...On July 7, 2005, London, England fell victim to a terrorist attack, when four bombs were detonated across the city, killing 56 and injuring hundreds. The controversial angle was being aired in North America, which drew a great deal of criticism. As a result, the network axed both characters from the show and Muhammad Hassan never returned to wrestling again.
Daivari, however, went back to the drawing board, and was ready for another opportunity to be presented to him. Early in WWE Creative’s discussion of how to repackage Daivari, he was presented with a bizarre gimmick by Stephanie McMahon. “Stephanie came up to me and was like, ‘We’ve got an idea for you for like next week. We want you to debut as a character named George W. Bush, and we want you to wear Red, White, and Blue trunks, and be like a super American patriot.’” Daivari said that his response to Stephanie was, “I would love to kind of do my own thing, but that is a terrible idea. I don’t know who came up with it, or whose idea was it to come up with the name George W. Bush, and take me from the hottest heel to wearing red, white, and blue, and what the purpose is or the explanation for it. But, I really, really, feel strongly against it.”...
