Former WWE superstar Muhammad Hassan, real name Marc Copani, has confirmed rumors that he was slated to win the World Heavyweight Championship by defeating Batista at SummerSlam 2005—a career-defining moment that was abruptly canceled. Hassan described the cancellation as “devastating” and “tragic,” an event that led him to step away from wrestling altogether for over a decade.

According to Hassan, plans were firmly in place for him to capture the World Heavyweight Title at SummerSlam, a moment that would have catapulted him from a controversial mid-card character to the very top of WWE’s hierarchy. However, external circumstances involving his controversial character and network pressures caused WWE to scrap the push. The UPN network, which aired WWE at the time, demanded the immediate removal of Hassan’s character following real-world events and negative backlash concerning his gimmick—a portrayal of an Arab American that had already drawn criticism amid heightened political sensitivities in 2005[1][4].

Hassan’s character had been involved in a controversial terrorism-related storyline, which coincided with the July 7, 2005 London bombings. This unfortunate timing led to executive-level decisions at WWE and UPN to distance the company from the angle and Hassan’s character. As a result, not only was Hassan pulled from the World Title scene, but his entire WWE run was effectively ended by September of that year[3][2].

In an interview with Fightful, Hassan described being told about the cancellation of his title win as a deeply heartbreaking moment. He said that the decision felt “devastating” because he had done nothing wrong professionally or personally. Unlike others who suffer due to creative or performance mistakes, Hassan’s career demise was completely out of his control, leading to a sense of tragic injustice[1][2].

His tag team partner, Daivari, also reflected on the incident, labeling it a heartbreak not for any failure of theirs but due to circumstances beyond their control. Daivari would eventually return to WWE television a few months later with similar character work, but Hassan’s character was irreparably tainted, and he chose to leave wrestling rather than continue with the stigma attached[2].

The canceled title win was particularly painful given that Hassan was being groomed for major success. Before these events unfolded, he was prepared to defeat The Undertaker at The Great American Bash 2005 as part of his ascendancy, which would have naturally led to the high-profile SummerSlam title victory. Instead, Hassan lost to The Undertaker, then vanished from WWE programming and the wrestling industry entirely[2][4].

Following his WWE exit, Marc Copani transitioned out of wrestling and into education, a career he has pursued since with contentment and success. He has only occasionally returned to wrestling in the indie scene but remains best remembered for the brief but controversial WWE run that almost reached the pinnacle of the sport[3].

Sources close to the situation reveal that WWE had significant creative faith in Hassan prior to the fallout and that the cancellation of the title win was not a reflection on his wrestling ability or professionalism but dictated purely by the fallout from the politically sensitive storyline and network intervention[1][4].

This story is a striking example of how external circumstances and public perception can drastically alter the trajectory of a promising wrestling career, regardless of talent or effort. Muhammad Hassan’s canceled SummerSlam 2005 World Heavyweight Championship win remains one of the most talked-about “what-ifs” in WWE history, emblematic of the complex intersection between entertainment, politics, and public relations in professional wrestling.

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