Tag: Mustafa Ali

Mustafa Ali Is Coming To TNA

Former WWE star Mustafa Ali has officially signed with TNA Wrestling, months after he was released by WWE.

The former Retribution member featured in a vignette on the 25 January 2024 episode of TNA iMPACT, which appeared at the end of the show. In the vignette, Ali, who was dressed in a suit, delivered a message, with two people mimicking secret service members standing behind him. 

“Change, often it happens gradually over time. But sometimes it happens in a flash. TNA has recently undergone a change, gradually, years in the making. But now it’s time for a different kind of change, one that’s immediate and ignited by the introduction of an x-factor. I’m Mustafa Ali and I approve this message,” he concluded smiling at the camera.

Following his WWE exit, Ali began a “World Tour Campaign,” wrestling around the world with his politician gimmick. Ali has wrestled in a few indies and also in GCW since leaving WWE, while a vignette of his also aired on NJPW recently. After his WWE non-compete clause expired, Ali announced a “Mustafa Ali 2024” campaign and promised that change is coming. The gimmick is similar to the one that he had in “WWE NXT” last year, which he debuted a few weeks before his WWE release.

Ali joins former WWE colleagues like Nic Nemeth (FKA Dolph Ziggler) and Ash By Elegance (FKA Dana Brooke) who have made TNA their new home. It remains to be seen when Ali will debut in TNA, but he has several upcoming matches in promotions like NJPW, Progress, and House of Glory

Source: Wrestling Inc.

The Non-Compete Clauses Are Reportedly Almost Over For Several Released Former WWE Stars

One of the more unfortunate aspects of the WWE-UFC merger earlier this year was that it led to several within WWE, both in and out of the ring, losing their jobs this past September. And while the releases will surely still sting, with the end of December quickly approaching, many of the in-ring talents will finally have a chance to get back in the ring for another promotion.

PWInsider Elite reports that the bulk of talents let go by WWE in September are set to have their noncompete clauses expire next Thursday, December 21. Among the talents that would now be available to work for any promotion they choose are Dolph Ziggler, Mustafa Ali, Shelton Benjamin, Dana Brooke, Aliyah, Rick Boogs, Mace, Mansor, Riddick Moss, Top Dolla, Elias, Dabbo-Kato, Quincy Elliot, Yulisa Leon, Shanky, and Matt Riddle.

Many of the released WWE names have already been announcing future bookings, though so far all are for events one month after their noncompetes end. The includes Ziggler, who announced over the weekend that his first match outside of WWE would take place on January 20 in Puerto Rico, where he’ll work for the World Wrestling Council. Mace and Mansoor are set to compete at Effy’s Big Gay Brunch the same day, though they have already made one non-wrestling appearance for Deadlock Pro Wrestling this past weekend. Matt Riddle has also lined up future bookings for that month, with the controversial wrestler going down to Mexico to work for The Crash Lucha Libre on January 19.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Mustafa Ali Says He’s No Longer Working With WWE

It looks as if Mustafa Ali‘s time with WWE has come to an end.

“I am [no] longer working with WWE. I look forward to the future,” Ali wrote on Twitter.

There was some confusion about Ali’s initial statement, as it said, “I am longer working with WWE.” Ali replied and confirmed his departure before apologizing for the confusion.

Mustafa Ali was scheduled to face Dominik Mysterio for the NXT North American Championship at NXT No Mercy on September 30.

https://twitter.com/AliWWE/status/1704862785224450228

Mustafa Ali first appeared in WWE when he entered the Cruiserweight Classic in 2016. He signed a full-time contract with the company shortly after the tournament aired.

Ali spent time on 205 Live and SmackDown before he moved to RAW. He was part of the Retribution stable on the RAW brand, and went back to SmackDown after the stable disbanded.

He publicly requested his release in 2022, but it was not granted at that time. Once he returned to WWE after his request was denied, Ali challenged Gunther for the Intercontinental Championship and he was in the current program with Dominik for the North American title.

It is unclear for the reason for Ali’s departure this time.

Source: WrestleZone

Mustafa Ali Requests Release From WWE

Mustafa Ali took to Twitter to request his release from WWE.

“I have a message that is much bigger than my dreams in pro wrestling,” Ali wrote. “Despite my best efforts, I will not be able to deliver this message while working with WWE.

“Therefore, I am requesting my release from WWE.”

Ali signed with WWE in 2016 to wrestle in the Cruiserweight Classic. He last wrestled on the October 29, 2021 episode of SmackDown, losing to Drew McIntyre. Ali took time off for paternity leave last November and welcomed his third child later that month.

Last November, Ali posted a “better America” promo that was supposed to be used for a storyline that was ultimately nixed. The angle getting dropped reportedly had nothing to do with Ali taking time off, as Ali noted it was nixed because it was “controversial”.

On an episode of The Bump last November, Ali said that he believed that he was the “most unheard voice in the history of WWE.”

“I think I’m the most unheard voice in the history of WWE,” Ali said, partially in character. “With zero hesitation in my voice, with no flinch whatsoever, I will say pound for pound, I am the most underutilized talent in this company’s history. Does that put it into perspective for you?

“Here’s the thing, I speak many languages, and one of them is the truth, and I know that’s a foreign language, especially around the WWE Universe. But the truth is, I’ve been great this entire time. All it is is an opportunity that I’m asking for. And when I do have those opportunities, some outside intervention always just seems to show up conveniently.

