“The show is going to change,” 38-year-old star hopeful for WWE return ahead of the $5 billion move to Netflix 

Former WWE Superstar wants to return to the Stamford-based promotion ahead of Monday Night Raw moving to Netflix.

“The show is going to change,” 38-year-old star hopeful for WWE return ahead of the $5 billion move to Netflix 

Mustafa Ali talks about return to WWE ahead of Raw moving to Netflix (via WWE)

Mustafa Ali was one of the most underrated professional wrestlers in WWE. Many argued that he deserved better and even compared him to Shelton Benjamin, as he also never got the chance he deserved. However, it is good to see that the 38-year-old has held no grudges and is even willing to come back.

Speaking on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Ali said that there still exist multiple paths through which he could return to the Stamford-based promotion. He said that they had been doing well from a business aspect, and he still had good contacts there. Thus, he was hopeful for a return to the company. He also believed that Raw moving to Netflix would change a lot of things. This would also open up many things for the promotion.

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Ali was let go from WWE in September 2023 despite being involved in the NXT North American Championship picture. At the time, there were reports that the 38-year-old was not satisfied with his creative direction within the company and wanted to get out himself.

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The thing with them moving to Netflix is very, very interesting, because it just opens things. I don’t know how much the show is going to do. The show is going to change, as far as dynamic, as far as rating, as far as what they’re okay with.

Mustafa Ali on Insight

Ali debuted in TNA in January 2024 and was with the company till August. He also won the TNA X Division Championship during his time there. Since leaving the company, he has wrestled on the indie scene. He has been seen performing for many other promotions like New Japan Pro Wrestling, GCW, Defy, and MAW.

Mustafa Ali says he was about to win the NXT North American Championship

While unfortunate, many talent releases made by WWE make sense for the company. These wrestlers often have no creative direction and are not seen on TV. However, it was highly shocking to see Mustafa Ali being released as he was part of the NXT North American Championship title scene at the time. Speaking during the same interview, he revealed how he may have been very close to winning the title.

Mustafa Ali
Mustafa Ali (via WWE)

Ali said that he had an NXT PLE match planned against Dominik Mysterio, who was the champion at the time. He believed that the plan was for him to win the title from the Latino star. However, plans could have changed at any moment. This was especially true because the promotion was planning to put the title on him months before but never went through with it.

Shawn is like Hey, Dom is needed back on the main roster. Poor guy was working six days a week. So I think that was a plan. Was [my release] a surprise? No, because I saw WWE stock and WWE in general going this way [up], and my stock just going this way [down].

Mustafa Ali on Insight

Shawn Michaels also once explained to Ali that Judgment Day was one of the most over acts in WWE at that time. Thus, they wanted a title for each member of the faction and did not want Mysterio to drop it just then. The Heart of 205 Live would thus never win the title and was released before he ever got the chance.

Related: Conflicting report reveals current planned main event of Raw debut on Netflix ahead of $5 billion move