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WRESTLING COLUMNS

Hulk Hogan Should Silence Mohammad Hassan
March 25, 2005 by Jacob Kuhn


When WWE announced that they were inducting Hulk Hogan into their Hall of Fame, my first thought was 'it's about time.' I have never been a fan of Hogan's, but I can't deny the impact he has had on this great sport. Helping to put wrestling on the map, revitalizing the sport numerous times and keeping our interest by turning heel in 1996. Still, there is one thing left that Hogan has to do. He needs to be the man to shut the mouth of Mohammad Hassan.

Ever since Hassan debuted on RAW, fans have been unified in their hatred of him and the anti-USA remarks he spouts. With the line between fan favorites and heels blurred as it has been in the past decade, Hassan is a rare exception whom everyone seems to dislike. Even worse, WWE is getting a lot of heat for allowing such a character to appear on their programming. To save face for Vince McMahon and to allow Mohammad Hassan to be able to live a safe life, this character needs to be put down. And who better to do this than Hulk Hogan"

For a man who has spent most of his life championing the causes of patriotism, Hogan's exit from the sport was not worthy of his legacy. His short-lived stance as Mr. America was uninspired silliness. From there, his brief involvement with TNA and Japan was far removed from the spotlight he always commanded. If Hogan wants to be out of wrestling, then he should be able to go out with a bang. How better to do this than reverting to the American hero that he portrayed in the 80's and early 90's"

The Hall of Fame ceremony would be a great place for Hogan to lay out a challenge to the Arab-American. It puts the Hulkster out on the stage he loved to be on. WrestleMania, being wrestling's biggest event of the year, is the opportunity to reach the most fans. Laying out his intentions to end Hassan's anti-American diatribe will endear him to his fans and even earn him some new ones. It's too good to pass up.

No one yet has been able to get the better of Hassan. There have been brief altercations with men like Mick Foley and Jerry Lawler. In all of his matches, his opponents have been able to deliver some serious punishment, but always come out on the losing end. The only real satisfaction WWE fans have received was the fewer than two minutes Hassan was in the ring during the 2005 Royal Rumble. All the in-ring competitors put aside their differences for a moment to join together in a showing of patriotism. As crowd pleasing as that moment was, though, it didn't last long as Mohammad quickly laid an attack on the Scotty Too Hotty.

Most of the men on the WWE roster are involved with various other feuds to get into it too seriously with Hassan and his manager. The wrestlers getting the biggest fan reaction are wrapped up in other business. Batista is concerned with Flair and Triple H and his focus needs to remain there. Randy Orton seems to be in some sort of funk after a brief rise to the top and probably won't generate the excitement a match of this magnitude deserves. Besides them, most of the top tier of the RAW roster have already gone up against him. Shawn Michaels is going to have a classic WrestleMania match with Kurt Angle, and Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit have already had their shots at Hassan.

So at this point, Hogan remains the best choice. He could even get Jimmy Hart to come back and be an adversary of Khosrow Daivari. In his best days, the "Mouth of the South" could annoy fans with his megaphone antics much like Daivari does with his constant abuse of the Arabic language. Like his Arabic counterpart, Hart could always be counted on for a well placed cheap shot when the official isn't looking. "I think it would make a lot of people happy," said a wrestler who wished to remain anonymous. "Hogan is not a guy I like, but even I would cheer for him in that match. I might not like Hulk much afterwards, but it'd be great to have that one moment."

Despite his enormous popularity, Hulk Hogan has constantly remained a source of criticism. Wrestling purists have long cited his lack of abilities in the ring. How could even his most vocal opponents not enjoy seeing him lay the fists and eventually the legdrop on Mohammad Hassan" Fans who never cheered for Hogan may find themselves a bit shocked as they applaud the ending to arguably today's most hated performer.

It's all up to Hogan. His days as the "Real American" ushering in the first Golden Age of wrestling. Iron Sheik, Nicholi Volkoff, Dino Bravo and Sgt. Slaughter have all been American critics who have fallen to the Hulkster. One last time being America's hero would be the best way for him to go out in great form.

by Jacob Kuhn ..


Harry from Germany wrote:
Maybe they should indeed put Hassan in a match with Hogan or maybe Austin or maybe even The Rock. But there's one thing for sure: Hassan must be victorious! He's the hottest heel WWE has right now and why destroy him for a one-night-only returning Hogan" On the other side, Hogan has still a huge name in the business and a victory from Hassan over Hogan would do him (Hassan) nothing but good for the future. And that's what every WrestleMania should be for: building towards the future.