“You mentioned one person who did that hashtag, #JusticeForAli. Listen, I’m that same guy who came back from a serious, almost career-ending injury, and for weeks, all I heard was, ‘Kofi, Kofi,’ night in and night out. I moved on, but I’m rehashing here. Same thing at Money In The Bank. The next night, they were dancing with Brock [Lesnar]. Where was Justice for Ali then? I’m not looking for anyone’s support. I don’t need anyone’s support. The only thing I need is an opportunity. I’ll handle the rest.”

https://twitter.com/AliWWE/status/1482767832567930885

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Changes Mustafa Ali’s Ring Name

WWE has dropped the “Mustafa” from Mustafa Ali’s name.

The changes have been made to Ali’s official WWE SmackDown roster page, and his Twitter page. His new Twitter handle is @AliWWE. His Twitter name now includes his real name – “Ali / Adeel Alam.”

Ali has talked about how he was booed because of his name and where he’s from during several recent media interviews. He spoke with Uproxx earlier this month and talked about how people would react when they saw the Mustafa Ali name.

“You know, with that it’s almost difficult to say, because there’s some times, being new, or not being an established character yet on WWE, because I’m still relatively new, you don’t know exactly what the fans’ reaction is going to be. I’ve had nights where it’s very obvious that I’m the good guy but I’m still booed, and you can kind of make a checklist about reasons why they’re booing me, and one of the evident ones is because of my name and where I’m from,” Ali said. “Especially in the earlier years with WWE — because I’ve been with the company for about two and half years now — but people would see the name Mustafa Ali, and they hadn’t even seen me, just the name Mustafa Ali, and it elicited a negative reaction. And to me that was just years of how the media portrayed people of that demographic, it was always as bad guys. So I think people booed, and then they got confused when they saw this really happy babyface guy coming out, slapping hands and kissing babies, and then they still booed, but then they see me wrestle and they think “Oh, this guy can do some pretty spectacular stuff,” and then they see a guy with an immense amount of heart that will lay it all out in the ring each night, and slowly but surely I feel like they’re finally seeing Mustafa Ali for what he is, and who he is.”

Ali took to Twitter last night and issued his first public comments since the name change. Ali said “Mustafa” means “chosen one” and name or not, nothing has changed.

He wrote, “Mustafa means the “chosen one” with an emphasis on being chosen from amongst the people. Name or not, nothing has changed. I fight for the people. I am one of them.”

You can see Ali’s full tweet below:

https://twitter.com/AliWWE/status/1110361241837551617

Ali will likely be on tonight’s SmackDown and is expected to work the 6th annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 35.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Mustafa Ali Replaced In Elimination Chamber Match Due To Injury

mustafa ali injured elimination chamber replacement smackdown announced

It was announced last night on SmackDown live that Mustafa Ali has been replaced in the WWE Championship – Elimination Chamber Match with Kofi Kingston.

As noted, Mustafi Ali suffered a concussion at Sunday’s WWE live event in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio. Ali was scheduled to be re-evaluated at SmackDown in Toledoby WWE doctors to determine if he was able to compete at Elimination Chamber this Sunday.

Ali addressed not being able to compete this Sunday at Elimination Chamber in a video on SmackDown last night.

Mustafa Ali WWE Status And Injury Update

Image result for Mustafa Ali WWE Status And Injury Update

Mustafa Ali suffered a concussion at Sunday’s WWE live event in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio.

Sunday’s live event saw Ali team with Tye Dillinger for a win over Samoa Joe and Shelton Benjamin.

Ali was scheduled to be re-evaluated today at SmackDown in Toledo. If doctors won’t clear him to compete, a decision will then be made on who will replace Ali in the Elimination Chamber match for the WWE Title at Sunday’s pay-per-view. Ali has reportedly told WWE officials that he’s able to work, but they won’t wait around and see what happens between now and Sunday, and won’t risk it as they will pull him from the Chamber match if he’s not cleared today.

Tonight’s SmackDown is scheduled to feature a Gauntlet Match to determine who enters the Chamber in the final spot on Sunday. Ali is scheduled to work the Gauntlet with WWE Champion Daniel Bryan, Randy Orton, AJ Styles, Samoa Joe and Jeff Hardy. It’s been reported that WWE is planning on blaming Ali’s situation on Orton.

There’s no word yet on who might replace Ali in the Chamber but speculation is that the spot could go to someone like Rey Mysterio, Andrade, Shinsuke Nakamura or Rusev, depending on who challenges WWE United States Champion R-Truth. Stay tuned for updates on Ali’s status for the Chamber.

Source: WrestlingINC

Mustafa Ali Is Now A Permanent Member Of The SmackDown Roster

mustafa ali smackdown live roster member 205 live wwe

Following an impressive showing on SmackDown Live last week, WWE has announced Mustafa Ali will now be joining the show permanently.

The announcement was made while commentary promoted Ali’s main event match on Tuesday evening. It was not said if he’ll continue to appear on 205 Live.

Later on in the episode, Mustafa picked up a huge upset win over Daniel Bryan in a tag team match where he was paired with former champ AJ Styles.

As we previously reported, RAW and SmackDown are undergoing changes with the McMahon family taking control again from a storyline standpoint. One of these changes was Paige being removed from her role as General Manager of SmackDown.

For those looking to get more familiar with the new SmackDown star, check out his appearance this week on Lilian Garcia’s Chasing Glory podcast. The wrestler talks about being a cop prior to signing with WWE, building up the 205 Live brand and much more.

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet