I had another column planned and half written but once again I change gears and felt compelled to give my two cents (one American cent and one Canadian cent) on this Hassan debate. That being said, I say good riddance to Hassan. I can't understand why there are so many who liked him. Let's be honest, his character was based on cheap heat. He had NO talent and had below average ring skills! I could have taken any Arabic-looking guy and done the same thing. His character was VERY one-dimensional and if he returns with a brand new gimmick I guarantee his character won't be as over. If I am wrong I will print out this column and eat it.

But Johnny, Hassan was supposed to be face and the fans made him a heel. Sorry, he did NOT debut as a face nor was there any plan for him to be one. His first promo was one of anger and his first real angle was attacking J.R and Lawler. Nuff said. Now if Hassan ran out and attacked a heel and the fans still booed I'd be inclined to agree with you. Not to mention when Hassan went to Canada he insulted the fans. I could maybe see the connection of his character upset at Americans but at Canadians" The same country who did not send troops to Iraq" The same country who does not support the war in Iraq" The same country who enjoys booing America" Go figure eh"

Yeah, but people cheered after Hassan got the Last Ride onto the concrete. So what" Foley got tossed off the top of the cage by the Undertaker and the crowd cheered. I guess using that logic the fans would see an overweight guy get beat up on the street and cheer and then walk away. Most fans hated the character and his views and not the wrestler. Yes there are bad fans out there everywhere but to assume all fans are like them is the equivalent of me saying all young wrestling fans kill 9 year olds by doing wrestling moves on them.

But Johnny, how is Hassan any different than Russians or Mustafa" Well, because there is a war on terror going on and unlike the "cold war" or the Gulf War (which I fought in) American civilians, Australian civilians, English civilians, Spanish civilians, ..etc all have been unnecessary targets and have died at the hands of terror. To make a gimmick out of this trivializes the seriousness of terrorism and those who have died as a result of it.

Oh yeah Johnny, well UPN did not have to ban him from SmackDown! Actually with the FCC handing down fines and the simple fact that it's UPN's network not the WWE's they can ban whomever they want. If I was an advertiser I would have pulled out if they allowed Hassan to be on SmackDown!. America is based on capitalism and it's bad business to lose revenue over something like this. Those of you who would have allowed Hassan to continue his angle; the only thing I can say please never run a business. Besides you want to complain about censorship, go watch RAW on TSN as all my fellow Canadian readers can attest to.

What about JBL then" It's racism and a double standard! Well, I don't see JBL using the same tactics Hassan has. Now if JBL pretended to bomb some mosque or flushed the Koran down a toilet you would have a valid point. Yes the JBL Hitler fiasco was tacky but it was not on primetime television, and last I checked World War 2 ended a long time ago. Oh and he did lose his job at Fox over it. Yet I don't see any of you calling up Fox asking for JBL to get his job back. The only double standard I see is the fans sticking up for Hassan and not doing the same for JBL. Before I get accused of being a JBL fan let me state that I have NEVER been a JBL fan!

Johnny, it's the Americans fault for Hassan! Sorry, the "blame America" argument falls flat on this one. You are really reaching here. I know it's cool to blame the USA and I enjoy the occasional jab at the USA as well but to blame them for this is absurd. What is also equally absurd is those who say "the terrorists or Hassan might actually have a legitimate complaint". Since I am on the topic of being absurd I am going to toss in all those who want to make this issue political. As much as I would love to say my piece about it this is a wrestling site not some political website. I don't get paid to write about my political opinion. Wait a second I don't get paid at all!

The bottom line here is Hassan's character crossed the line with the terrorist episode which was the proverbial straw that broke the camels back (no pun intended). Don't tell me with a straight face that men in ski masks are no big deal and a mock beheadings are not related to terror. I think we can all agree that this was a silly stunt especially during a time like this. I don't fault the wrestler for this but lay blame at the feet of the dopey writer who thought this was a great idea. What is even more telling is instead of realizing the idea was bad after the fact they decided to have Hassan on SmackDown! trying to defend himself/the writer. A simple apology by the WWE on their website or a brief mention of it before the show and this whole fiasco may have blown over. But since I have never seen Vince apologize or admit fault it did not shock me when Hassan gave his rant on SmackDown!.

Was I offended by the Hassan gimmick" Let's just say I found HBK wiping his nose on the Canadian flag far more offensive than Hassan. Also maybe those who were offended by Hassan were *gasp* Arabs. Look at the uproar over the show "24" and how they portrayed Arabs. Is it not plausible that some of the "stupid Americans" who complained were Arabs" For the majority of you to assume that it was non Arabs who called UPN are equally as racist as those you are condemning. I think the phrase "pot calling the kettle black" can be used here.

In closing, if you walk away from this column and the only thing you understand is that there is a proper time, place and manner for such things and Hassan's character was in the wrong place and the wrong time then I have got my point across. Trust me Hassan won't be missed by the majority of us who saw through the cheap heat and his lack of talent.

When Johnny LaRue is not watching old wrestling tapes he can be reached at Easyreader2@Hotmail.com..