So Hassan vs. Hogan at WrestleMania" Yes, please. But a Hogan victory" No thank you!
Erkka J�rvinen wrote:
No need to take Hassan's anti-american activities as a threat. You do realise that WWE is show so why someone should take Hassan so serious, he is just playing his role very well and is one of the up-comers who i actually like. Hogan was never anything big in my opinion. If Hulk Hogan would make his debut now, he would be flushed down the toilet very soon because at the mid 80's, fans were looking for some cool attitude guy and that's what they got with Hogan. Hogan couldn't wrestle and that's just a cruel fact, atleast Hassan knows what he is doing out there. One of my favourite event this year was when Highlight reel was going on and Hassan interupted and pointed out some very good facts and in my opinion, those were good opinions by hassan like, that the girl (whoever she was) was embarrasing himself. No need to flame Hassan.
Thomas Daley wrote (In reference to Erkka J�rvinen):
Hey Erkka! Are you on crack"! ---- You say Hulk Hogan was never anything big! Hulk Hogan was the biggest and longest draw in the history of the WWF. The last two time's the WWF brought Hogan in, 2002 and 2003. It gave the company a definate boost in the rating's. Call it nosalgia or whatever but it work's. His match at Wrestlemania 18, helped make that one of the greatest. In my opinion right up there with 3, 6 & 14 . When he defeated HHH for the title the next month at BackLash, it shocked everyone. Nobody saw that comming. The WWE need's more surprise's like that to keep people watching and interested. Also the Backlash PPV need's something like that, rather than just a rehash of the previous month's main event, (but that's a topic for another time.) His match with McMahon at WrestleMania 19, while not as sugnificant as the year before, really added a retro feel to the event. Bringing in Piper was the icing on the cake. Without that what have you got" Brock Lesnar falling on his head" That's the next thing that come's off the top of my head. And Mr. America was a lot of fun too! It added sense of humour to the usually long boring period before SummerSlam. Also you say Hogan can't wrestle. True, but neither can John Cena. Think about it, the F-U is the Leg Drop of the new millenium. But they still draw the crowd's, they still get the loudest pop's and they sell the merchandise. You can't argue with what make's money. So, I think Hogan should beat Hasaan at WrestleMania. Why" Becasue it's WrestlMania. That's the one time of year the WWE should give the fan's what they like. Great matches with the Face's comming out on top. The reason why no one remember's WrestleMania 16's world title match, is because the heel came out with the title! And those who do remember that match, it is because they hate it! (And those who hate it, hate it a lot!)
Rhey Higgins wrote:
First of all, you make the same mistake as J.R.; it's MUhammad Hassan, not MOhammed Hassan. And secondly, you say "How could even his most vocal opponents not enjoy seeing him lay the fists and eventually the legdrop on Mohammad Hassan"". Simple; they're not into the whole flag-waving American patriotism. Not everyone likes that kind of thing. Still, I'm probably in the minority here when I say that a Hassan v. Hogan match would be a bad idea. Of course, since when have my ideas been popular ones"
James Smith wrote:
No way should there be a match at Mania, there should be an imprompt fight, but thats all, a organised match of the magnitude of WrestleMania would ruin it.
USC0Dave wrote:
I agree with Harry and Erkka. I love America and all, and when the "USA" chant goes up at a wrestling event I'm at, I chant along with them. That being said....I like Mohammad Hassan. He is a great heel, and he should definitely have WWE gold in his future. He showed some greenness when he screwed up that ending with the ring bell in the match with Chris Benoit (no way did they originally plan for that match to end with a low blow DQ), but overall I think he's got good mic skills and good ring skills. I don't think anyone particularly should "shut up" Hassan. I think he should stay with this character and see where it takes him. I'd love to see him feud over the IC title with Shelton Benjamin, I think a feud like that would help both wrestlers shine, to show who the cream of the crop of the young guys are, and I think they'd put on some great matches.
Bill Tyrrell wrote:
I disagree with you on one aspects, and agree with the people that responded, I think this would be a good match for Wrestlemania, but Hogan needs to suck up his pride, and put someone over for once in his. I am personally one of the biggest fans of Hogan, and there is no denying that if it wasn't for Hogan wrestling would not be what it is today, but seriously his career is over, and if he is going to come back for one night only he should do what Foley did with Orton put him over, and make the fans hate him. I don't like these anti-American angles, because they don't work, and the worst part is that Hassan is a very good wrestler, but his stupid character takes interest away from his wrestling ability. My final thought let Hassan go to OVW for about month, and come back with a different character, and let him wrestle.
LanceCrucifix wrote:
Ok, first of all, Muhammad Hassan, happens to be a bright up-and Comer. He has a career has a maybe the next Rock. Hassan's displays mic skills, are great, and his in ring skills, are probly just as good, if not better! Hulk Hogan putting the exlimation point on Hassasn, wouldn't be as great as most people say, The Hulkster is cool and all, but his skills don't come anywhere near Hassan's. A if most people would put his Anti-American gimmick aside, and look through that, we wouldn't have the problem we had today, no body ever said that Lance Storm needed to change his Anti-American ways to live a "Safe Life". Nor did they it about, Iron Sheik, Or any other Anti-American. But now that an Arab American has decided to use the same gimmick, it's suddenly wrong, no one had a problem with Bret doing it, so why beef with Hassan"
RuthlessGattman wrote:
What!" Come on dude, are you really willing to watch a match that'll most likely kill the arena with boredom" Hulk Hogan has never made me go "oooh cool!" while Hassan really did catch my attention. Listen man, I don't know where you put your thumb, but to me it sounds it was stuck in your backside while typing this article.

