Muhammad Hassan | |
---|---|
Birth name | Marc Copani |
Born |
Syracuse, New York |
November 7, 1981
Residence | Liverpool, New York |
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | Mark Magnus Muhammad Hassan |
Billed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
Billed weight | 245 lb (111 kg) |
Billed from | Dearborn, Michigan |
Trained by |
Nick Dinsmore Nightmare Danny Davis |
Debut | 2002 |
Retired | 2005 |
Marc Copani (born November 7, 1981) is an American retired professional wrestler.
He is best known for his appearances with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) from 2004 to 2005, where he portrayed an Arab American under the ring name Muhammad Hassan. His career came to an abrupt end when a controversial "terrorism" storyline coincided with the 7 July 2005 London bombings, leading the television network UPN to pressure WWE to remove Copani's character from television.
Copani was born in Syracuse, New York. He graduated from Cicero – North Syracuse High School in 1998. He enrolled in the SUNY Buffalo, studying for a degree in history. In 2002, he left university to pursue a career in professional wrestling.
Copani joined the Louisville, Kentucky-based promotion Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) in 2002. He debuted in the same year under the ring name Mark Magnus.
On August 13, 2003, Copani defeated Johnny Jeter to win the OVW Heavyweight Championship. The title was vacated on December 10, 2003 when Copani was pinned by both Jeter and Nick Dinsmore in a triple threat match.