Marc Copani is a retired professional wrestler known for his time as Muhammad Hassan in WWE. He joins Chris Van Vliet in Philadelphia, PA to talk about His short but impactful run in WWE, how his character was originally pitched to him, not actually being Arab-American, getting heat from the locker room, always staying in character even outside of the ring, plans for him to beat Batista to become World Champion, being written off of TV following pressure from the network, what he is doing today, working in education, if he still gets recognized, any plans for another match and more! BONCHARGE: Use the code CVV to save 15% off your infrared sauna blanket at https://boncharge.com/cvv BLUECHEW: Use the code INSIGHT to get your first month of BlueChew for FREE at http://bluechew.com 00:00 Intro 00:37 Do people still recognize him from WWE? 02:34 What does he do for a living now? 05:26 Being fired for being too good of a heel 07:07 Feeling like wrestling was a previous life 07:26 Who was his character Marc Magnus in OVW 08:03 How the Muhammad Hassan character was pitched to him 09:26 Not actually being an Arab-American! 09:46 Experiencing Islamophobia in real life 10:58 Fans booing him for speaking the truth 11:34 His entrance theme setting the tone 13:20 When did his character first start to take off? 13:53 Did other WWE Superstars get jealous of his push? 14:39 Getting massive media coverage for the controversy 15:37 Being told his character was being pulled 16:18 Undertaker giving him The Last Ride off the stage 16:47 Tommaso Ciampa being his lawyer 17:26 Memories of Wrestlemania 21 with Hulk Hogan 18:29 Having a memorable one year career 19:13 His character was Vince McMahon’s ‘Pet Project’ 19:30 Almost winning the Intercontinental Champion 20:11 Being scheduled to work with Batista 20:44 Why didn’t he want to stay in wrestling? 23:09 Why wasn’t he rebranded by WWE? 24:12 How long did he distance himself from wrestling for? 25:17 Being a school principal during 2020 26:31 Feeling like he lives a double life 27:14 Having a comeback match in 2018 28:23 Did he miss crowd reactions when he was gone? 29:33 Being recognized in public immediately after his release 30:02 His friendship with Shad Gaspard 32:02 Being remembered for his memorable promos 33:46 Having trouble staying in shape on the road 35:19 Not being allowed to sign autographs. 36:55 Having to stay in character all of the time 37:24 How often does he keep in touch with Davari? 38:22 Will he ever get a Dark Side of the Ring special? 38:58 3 things Marc Copani is grateful for Subscribe to http://youtube.com/ChrisVanVliet Listen to "Insight with Chris Van Vliet": https://podcast.chrisvanvliet.com Get awesome CVV t-shirts & merch: https://teespring.com/stores/chris-van-vliet Email me: cvv@chrisvanvliet.com Follow me on Instagram: http://instagram.com/ChrisVanVliet Like me on Facebook: http://facebook.com/ChrisVanVliet Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ChrisVanVliet #wwe #wrestling #chrisvanvliet #BlueWireVideo