Mustafa Ali’s light is being snuffed out by WWE
Mustafa Ali is the light that shines for others, but his light is being dimmed by WWE.
The date was December 18th, 2018. AJ Styles was in the midst of an ongoing feud with the “New” Daniel Bryan. When placed against his rival and Andrade Cien Almas in that night’s WWE SmackDown main event, AJ Styles found an ally in the newly arrived Mustafa Ali. The four battled in a tag team match.
In a moment that shocked everyone after an imploding 450-splash, Mustafa pinned the WWE Champion, Daniel Bryan. From being the “Heart of 205 Live”, a mantlepiece of the Cruiserweight Division who never managed to capture the division’s title, to pinning one of the two highest booked men in the company.
And if the pop that followed proved anything. It showed that the fans were happy to see Ali pin Bryan.
So, the question is, how did a man who went from being quite easily in the top five babyfaces of WWE, maybe even pro-wrestling as a whole, become the leader of a faction whose sole purpose is to be buried to satisfy Vince Mcmahon’s dislike for a political position?
“Evil just wins if you don’t show up to fight”
Ali is someone whose heroics don’t solely extend to the in-ring. He’s offered to support independent wrestlers who have been forced out of work by a pandemic. He’s helped fans of marginalized identities. He’s stood up to people who have a problem that a man of his identity is proud of who he is.
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Now, I don’t claim to know Mustafa All. Any knowledge I have of him comes from what he chooses to give to the public. As is his justified right to privacy. But Ali is a man who has been open about his arduous past. Being forced to deal with post-9/11 Islamophobia is a burden no-one should have to bear.
Leaving the police and being openly critical of their practices takes bravery few have. You get the impression that Mustafa Ali is someone that wants others to know of his past and struggles so they too know they can succeed if they struggle.
Which raises the question once again, why is this man who is the closest thing WWE has to a real-life superhero being repeatedly squandered and made currently to look like nothing other than a whiny, preaching, cowardly leader?
You Got. No Chance In Hell.
I mentioned Mustafa Ali has been honest and upfront about his feelings towards the “thin blue line” he once served with. Well, as shown by an article from this very site, he has done so on the WWE Network.
Two weeks later, Retribution arrived on the scene. Unleashing chaos and mayhem wherever they went.
When you have someone who criticizes the police force, while also calling forth on his own experience as an officer brought forward in a company that supports the current establishment, which in turn supports the police, things begin to line up.
Mustafa Ali is being made to look hypocritical. For the first time when he begins openly being critical of the ingrained privilege of the majority and the prejudice against the marginalized, that is when his heel turn appears. Gone is the man from before who was “The light that shined for others”. Replaced by a master of chaos. A man who can’t even stand against Bobby Lashley in a one-on-one fight despite doing the very thing only a few months beforehand.
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Standing in the place of “The Heart of 205-Live” is now a political dig of Vince McMahon.
The answer to the question of what happened to Mustafa Ali is simple when you get down to it:
Mustafa stood up for something Vince didn’t agree with. And for that, he is being punished.
And if that doesn’t leave a sour taste in your mouth, I frankly don’t know what to tell you.