Posted on 9/14/126 by Colin Vassallo
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.