Mustafa Ali made a surprise return to TNA Wrestling on the January 23 edition of "TNA Impact,"where he revealed that he had signed a new deal with the company. This news came a few days after the company announced their official working relationship with WWE, leading some fans to wonder if Ali could find a way back to WWE after being released in 2023. During a recent interview on Sports Illustrated's "The Takedown,"Ali looked back on his WWE release with no hard feelings.
"I think a lot of people were surprised about the release with WWE because I was working directly with Shawn Michaels on NXT. He himself told me he was surprised.At the end of the day, I was a main roster guy making main roster money and there was no plans for me on the main roster." Ali explained that there isn't a big conspiracy as to why he was let go, but that he is fortunate to have been able to portray a character that he has wanted to for many years since leaving WWE.
Now that he is back in TNA, and with the company riding a big wave of momentum, Ali feels like the sky is the limit for himself, and the company as a whole. "I fully believe that Mustafa Ali could be the face of a company, could be the world champion of a company..." Ali said, who went on to say that he's in the best shape of his life. "I think TNA's hit the jackpot and I congratulate them...and we're going to kick ass man. TNA's on fire right now, sold out houses wherever we go, this live episode was an experience, you could feel the buzz."
Please credit "The Takedown" when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
