Court Bauer Says Former Top WWE Heel Was Afraid Of Heat

MLW owner Court Bauer is a big fan of utilizing heat for his wrestling shows. Nowadays, it's a bit harder as live crowds are more willing to cheer a heel if the performer has a cool factor, but Bauer appeared on "The Masked Man Show" and said heat is still relevant in wrestling today.

"I think the biggest thing is having a show where when the viewer watches it they're having fun, but there's also heat," Bauer said. "That's one of the things I liked about MJF. He was fearless when it comes to heat."

Bauer recalled working for WWE and a performer who was being pushed as a top bad guy who wasn't comfortable with garnering heated reactions.

"When I was at WWE, there was a guy named Muhammad Hassan, he was scared of the heat," Bauer said. "There's a lot of reasons that thing blew up. There was a lot of things that went into that going away, including The Undertaker and some piano wire, but when a guy's scared of the heat, it's so hard to get up and running. I think heat's important to wrestling, and the concept of heat in wrestling is so important."

At the time, Hassan was playing the role of an Arab-American who was fighting against stereotypes, while still playing the role of a heel. The character was marred in controversy, and an angle involving masked men in camo pants attacking The Undertaker and using Daivari as a "sacrifice" was the final straw, as the episode of "SmackDown" featuring that segment aired on the same night as the London Bombings on July 7, 2005.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "The Masked Man Show" with an h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.