrestler and i could see him being a real good intercontinental champ, peace.
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lmao kids all over USA/UK having nightmares ;D