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What's the story?
Speaking during a recent appearance on ‘E&C’s Pod of Awesomeness’, Ali revealed that he once confronted Triple H in NXT after he was not offered a WWE contract following the 2016 Cruiserweight Classic.
In case you didn't know…
Ahead of the Cruiserweight Classic, Ali was originally on a list of 10 unsigned wrestlers who were treated as back-up options if any of the 32 participants in the tournament were unable to compete.
As it turned out, a space opened up and the high-flyer ended up facing Lince Dorado in a First Round match. Dorado picked up the win inside six minutes, while Ali went on to face Hideo Itami on NXT television before taking part in several matches on live events.
Later in 2016, Ali signed a WWE contract and he soon began appearing on three WWE brands – NXT, 205 Live and Monday Night Raw.
The cruiserweight’s breakout year came in 2018 when he competed in several impressive matches as part of the 205 Live roster, notably at WrestleMania 34 when he faced Cedric Alexander in a Cruiserweight Championship encounter on the kickoff show.
He has since moved back to WWE’s main roster as part of the SmackDown Live brand, where he has defeated high-profile names including Daniel Bryan and Andrade.
The heart of the matter
Ali recalled a story on Edge & Christian’s podcast about the time that he questioned Triple H at an NXT taping in 2016 about WWE’s reluctance to sign him.
He said (quotes via Fightful):
"I went up to Triple H after and said, 'You've seen me five or six times now. You know when you know.' All my other friends were getting contract offers, so I was basically fishing to see where his mind was. I asked, 'Do you see me here?' He gave the response of like, 'There are so many dogs and so many bones, and I can only give out so many bones. Right now is just not the time.'”
Despite Triple H’s comments, Ali was offered a WWE contract one week later.
What's next?
Ali has confirmed that he will be part of WWE Super ShowDown in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on June 7, which presumably means that he is set to participate in the 50-man Battle Royal.