First off, Hassan isn't a lame gimmick. He's a fired up "Arabian" American who is able to get cheap heat simply because he is anti-American. I don't see a problem with that. Who knows, maybe he does feel that way about America, maybe he does think it's our fault, who cares" I watch him because he's able to gain my interest in the ring. He doesn't have the best finisher or the most electrifying move in sport's entertainment, but he has true charisma, something Hulk Hogan never really had. All over the country and even out of the country, Hassan has been able to cause people to hate him, he's been able to go out of his way and make the audience boo him. He doesn't say anything outragious, just a few "9/11" this and a "terrorist" that and sprinkled a bit of "discrimination" around the cake. People arn't going to shoot him for that and if they do, it's not his or Vince's fault.

Vinnie is a genius in making some characters. When Hassan comes out, he has a unique entrance theme, he has a solid ring skill, and he has a good vocabulary at his disposal - something most people in this country don't have, including me. To have Hassan lose to an old, tired out, no purpose giving Hogan in a one night event as a first, "real lost" (that is to say if he beats HBK) then kiss Hassan's career good bye. He had to resort to a low-blow with Benoit (after an appearant slip-up, but an understandable one), he's been Jerry Lawler, and has taken out Sargeant Slaughter (someone whom I feel is a lot better than Hogan.) If he were to lose to Hogan then, well, god speed.

Now don't read this and think I hate Hogan, because I do. Wait, I do hate him, I don't respect him, but I can't deny how successful he was. Yes, he did bring a large audience to WWF in the early 90s or whatever, but that was then, this is now. People complain about Triple H not giving up the title to other wrestlers or pushing them (when actually he does push them,) but for some reason, many are blind to see that Hogan's kept so many down for so long. I'd rather see Benjamin be taken out of the ladder match at WM21 (and put Snitsky in his place[not win though!]) and have Hassan beat Shelton Benjamin for the IC title.
Michael P. Brennan wrote:
Hogan wrestling at Wrestlemania would do one thing for sure, and that's make everyone happy! Most fans love Hogan and hate Hassan, so why not do it" If you believe that this will hurt Hassan's future, you are wrong! Most fans have short memories, anyway. Let's look at it this way. HHH got squashed by the Ultimate Warrior at WM VII. Did that kill his career" NO! He's been the most dominant figure since then. Steve Austin lost to Savio Vega at a Pay Per View and then became arguably the most popular wrestler the industry has ever had. Kurt Angle lost to Tazz before he became a main eventer. Bret Hart lost to Owen hours before he became the WWF Champion. And Batista was a freakin Reverend on Smackdown before he joined Evolution.

Another reason why it is okay for Hassan to lose is because he is still young. Once again, wrestling fans have short memories. Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Edge, and Bradshaw have all had long tenures at the mid-card status before and lost to Joe Shmoes several times, yet they are the stars of today.

If you told me 15 months ago that Bradshaw would be the WWE Champion, I would have called you crazy. But as of right now, he has the longest tenure as Champion in the last 10 years. If you told me two years ago that Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit would become WWE/World Champions, I wouldn't have believed you. And if you told me 15 years ago that Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart would rise above Paul Roma level and end up being certain first ballot Hall of Famers, I would have fainted

The Bottom Line: If Hogan wrestled at Wrestlemania, it would be the highlight of the night for me. Don't worry about Hassan. He has "star" written all over him. I will even bet that he becomes the I.C. Champion within the next 6 months. I will also bet that he will be WWE Champion by next Wrestlemania.
Philip from GeRRRmany wrote:
First off all, i gotta say that i totally agree with what Harry said (the article above), WRESTLEMANIA SHOULD BE FOR BUILDING THINGS FOR THE FUTURE. Of course it would be a great deal to see Hogan taking Hassan out, but the cheers would be for one night only. Although i never was a great fan of Hulk Hogan as a wrestler, because of his very limited In-Ring abilities. But i was always a fan of Hogan as an Entertainer, mostly when he went heel in �96 WCW�s Bash at the Beach, and formed the new new new world order :) which was the greatest deal in the wrestling history i think, but thats a different story, and we all know the end of it ;) I just want to say, that Hassan could be the perfect heel-deal for the wwe (by now, i�m very bored and sick and tired of HHH playing that part) It�s time to build a top heel who can polarize the fans and make them want to get him destroyed again and again. And Hassan fits that role perfectly, the only thing is, that the wwe must be a little careful with the patriotism and all these things, it mus�nt become into racesism.

