Mustafa Ali on what winning the US Title would mean to him
As of March 15, RETRIBUTION leader Mustafa Ali has yet to win a championship of any kind during his nearly five-year tenure with WWE. That could change on the March 15 episode of WWE Raw.
On that edition of WWE’s flagship television show, Ali will challenge United States Champion Riddle for that very title in one of two scheduled championship bouts on the show.
For Ali, winning the United States Title would bear more significance than simply collecting his first piece of WWE hardware.
Mustafa Ali on the symbolism of him winning the United States Championship
Speaking with TV Insider’s Scott Fishman, Ali said this about what winning the US Title would mean to him (h/t to Fightful’s Gisberto Guzzo for the transcription):
"“It means more to me than it would to a lot of people. My name is Mustafa Ali. Yes, I’m an American. But I feel people don’t look at me as an American. When I go to the grocery store with my wife she wears a hijab scarf over her head, and I notice the glares she gets. Pre-pandemic when we went out to dinner she would get the same looks. I’m always conscious that it doesn’t feel like home. Why do I feel like a visitor? I was born and raised here. I do love this country and what it can be. Growing up [in Chicago], I didn’t have someone that looked like me that represented as being American. I think it would be wild for a kid named Mohammed or Saʽid or a girl named Sara watching Raw seeing a guy named Mustafa Ali holding the United States championship.”"
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Ali earned his shot at the US Title by pinning Riddle in a singles match on the March 1 episode of Raw after delivering a top-rope backstabber to the champion.
You can read the rest of the interview by clicking this link.