Marc Copani was one of the hottest rising stars in pro wrestling back in 2005 as one of the most hated villains in wrestling.

Copani, who is Italian-American, became famous when he was asked to wrestle as an Arab-American character, Muhammad Hassan. His character would rile up crowds, complaining about prejudice against Arab-Americans after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and other grievances.

He became one of the most popular wrestlers fans loved to hate.

Today, Copani is principal of Fulton Junior High School, a long way from traveling the world through wrestling. This is his first school year as the principal.

Copani, now 39, looks back on his days as a World Wrestling Entertainment wrestler with fondness and some angst. He worked really hard to break into the WWE and then lost it all in the blink of an eye. If it hadn’t happened, however, Copani says he wouldn’t have become an educator.

"It was a blessing in disguise,'' he said, “because today I love being a principal.”

He said he turns his experience on the wrestling stage into a lesson for students on how to bounce back and not give up after career-busting events.

What happened?

In May 2005, Hassan was doing well in the wrestling world. He had a huge win against then-World Heavyweight Champion Batista and earned a championship match against WWE star John Cena. He was moved to the WWE’s popular Smackdown brand, but that’s where his wrestling career ended abruptly.

A controversial terrorist skit in a match featuring Hassan happened to air at the same time as the July 2005 London terrorist bombings. In the match, Hassan began to “pray," summoning five masked men, dressed in black shirts, ski-masks,and camo pants, armed with clubs and piano wire.

That prompted television network UPN to pressure WWE to drop his character from TV. His days as a professional wrestler were over.

Muhammad Hassan in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. In 2005. World Wrestling Entertainment via The Associated PressAP

The path from CNY to wrestling and back

Copani graduated from Cicero North Syracuse High School in 1998.

He said he grew up watching wrestling and staging shows in his basement. At SUNY Buffalo, he studied history but left when he was 21 years old to pursue his dream of becoming a pro wrestler.

He moved to Louisville, Kentucky, to attend a WWE training camp, taking a three-hour class on Saturdays to learn the basic moves and the psychology of entertaining so the matches would look real, Copani said.

He helped sweep up the set and clean the arena after shows, and eventually the organizers let him wrestle a match.

He became a jobber -- a wrestler who purposely loses matches to the bigger names. He came up with an impression of “The Rock," and the WWE liked it. They soon approached him with the Muhammad Hassan character. "And when they ask, you don’t say no,'' Copani said.

On TV, he wrestled with Hulk Hogan, Dave Bautista, John Cena, The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels and more. He won’t say what he earned, but "it was pretty good pay for someone 25 years old,'' he said. WWE wrestlers can earn $500,000 a year or more today.

He traveled all over the world with the WWE -- Japan, Australia, Korea, Germany, Ireland, Scotland and Italy. While there, he said, he visited landmarks because he was interested in history.

At first, the Hassan character played an Arab-American who felt discriminated against because of the anti-Muslim sentiment in America after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. As time went on, the character was scripted to be more outrageous and more anti-American. More like a terrorist.

His role as a villain culminated with the skit featuring him and the masked men.

"The character got more radicalized, and after the incident with the London bombings everyone got upset,'' he said. “Hassan became too controversial for wrestling.”

The timing meant the end of Copani’s career with the WWE.

"I was heartbroken,'' he said. “I put everything I had into the WWE, and had it all taken away from me. I just withdrew from wrestling all together.”

Looking back, Copani said, he had felt uncomfortable with the way his character had crossed the line.

The character’s portrayal of Arab-Americans had become "unfair, inaccurate and biased,'' he said. Copani believes that character would never be created today -- and says that’s a good thing.

Once done with wrestling, Copani went back to college, got his degree and the worked as a world history teacher for four years at Hannibal High School. He then took a job as assistant principal at the Fulton high school, and then became principal of the junior high this summer.

Copani said working in the WWE gave him some useful skills he used in teaching. He could present a history lesson with drama and animation to engage the students. He said he also learned people skills.

His rise and fall in the wrestling world left him with a lesson about how to go after what you want, and how to deal with crushing disappointment. He also talked with students about the Muslim religion and brought in the Koran and the hijab he wore as Muhammad to help illustrate his lessons.

Students in the past have been impressed with Copani’s WWE career for the first week or two of a school year, and then they forget about it, he said.

He doesn’t miss the injuries -- a shattered ankle and herniated discs in his back and neck. He does miss the "raw athleticism and the relationships,'' he said.

He is working on a new comic book series with former WWE wrestler, Shad Gaspard, featuring a new character. Donovan Braddock. The two previously published a graphic novel.

Two years ago, he wrestled twice for charity events, but doesn’t enjoy it like he used to.

"I’m never doing it again,'' he said.