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Mustafa Ali got his first break in WWE when he replaced Zumbi in the WWE Cruiserweight Classic tournament in June 2016. While he was eliminated in the first round of the tournament, he managed to leave a mark that helped him grow in the company.
Later that year, Ali teamed up with Lince Dorado to enter the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic in WWE NXT, however, the duo was eliminated in the first round.
From thereon, Ali has managed to impress the WWE Universe with his athleticism and has been booked strongly at times, but hasn’t won any title in the company yet.
In October 2020, Ali entered one of his biggest storylines yet as he was revealed to be the leader of the heelish faction known as RETRIBUTION.
The revelation came as a pleasant surprise to the WWE Universe as many fans backed Ali to get a major push in the company.
With Ali set to be a prominent player on WWE RAW, let's look at the five things you probably didn’t know about the WWE Superstar.
#5 Mustafa Ali is of Pakistani and Indian descent
Mustafa Ali was born in Omaha, Nebraska and was raised in Chicago, Illinois. However, his parents are from the subcontinent. His father was born in Karachi, Pakistan, while his mother hails from New Dehli, India.
Ali has been to India when he was 14 years old, and many fans still believe that he only represents Pakistan. During an interview, Ali revealed:
“I have been to India when I was 14 years old, the point is I am actually half-Indian, lot of people know that I represent Pakistan, but what they don’t know is that my mother was raised in New Delhi. I have friends in Bangalore, although my father was born in Pakistan this actually makes me half-Indian. You know I loved my time in India, and maybe I might represent India in the future as a wrestler. What I believe is that nationality of a person is not important, what is important however, is humanity and unity between people around the world. I would never put the flag over the flesh, the person is more important than the nationality.”
Several Pakistani fans have called out Ali for not representing Pakistan in WWE, to which he stated this: "I don't care for nationality. I care for unity. I don't mean to offend anyone. This is just me stating that I feel nationality doesn't define us as people, it separates us."
#4 Mustafa Ali trained to become a wrestler while working as a policeman
It’s never a good idea to show up to work every other week with a black eye, but that’s exactly what Mustafa Ali’s life was like before he became a pro wrestler. Before joining WWE, Ali was a police officer who would try to fit in work and wrestling training into a 24-hour schedule
"Yeah, it sucked, man. There were days I'd wrestle at 9 o'clock, and afterward, I often didn't shower and would just throw on sweatpants. I had my police gear in the car and would rush to get to the station by 10:30, clean myself off as best I could and be ready for my shift by 10:59."
Ali's life changed when he participated in WWE's Cruiserweight Classic, a 32-man elimination tournament, in June 2016. He competed in his first-round match against Lince Dorado, and it was then that Daniel Bryan mentioned on commentary that Ali was a cop from Chicago.
Ali was eliminated from the competition by Dorado in the first round. However, that was just the beginning for Ali’s WWE career.
#3 A promoter wanted Mustafa Ali to play an extremist character
While living in the United States, Mustafa Ali has come across many individuals who’ve stereotyped him. While most haven’t affected the WWE Superstar much, there was a time when a promoter wanted him to play a religious extremist character on screen.
This came soon after Ali used to wear a mask while wrestling in order to hide his face and nationality.
“That was actually the idea of a promoter who wanted me to play a terrorist type of a character. I was never really a fan of portraying that, so I portrayed a character that could not escape racial discrimination in America.
“I’m a proud Muslim. I’m proud to have a Pakistani origin. And I want this country to accept me. I want to bring to light the fact that we are all the same.”
Ali fought off stereotypes and continued to work towards his goal of becoming a professional wrestler. He managed to rise above and proved that anything is possible if one tries hard enough.
“I want the next 16-year-old kid who looks like me to know he’s not automatically the bad guy. Hopefully that kid can look at Mustafa Ali and say, ‘Hey, he’s not the bad guy, and I don’t have to be, either.’ Everyone in the world, regardless if they’re Muslim or not, does not have to adhere to the label society slaps on you. No one defines you but you, and that’s what I’m fighting for.”
In 2009, a documentary focusing on issues faced by Muslim wrestlers was filmed with Ali as the subject.
#2 Mustafa Ali is a big fan of Rey Mysterio and Jeff Hardy
By now, there is little doubt that there are several young aspiring wrestlers who look at Mustafa Ali as their idol in professional wrestling. While Ali was younger, he himself looked towards Eddie Guerrero, Bret ‘The Hitman” Hart, The Hardy Boyz, and Rey Mysterio as his idols.
These WWE Superstars inspired Ali to walk into the wrestling ring for the first time, and he fell in love with it from thereon.
While Ali has already competed against some of the best wrestlers in the world, including Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles, there are two men who he wants to compete against in WWE. Those two men are WWE legends Jeff Hardy and Rey Mysterio. While speaking to mid-day.com, Ali revealed that they are the two guys he looks up to in the company.
“There are two wrestlers I really look up to, one is Rey Mysterio and the other guy is Jeff Hardy. I think Jeff Hardy is one of the coolest wrestlers ever and I am at a point right now that I get to spend time with Jeff Hardy, so that’s awesome for me.”
With Mysterio and Hardy both currently competing in WWE, we could end maybe see Ali compete against his two favourite wrestlers before they hang up their boots.
#1 Mustafa Ali is a big fan of Bollywood films
There aren’t millions from the subcontinent that love Bollywood films. WWE's John Cena and Paul Heyman have interacted with Bollywood stars on social media, bringing together two big industries - Bollywood and WWE. It is no surprise that Mustafa Ali too is a big fan of Bollywood movies.
“I am a big fan of Bollywood films, my best friend used to watch a lot of Indian movies and while cooking in the kitchen, she used to teach me all the famous Bollywood dance moves.”
Not only is Ali a big fan of the movies, but he has managed to acquire dancing skills from watching these films.
Ali revealed that Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan is his favourite:
“I am a huge Shah Rukh Khan fan and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai is one of my most favourite movies.”
While we may not see Ali break out some moves while leading RETRIBUTION, it’s not a surprise that a person with roots in the subcontinent loves Bollywood and dancing.
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