»Reported by Joe Corneli of WrestleView.com

On Friday, February 18, 2005 at 12:17 AM EST

Welcome to the new staple of Wrestleview—The Counterpoint. I’m Joe Corneli (although everyone just calls me Joe C.) the mastermind of this diatribe. As you will come to learn, I am a long time fan of wrestling although that doesn’t mean that I am a lifelong WWF/E mark like many on the Internet. Instead I grew up loving the MidSouth/NWA product. Before you ask, no, I haven’t gotten into the TNA version. Maybe one day…

The concept of this column is pretty simple. Too many people are expressing the same crap constantly on good wrestling sites. How many times do we need to hear that HHH is the curse of wrestling or that JBL cannot wrestle? Would it shock you to know that many believe that that Undertaker is an icon and that RVD is a god?

When I question these things, many have said that I “just don’t get the point.” Well, to each of you self-appointed geniuses of the wrestling game, get to know and love “The Counterpoint.”
======

If you have watched RAW over the past several weeks you have likely noticed that there is a wrestler who is beginning to get strong crowd reactions. Not long ago he barely on the radar and his gimmick was questionable at best. Many, myself included, expected his character to be sent to OVW for “repackaging” within the month. But, alas, he has caught on with the fans.

Common logic would dictate that I am speaking of Batista, but that is a column for another day. It struck me this last week that one of the compelling figures on RAW is actually Muhammad Hassan. Assuming that you have been paying attention to actual crowd response and not the ramblings of so-called (and self-proclaimed) wrestling reporters, you have seen that despite being marginally promoted, Hassan and his running-mate Khosrow Daivari have been under the collective skin of almost every person in the WWE stands.

Why do we hate them?

THE POINT

Talk to an everyday fan and they will regurgitate the same lines that Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler use for Hassan and Daivari—“if they don’t like the U.S.A. they should leave.” These two Arab-Americans express distrust and hatred towards our citizens for their feelings of being the focus of prejudice and racism. Well, so what?

If they can’t take the criticism that comes with at least appearing similar to the individuals who masterminded the attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, the average WWE fan argues, then maybe they do need to leave. Do they think they are actually going to get anyone to be sympathetic to their claims?

The majority of WWE shows are presented in the United States and those who mock and insult the fans should be shown to the nearest exit. And, if they are foreigners, all the better…

Right?

THE COUNTERPOINT

If you were agreeing with the last three paragraphs, this column is just for you. It is clear that you do not understand the nature of a good heel and why Hassan and Daivari are two of the best creations in the recent booking efforts of Vince and company.

The point is this—Hassan is doing exactly what he should do. A good heel finds a way to consistently get under our skin. There aren’t too many better ways of doing this in the US than to point out the absurd values, and the never-ending contradictions that we hold. We are the melting pot, so the saying goes, unless you look like Osama Bin Laden. All Hassan and Daivari are doing is, with some articulation, reminding us of our double-standards.

The reason that this gimmick works so well is that is hasn’t been done quite the same way in the history of the WWE. Sure, you had the Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff in the 1980s when Iran and the Soviet Union were not on Reagan’s birthday card list. However, they needed Freddie Blassie (more American than most) as their mouth-piece. While people hated them, and cheered the hell out of Sgt. Slaughter and the other pure American wrestlers of the day, they didn’t have the same characteristics of today’s incarnation.

The WWE has tried the Anti-American approach after 9/11 with little success. Remember the unAmericans? Led by Lance Storm and Christian, this group critiqued the hypocrisy that has sadly become a hallmark of Americana. The difference? Storm and Christian (at the time) weren’t gold on the microphone. As much as I respect their in-ring ability, neither was a homerun when it came to pissing off the fans. Thus, their gimmick died a slow death.

Hassan and Daivari are different. They incite the populous as they are supposed to; however, there rants are not mush-mouthed. There actually is some substance to their critique whether you like it (albeit unlikely) or not.

If nothing else, Daivari has recreated the lost art being a manager. I argue that not since Bobby Heenan have we actually seen a logical and believable second fiddle for an up-and-coming star. The “Brain” could do it at will...but chanting at the crowd in Arabic dialect was never on his resume. This is a new version of heel.

So, for those of you who get the “point” but not the “counterpoint” I suggest that you keep booing the hell out of these two. Keep chanting “U-S-A” at the top of your lungs, despite the irony of these two actually being Arab-AMERICANS. Don’t forget to laugh and applaud every time Jericho makes smartass jokes about their sexuality or lack of manhood—that is what he is supposed to do as well.

But, don’t tell me that they are boring.

And that is The Counterpoint…


Joe C.