He Really Did That? Mustafa Ali Reveals Who He Believes Is Responsible for His Call-Up to SmackDown Live

Adeel Alam, known to WWE fans as Mustafa Ali took the world by storm in 2016 when he signed with WWE to compete as an integral part of the 205 Live brand. This is, of course, despite the fact that he was a back-up performer for the Cruiserweight Classic and almost didn’t get in until another competitor was unable to compete.

Throughout the few years Ali spent on 205 Live, he became a fan favorite. His athletic ability, charisma, and intelligence in combination with his messages against hate made him a beloved figure. This is where Ali would be recognized as the heart and soul of 205 Live.

Ali was recently a guest on Chris Jericho’s Talk Is Jericho podcast. There, he went into detail about his career and transition from 205 Live to SmackDown Live. The game would change, but “the heart” is ready to up the difficulty.

The first prominent topic of discussion between the two was that of WWE Chairman Vince McMahon. The new SmackDown Live star went into detail as to whether McMahon ever paid attention to his work on 205 Live.

“Yeah, rocket right on the back! I have no idea how or why, but here we are! So honestly, I didn’t know anything. Like [Jericho] said, I had been working 205 [Live] since its inception. And it wasn’t that Vince [McMahon] was ignoring the product, but it’s just 205, so the thing with us, like, we’re always put in a tough spot, but he does hear about it and he does see it. And I’ve had conversations with him about me, about 205. It wasn’t that he was just unaware and he was all-of-a-sudden like, ‘who is that guy?'”

“The heart” would reveal that he was told 205 Live had nothing for him creatively and he’d be off the show for a little while. He was told during TV that he’d be working SmackDown Live against WWE Champion Daniel Bryan during three segments- something that amazed him.

He was to work with Bryan for two reasons, as he explained. The first was that WWE wanted to promote 205 Live further and the second that Bryan had expressed interest in working with him.

Take a look at Ali’s debut:

Mustafa Ali interrupts Daniel Bryan: SmackDown LIVE, Dec. 11, 2018

From here, Ali would be told by Road Dogg the following week that he would be mixing it up with the likes of Andrade “Cien” Almas and Bryan while teaming with AJ Styles. He would be getting the pinfall victory over Bryan and moving to the SmackDown Live brand permanently.

“I literally come to the arena and initially, it was, ‘hey, you’re not working 205 tonight.’ And I knew that because I had been talking to the writer before and I was told, like, ‘hey, you’re going to have a few weeks off because we don’t have anything for you on 205.’ I’m thinking I have the next three or four weeks off and probably in the new year I’ll be doing something, so I’m kind of showing up at TV, just hanging out and they were like, ‘hey, you’re working SmackDown tonight.’ ‘Oh, okay.’ ‘And you’re working Daniel Bryan, and you have a promo with him too, and it’s three segments.’ I’m like, ‘okay,’ and I’m kind of blowing off this writer, like, ‘okay, yeah, yeah.’ And he was like, ‘no, I’m being serious. They need you right now. Like, go. Go.’ I’m like, ‘is he confusing me for somebody? What is going on?’ Then I find out and I’m told that day, ‘it’s just a one-time deal. We kind of want to see what happens with it. We’re going to give 205 the rub [and] Bryan wants to work with you,’ so I was obviously honored and I went out there and I did my thing. I was told it was a one-time deal. ‘Okay, cool.’ The next week, ‘hey, when you get in, go see Road Dogg, Brian James.’ And Road Dogg’s the one that tells me. He’s like, ‘hey, we’re taking you off of 205. You’re on SmackDown now and you’re teaming with AJ Styles tonight and you guys are working the main event again against Andrade and Daniel Bryan. And you’re getting the win on Bryan.’ I don’t know if it was a test. I don’t know if it was, ‘let’s just throw him in the water and see what happens, not just the water, the deep end.’ I don’t know.”

Furthermore, Ali is of the belief that Bryan is a primary reason why he is no longer on 205 Live and is now undoubtedly a member of the main roster.

“I’ll never put words in anyone’s mouth, but there [are] so many inclinations that I’m having that [Bryan] had more to say about it than he’s letting on. I mean, just for a guy to get plucked out of 205 and I get put with him in a program and he’s attacking me backstage after my second or third week on SmackDown. It’s all very him. Do you know what I mean? And, man, what a guy to learn from. I have nothing but good things to say about him, but he’ll never come out and say it to me, I don’t think. I have a feeling he is more involved than he’s letting on.”

In fact, as the conversation with Jericho continued, the point was brought up that 205 Live felt so similar to the main roster. The talent worked the same, looked the same, did the same moves. Ali would respond to this, noting that Bryan himself had expressed the desire for the guys in the Cruiserweight division to take off all the chains and just go for it so they could separate themselves from other WWE programming.

“It’s funny that we’re talking about Daniel too because he had pointed out in the early stages of 205 that that itself was the problem. He said, ‘what is the difference with 205 and when Cedric [Alexander] does a dive and when Seth Rollins does a dive?’ He said, the same style is still being used on the ‘main roster’ shows, but what is the real difference? We’re presenting them as cruiserweights, so either take off all the chains and let them go, so they actually stand out because, at the end of the day, if we’re not getting the same amount of production or time or presentation, then what is the difference?”

Ali is set to work the Royal Rumble match at the Chase Field stadium against twenty-nine other men this Sunday. As it stands, the Superstar is one of the more popular choices by fans predicting who will walk out with a WrestleMania title opportunity.

Editor’s Note:

I am a massive fan of Ali. I cannot wait to see what he achieves in the Royal Rumble match. He has an incredibly bright future ahead of him, and it’ll be interesting to see where he goes moving forward.

With H/T to Wrestling Inc for the transcriptions.

Follow @SOSNH1995

Which Superstars would you like to see make the jump from or to 205 Live? Do you see Ali as a future Champion on the main roster?

Let us know in the comments below or over on our Facebook page or Twitter account. Additionally, you can find me on Twitter at @SOSNH1995. We also want to remind you that we have a Newsletter you can sign up to. This will allow us to send you the best news in one place via an email.