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The following press release was issued:
Marc Copani, WWE’s Muhammad Hassan, Takes on Adversity in New Book
(Syracuse, NY / September 14, 2026) - Marc Copani, the former WWE Superstar best known as Muhammad Hassan, is putting the lessons behind an extraordinary second act into Wrestling with Adversity: How to Deal with Life’s Challenges. The 240-page book is available for pre-order now through Barnes & Noble and Amazon ahead of its October 8 release from G&D Media. The official book trailer is now available to watch on Instagram.
In his early 20s, Copani went from WWE’s Ohio Valley Wrestling developmental system to national television, quickly becoming one of the company’s most talked-about villains and appearing opposite Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels, John Cena and The Undertaker. His run ended abruptly in 2005 after a controversial SmackDown storyline collided with the London bombings. The rise, backlash and aftermath were revisited in the 2025 Dark Side of the Ring season finale, “Becoming Muhammad Hassan.”
Copani uses that experience as the starting point, then focuses on what came next: returning to college, building a new career as a history teacher and school administrator and learning to see adversity as a beginning rather than an end. He now serves as Director of Human Resources for the Fulton City School District in New York. Through his story, the book offers steps to help readers change their perspective, move through disappointment and begin building again.
“When wrestling ended, I had to figure out who I was without the future I had planned for myself,” said Copani. “Wrestling with Adversity is about changing the way you see disappointment, taking the next step and realizing that one ending does not get to decide the rest of your life.”
The book has already earned praise from nine-time world champion Chris Jericho, who writes that Copani “used the lessons he learned in pro wrestling (both good and bad) to rebuild & restructure his life.”
Wrestling with Adversity: How to Deal with Life’s Challenges is listed in paperback, eBook and audiobook formats. Follow Marc Copani on X and Instagram.
ABOUT MARC COPANI:
Marc Copani is an author, educator and retired professional wrestler best known for portraying Muhammad Hassan, one of WWE’s most talked-about villains of the mid-2000s. Born and raised in the Syracuse, New York area, he trained in Ohio Valley Wrestling, then WWE’s developmental territory, where he performed as Mark Magnus and held the OVW Heavyweight Championship before debuting as Hassan on Monday Night Raw in December 2004.
Copani’s rise on WWE television was fast, placing him opposite such headliners as Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels, John Cena and The Undertaker. His run ended abruptly in 2005 after a controversial SmackDown storyline aired on the day of the London bombings and the Muhammad Hassan character was removed from television. Two decades later, Copani revisited the experience in “Becoming Muhammad Hassan,” the Season 6 finale of VICE TV’s Dark Side of the Ring.
After leaving WWE, Copani returned to college and built a second career in public education. He earned a bachelor’s degree in adolescent education and social studies, a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction and a certificate of advanced studies in educational leadership from SUNY Oswego. He went on to work as a world history teacher, assistant principal and junior high school principal and currently serves as Director of Human Resources for the Fulton City School District. His path from the ring to school leadership now informs Wrestling with Adversity: How to Deal with Life’s Challenges, his new personal-growth book arriving October 8, 2026 from G&D Media.
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