Well guys, we�ll see what is going to happen at Wrestlemania21, i think i�ll be great anyway!!!
Laurens Fuchs wrote:
Let me just say this: I cannot believe that you (Jacob Kuhn) are seriously calling for Hulk Hogan.... that's an outrage, simply the single most ridiculous thing ever. I cannot understand why people can't get over the fact that Hogan is about a 100 years old now (well, not quite) and that the only thing he'll do for the wrestling business in the year 2005 is hurt it.... yes, he's done a lot for the industry (even though he's the single worst wrestler ever), but that was about 15 years ago.... we do not need senior citizens who were a big deal 15 or 20 years ago in the ring today, what we need is fresh talent and there are so many guys around that have so much left in them and who have so much left to accomplish and who could be used so much better by the creative department.... if you wanna watch a Hogan match get a tape or a DVD but please stop calling for Hogan in the year 2005 - Hogan in the year 2002/03 was bad enough, but at least there was something behind it like the story of him returning to the WWE after years which culminated in the WMXIX match against Vince McMahon - there never should have been a Mr. America or anything beyond that..... Hogan's just made me laugh the last few times he's been in the ring, simply because he's that old and sloppy.... look at his matches against The Rock at WM18 or Backlash 03, 5 minutes into the match he's sweating like a four-assed monkey with its pants on fire.... 2 minutes after that he's totally spent and breathing like he's about to have a heart attack any minute.... and the match was really slow-paced, nothing going on at all. That's what happens when you put a really old guy in the ring with someone who's on top of his game..... The Rock did everything he could to make Hogan look like something he's not (or not anymore) and desperately tried to sell Hogan's ridiculous moves like they were something they're not (and never were) and still Hogan looked like a complete moron..... so the last thing anybody - especially a young and talented performer like Hassan - needs is another Hogan match..... I actually think another Hogan match could make me jump right out the window with my pants on fire monkey-style. Hassan's gimmick is a good one and it seems to work pretty well - nobody needs to "shut" him up, ESPECIALLY not Hulk Hogan.... he needs to choose a retirement home for himself, cause that's what lies in his near future. And if you wanna thank somebody for making the wrestling business what it is today thank Vince McMahon.... or if you need to thank a wrestler for making the wrestling business what it is today thank Ric Flair - at least he's a wrestler (or was.... but he shouldn't step into the ring anymore for the same reasons that apply to Hogan, his being-around as a "manager" for Triple H or whatever is quite enjoyable at times).... there's too many talented guys who are not used appropriately due to lack of TV time or the overuse of guys like HHH, so the last thing they (and we) need is Hulk Hogan taking up some more time and space instead of pushing fresh talent.
Jacob Kuhn wrote (after Wrestlemania 21 was in the books):
Well, to quote the great Bobby Heenan, I hate to tell you I told you so, but I told you so.

I had no idea this article would get so much response. But I feel I need to answer quite a few of the comments that have been made to me.

Yes, I know that the match is all show. However, I am from the Kayfabe era and I like to talk about wrestling the way we used to. The magic of pro wrestling is if it's good enough, we can let ourselves believe in it. And the comments about this match boring the arena... I don't know about you all, but when the unofficial match just happened, the crowd hadn't popped so high in the entire night. Hogan was in better shape than I had seen him in years.

I have nothing against Mark Magnus. I think he'll make a great wrestler. However, the character that Vince created for him is disgraceful to the bussiness and to Magnus himself. A character centered around the travesty of 9/11 is inappropriate. Characters can be anti American all they want, but his direct references to this event offend me.

Once again, Vince McMahon played it smart. He gave Hogan his moment without it being an official match. The crowd loved it, and even I loved it, although I have always hated Hogan. It happened like I said. Deal with it.

Oh, and Higgins, if all you can do is correct my spelling... well, it doesn't say much for your perspective.
Ronevsorg wrote:
To add to Michael P. Brennan's comments about wrestling fan's short term memories: Did Bastisa not lose to Benoit,Edge,Jericho,Orton AND Maven in the past 6 months"
wrote:

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