Marc Copani talks journey from WWE's controversial Muhammad Hassan to history teacher: ‘Blurred the lines'
Marc Copani was on the verge of potentially becoming a world champion in WWE before arguably the company's most controversial character collided with real-life tragedy
Copani, an Italian American, had been playing the hated Middle Eastern character Muhammad Hassan so well since September 2004 that he became one of WWE's top bad guys at the time.
Hassan began as someone railing against the mistreatment of Arab Americans three years after 9/11 and the beginning of the War on Terror and more than a year after the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
By 2005, the Syracuse native found himself in a feud with The Undertaker, with the payoff planned to be him beating World Heavyweight champion Batista at SummerSlam in Washington D.C. in August.
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WWE SmackDown results, highlights (May 30): Cody Rhodes goes after John Cena, Logan Paul
John Cena and Cody Rhodes are back in each other's orbit after a brief break between WrestleMania 41 and last weekend's Saturday Night's Main Event. "WWE SmackDown" closed with the continuation of the championship feud, as the company gears up for Money In the Bank when they'll face off in a tag team match alongside partners, Logan Paul and World Heavyweight Champion Jey Uso. Advertisement First and foremost, it's nice to have Rhodes back, and it definitely feels weird seeing him without the Undisputed WWE championship. Recycling We have to accept the meta nature of this whole Cena heel run at this point. As much as it might be overly crediting those behind the scenes, I'm convinced they actually want this all to be awful because going the route of Cena and Paul vs. Rhodes and Uso is crazy. Not only is it a waste of Cena's last stretch of matches, but it is also a waste of Rhodes, who is far and away the best total package of all four of these wrestlers. Rhodes addressed his time away as soon as he hit the ring, and addressed his run as champion with some minor mentions of The Rock. It's better than nothing to bring that colossal part of the story to light, but we still could have gotten more. Ultimately, Rhodes promised never to hesitate with Cena again like he did in their match. Therefore, setting up the showdown between both sides of the coin as everyone entered the ring. Advertisement Cena just praised Paul and called his foes wannabes. That's about all there is to this now, and Paul jumped on the mic (for far too long) to essentially ram home why he and Cena are better than the opposition. His best line was stating that Uso needed Rhodes to beat him at Saturday Night's Main Event, but everything eventually broke down into a sloppy brawl. The predictability of Rhodes and Cena's story continuing, and likely culminating with Rhodes regaining the title from Cena, could have been seen from a mile away. 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If anything, The New Day would have been perfect over on "WWE Raw," but alas, here we are. 🐌Quicksand of the Night It's a sad, sad, sad, sad day. Triple H managed to give us an atrocious triple-threat match. My soul is still quivering. Naomi vs. Jade Cargill vs. Nia Jax was the worst three-way affair in quite some time. It legitimately felt like everything was happening in slow motion. Thankfully, the right woman won to advance to the Money In the Bank ladder match, and that was Naomi. The result came as somewhat of a surprise, considering how Naomi has been booked since she turned heel. She's done tremendous work, but has not seen many positive results from it. Advertisement The women's ladder match only gets more unpredictable with Naomi's addition. 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Forbes
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WWE SmackDown Results, Winners And Grades On May 30, 2025
John Cena and Cody Rhodes come face-to-face on WWE SmackDown. WWE SmackDown advertised a loaded show with Bianca Belair's return in her hometown of Knoxville, Tenn., Cody Rhodes' return to SmackDown to confront John Cena after his surprise appearance at WWE Saturday Night's Main Event. WWE also advertised two Money in the Bank qualifiers as Jacob Fatu took on Andrade and Carmelo Hayes and Jade Cargill faced Naomi and Nia Jax. Last week's broadcast of SmackDown garnered 1.38 million viewers. Bianca received a unanimously babyface reaction. She led her hometown fans in singing 'Rocky Top.' Belair, who was still sporting a splint on her hand, was interrupted by Naomi. Naomi was booed heavily. She said she wanted to reunite with Bianca, and even went by her house. Since Bianca's parents weren't there, Naomi let herself in and went through Bianca Belair's photo album. 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Je'Von looked like a seasoned OG on the main roster, and as dazzled as the crowd was, nobody enjoyed his work more than Joe Tessitore. This was Rey Fenix's best showing since coming to the main roster in a match promoting next weekend's Worlds Collide show. New North American champion Ethan Page appeared on commentary, and cost Evans the match. Tessitore was beside himself and put over Evans for his great showcase. Before Tessitore and Barrett could finish arguing, the screen cut out to a cryptic promo from Uncle Howdy, who teased coming after the Tag Team Titles. Backstage, Chelsea Green—sporting a bedazzled mask after breaking her nose at SNME, thrust Alba fyre into a match against Zelina Vega. Piper Niven tripped Vega while Green was distracting the referee before Raw went to break. Fans barely reacted to this match until the finish, where Green unmasked and accidentally struck Niven with her mask. Vega won with the Code Red. Damian Priest was received faint 'what' chants, but showed respect to Drew McIntyre. Priest needs to turn heel just as much as McIntyre needs to turn babyface. Priest, sporting a black eye, called out Jacob Fatu. If WWE is trying to rehabilitate Priest as a babyface, this is not the way. Priest remained respectful about Fatu, but said the family he follows around 'can catch a fresh one, too." Jacob Fatu shared a showdown with Damian Priest before going about his business. Miz and Carmelo teased tensions backstage after Carmelo Hayes told Miz he doesn't need him to get to the next level. Miz tripped Fatu as Fatu built a head of steam and hit the ropes. Fatu answered with a running hip attack against the barricade. Fatu set up Carmelo Hayes for a second running hip attack, but Andrade pulled Hayes out of the way, and Fatu went crashing through the barricade. Fatu came back from the dead and tossed both Andrade and Hayes from the top rope in something of an assisted Spanish Fly. Fatu essentially dominated the match every time he was on two feet, and the announce team marveled at his offense. Solo and JC hit the ring to give Fatu unsolicited advice. Both of them forcefully ordered him to do a moonsault off the top rope after he had already done one. Jimmy Uso attacked Mateo, Andrade capitalized by bumping a distracted Fatu out of the ring and hit The Message on Melo. Cody Rhodes received a warm ovation, and vowed to never hesitate again since hesitation cost him the WWE Championship at WrestleMania. Cody Rhodes surprised the crowd with a Jey Uso appearance. After an encore, Jey was interrupted by John Cena. Cena called Uso and Cody Rhodes wannabes. John Cena brought out Logan Paul, who Cena said was better than all the 'professional wrestlers' in the business. Cena said Logan Paul doesn't have to pay his dues because he pais their mortgages. 80% of this segment was entrances. Fans chanted STFU, which threw Logan Paul off. Cena was giving Paul time cues as the 8 pm PST hour approached. After a long Logan Paul promo, Jey Uso said they don't have to wait until Money in the Bank. Cena and Paul argued about whether or not they were gonna brawl. Rhodes taunted Cena and Paul, telling Paul 'What are you gonna go polish his Peacemaker?' A brawl ensued, and the babyfaces stood taul.
