Hassan Assad, best known to wrestling fans as MVP, has had quite the life. Recently, he was a part of VICELAND’s The Wrestlers series, but ahead of that, he sat down with VICE to discuss what got him into the wrestling world, and how his life was changed thanks to meeting someone while imprisoned.
Assad’s wrestling story begins in an unlikely place, as he took part in a heist of a casino on a cruise ship, and made away with over $100,000. Someone taking part in the robbery ended up turning themselves in, and Assad’s father – who was a cop – facilitated his surrender. “I turned myself in. I didn’t know I was facing ten counts of armed kidnapping, but I was because there were ten people in the casino we locked in the closet.”
After being sentenced to an 18-year sentence and serving nine-and-a-half years in prison, Assad credits a correctional officer with introducing him to wrestling. “When I was in work release that’s where I met my buddy, Prime Time Daryl D, aka Daryl Davis, who is a correctional officer and was also an independent pro wrestler,” he said. “He used to bring in videotapes for us to watch in the morning before they’d release us to go to work. Pay-per-views or he’d bring in tapes of local indie shows that he was on.”
Assad said one day that he asked Davis how to actual wrestle, and that Davis was willing to teach him once Assad got out of prison. From there, the rest is history, and he was able to make a very deep career for himself, winning multiple championships in the likes of WWE and NJPW.
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