The publishers of WWE Magazine, the official publication of World Wrestling Entertainment, have sparked controversy this week by publishing cartoon images depicting unpopular former superstar Muhammad Hassan.

The backlash against the magazine comes from a small-but-vocal minority of wrestling fans who insist that any depiction of Hussan is a unacceptable because he “wasn’t a very good wrestler.”

These critics, who adhere to a hardcore branch of wrestling fandom that most moderate fans denounce, insist that Muhammad Hassan’s depiction in the magazine is inappropriate because Hassan “was pushed up the roster too quickly without paying his dues on the indies.”

Also, they point out, Hassan was actually Italian.

Although the publishers of magazine have not received any threats of violence — because violent retribution over a cartoon would be tragic — the angry fans have threatened instead to complain on Reddit.

WWE Magazine has refused to issue an apology or retraction, insisting that the Hassan image is far less offensive than most of what it published during the Attitude Era.

The whereabouts Hassan himself, meanwhile, remain a mystery, though Navy Seals are said to be closing in.