Prior to becoming a two-time NXT Champion and one of WWE’s most featured stars Tommaso Ciampa was best known for playing the on-screen lawyer to one of the company’s most infamous characters, Muhammad Hassan.
Ciampa spoke about the very strange events of Hassan and his storyline getting scrapped due to some real-world tragedies during an interview with Chris Van Vilet. Ciampa recalled getting the part and how it was a whirlwind of a day that he thought was just going to be extra work.
Similar to being in the right place with Chaotic, they called up the promoter at the time Jamie and they said hey, we need, which is a weird suggestion from WWE for what we need, but we need guys under six foot tall, who look like they could be like fresh out of law school. So I forget how they worded it but because it was for Hassan and Daivari like they wanted you to have a certain look, I think their wording was. So three of us got sent it was me this kid Matt Logan and this kid Chase I’m I want to say maybe I’m like at that time six months older than Matt younger than Chase. But we didn’t have anyone who was like 20, which is just so weird now thinking about wrestling but we didn’t have anyone who was 26-30. It was all kids and we all went there. I borrowed my brother’s suit because I didn’t have one and the three of us are in catering and John Laurinaitis comes in he just like looks at us and he’s like, Yeah, I think he’s gonna do, and that was the end of that. You’re like, Okay, I didn’t know exactly what we’re there for. And then all of a sudden, like it was the whirlwind of a day. Stephanie McMahon comes up to me, next thing I know, takes me for a tour. And I’m like, What the heck is going on? So like an individual tour. This is the backstage, this is where we do this this is that and I remember like to this day her just say it’s just like the independents just with like, a lot more money behind it, and but she was the nicest person ever. And I was like, This is crazy. And then finally, like, you know, I did the whole thing and stuff and they were like, you know, you’re gonna read this, this script and you have a writer Ed Koskey, who still like to this day with the company head writer. And they kind of let it slip to me later in the day as the day went on there. This is super important. Like, at that time, they did something with Hassan. I forget what it was, but it was like, I want to say something happened with terrorist attacks too and UPN was under crazy heat.
Later, Ciampa explains how he had to issue an apology for the Hassan character due to pressure put on WWE by UPN. This came after a terrible terrorist attack occurred in London that coincided with Hassan’s rise as a foreign heel.
Yeah, he disappeared after this, but they were like you have to do an apology for his actions last week. And it has to come off as sincere and real because we’re actually apologising to the network on live TV because that’s what they requested. And it was just bizarre because in my head at this point, I’m like, with Jamie the promoter. I’m like, why didn’t they just hire an actor? Why didn’t they hire somebody professional? And I was like, This is so bizarre. He’s like, you know, but I was a promo guy I’ve always been a promo guy, he’s like it’s just like your penmanship promo, just go do whatever your penmanship problems. I’m like, Thank God, I have this script. I can read it and like they were like, you’re reading it. You don’t have to memorise it. So I like, okay, and then I did. I did an in-ring rehearsal with Undertaker, with Hunter, Steph and Vince and everybody watching me.
Elsewhere in the interview, Ciampa spoke about his future in wrestling, how he still wants to compete, and whether there is a backstage position for him in WWE. You can read about that here.
