5 Wrestlers who portrayed different nationalities

#3 Muhammad Hassan

Muhammad Hassan was probably the most hated man in the WWE in 2005

If you'd only started following professional wrestling in the last decade or so, it's possible you never heard of Muhammad Hassan. WWE went to OVW back in 2004 looking for someone to play an Arab-American character that had qualms with the way he was treated in America. Though he was 100% Italian, Marc Copani was chosen to work the gimmick.

Looking back, Copani and his manager, Khosrow (Shawn) Daivari played their parts perfectly. Sadly, WWE did everything they could to wash their hands of the character after an incredibly controversial angle.

Hassan had a very short run on the main roster, lasting about seven months, but became the biggest heel in the company almost on sight. Debuting in December of 2015, he began appearing on Monday Night RAW complaining about the prejudice and hate felt by fellow Arab-Americans following the 9/11 attacks. What made it work was...well...he was right.

After that day, the American people did begin to vilify Arab-Americans. If you listened closely, you'd hear some incredibly bigoted talk regarding Arab-Americans or Muslims, with groups of people whispering whenever one walked by. With the way they'd been treated, the character of Muhammad Hassan actually had a point, which is what made him such an interesting performer.

It's just a shame that this character's life-span was cut drastically short. A segment aired on SmackDown, which was pre-taped back then, that showed Hassan leading a group of masked men to attack The Undertaker, beating him with clubs and choking him with piano wire. That day it aired was the same day that the London Bombings took place in 2005.

With various media outlets forcing their hand, UPN, the network that aired SmackDown at that time in the US, demanded that the character not be used anymore. Thus ended the career of Marc Copani.