Yahoo
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'WWE SmackDown' Live Results: Cody Rhodes Addresses John Cena Before MITB, Major Hometown Return
'WWE SmackDown' Live Results: Cody Rhodes Addresses John Cena Before MITB, Major Hometown Return originally appeared on Athlon Sports. As the clock winds down to "Money in the Bank 2025," WWE is set to air the penultimate episode of "SmackDown." Advertisement Friday's live episode will feature two qualifiers for the MITB ladder match set for June 7. WWE's biggest star of the present will once again confront the company's top ace of the past. "Friday Night SmackDown" will also feature the return of one prominent talent, who has been out of action since "WrestleMania 41." Following Cody Rhodes' shocking appearance at the conclusion of "Saturday Night's Main Event," the former Undisputed WWE Champion is back on the blue brand. He is set to address John Cena ahead of MITB, where the two will collide in tag team action. In a men's triple threat MITB qualifier, WWE United States Champion Jacob Fatu will look to add another distinction to his resume. He'll share the ring with Carmelo Hayes and Andrade. Three superstars will also be vying for a spot in the women's MITB match. Fierce rivals Jade Cargill and Naomi will collide with Nia Jax in triple threat action. Who will punch their ticket to WWE's most important ladder match of the year? That's not all, as a former multi-time world champion is set to make her return. After suffering a hand injury in her heavily praised triple threat match against Iyo Sky and Rhea Ripley at "WrestleMania," Bianca Belair makes her way back to a WWE ring in her hometown. "WWE SmackDown" will air live on USA Network at 8 p.m. ET. Athlon Sports will be bringing you live coverage throughout the show. 'WWE SmackDown' Results Bianca Belair opened the show in her first appearance since April. Belair led the crowd in singing "Rocky Top." She said she needed to return to Knoxville to heal. Belair admitted she isn't 100 percent. She called herself the "EST" of Tennessee, which drew a big ovation from the crowd. Naomi then interrupted Belair. Belair was not receptive to Naomi's arrival. Naomi said she just wants Belair's forgiveness. She then admitted that she went into Belair's house uninvited and went through her photobook. Advertisement Belair told Naomi that if she ever goes near her parents again, then she'll hurt her worse than what she did to Jade Cargill. Naomi said it would be a shame if Belair and her mother were in a wheelchair. Things nearly broke down between the two, but Cargill stormed the ring and tossed Naomi through the middle rope. Nia Jax then made her way out for the women's MITB qualifier. Women's MITB Qualifier: Jade Cargill vs. Naomi vs. Nia Jax Naomi had Cargill seated in the corner. She then delivered a running dropkick. Naomi scored with the split-legged drop. Jax charged in, but Naomi moved, and Jax landed a hip attack on Cargill. Naomi went for a crossbody, but Cargill caught her and landed a fallaway slow. Jax broke up the pin before landing a Samoan drop on Cargill. Jax went high-risk and landed a leg drop on Naomi for a near fall. Jax and Naomi agreed to team up against Naomi. That agreement was short-lived, as Jax pulled Naomi off Cargill during a pin attempt. Advertisement Cargill hit a spinebuster on Jax. She then nailed Naomi with Jaded, but Jax broke up the pin. Cargill and Naomi were brawling, but Jax took both of them out with a crossbody. Cargill hit a splash on Jax and Naomi for a near fall. Cargill went for a superplex, but Jax wiped out both of her opponents with a Tower of Doom. Jax stacked Cargill and Naomi, but she only hit Cargill. Naomi then scored a crucifix pin on Jax. Winner: Naomi R-Truth Meets JC Mateo Jacob Fatu, Solo Sikoa, and JC Mateo ran into R-Truth backstage. Sikoa poked fun at R-Truth for talking to himself. R-Truth touched Sikoa's arm and asked him if he had a problem. Advertisement Mateo was going to attack R-Truth, but Sikoa prevented him. R-Truth then told Mateo he's seen him in a day in his life. He then asked Sikoa if Mateo is his son. R-Truth then called Mateo "husky" and asked Sikoa if he could teach his "husky son" a lesson in the ring. Sikoa obliged. Fatu then told Sikoa and Mateo that they could have fun on their own. He said he has business to handle on his own. Related: WWE Expected to Sign Former AEW World Champion Imminently This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on May 30, 2025, where it first appeared.
