Top wrestling star has cryptic 4-word response to controversial WWE exit-Alistair McGeorge-Entertainment – Metro

Mustafa Ali has rediscovered his fire and passion for wrestling after his shock WWE release in September 2023.

The current TNA Wrestling X-Division Champion, who is keeping busy with a hot winning streak all over the world, is making waves everywhere from the UK to Japan, and he’s set to defend his title against either Trent Seven or Speedball Mike Bailey at Against All Odds on June 14.

Speaking exclusively to Metro.co.uk, Ali coyly addressed how his mentality has shifted from the end of his WWE career to where he is now.

‘We’re all positive here Alistair, and I would just tell you, just connect the dots. Just connect the dots,’ he smiled. ‘Everyone knows the story. I won’t be the first guy. I wasn’t the last guy. It is a huge conglomerate.’

He added: ‘At the end of the day, they decide – and I also made a decision. So just connect the dots – all as well now. I wish them well, they have wished me well.

‘I am now no longer affiliated with them. I’m on my own independent party. But to answer your question, just connect the dots.’

Mustafa Ali is now the face of the X-Division after his WWE exit (Picture: TNA Wrestling)

He is finally getting to shine with a persona long in the pipeline (Picture: TNA Wrestling)

Since returning to the independent scene, Ali has been able to fully unleash a politically-tinged persona focused on making wrestling – and more specifically in TNA, the X-Division – ‘great again’.

There have been flashes of that in the past with promos he filmed himself and shared online, and NXT boss Shawn Michaels even brought the character on screen before it was abruptly pulled not long before Ali was released days before a huge match with then-North American Champion Dominik Mysterio.

He said: ‘I’m very happy because I’ve thought about this and want to do this since maybe 2019. You know, maybe even before that, you know? So to be able to bring an idea to fruition and to see it pay dividends is very rewarding.’

It’s create an air of unpredictability around the 38-year-old wrestler, who has been popping up across the globe, surprising and delighting fans with his high energy performances.

‘I love that still people are not quite sure where I’m going to show up next, I think that’s a important part about today’s wrestling industry,’ he explained.

The high flying star is being let loose all around the world (Picture: TNA Wrestling)

‘But more so for myself – I’m in control. I’m an independent party, I’m in control of my happiness. And I think you can see it on my face.’

It’s true that Ali seems happier and reinvigorated eight months into the current stage of his journey, although he acknowledged the ‘very heavy responsibility’ he feels as the face of the X-Division, which has produced legendary names like AJ Styles, Samoa Joe and Christopher Daniels.

‘We need to meet the X-Division great again. So you know, I’m obviously already a great part of that. But we need someone that can counteract that and bring this X-Division to a new level of greatness,’ he teased.

‘So they have to be worthy. They have to be worthy. We can’t just give out opportunities to anybody. We have to put the X Division Championship, its lineage and its history first.’

Ali is choosing to focus on positivity rather than complaining about the past (Picture: TNA Wrestling)

He is thriving under the bright lights (Picture: TNA Wrestling)

It’s refreshing for Ali and his fans to see him in such a prominent spot, and comparisons have been drawn with the way Cody Rhodes made a name for himself after his own WWE exit in 2016.

He went onto help launch All Elite Wrestling (AEW) three years later before returning to WWE in 2022.

Before answering the question about what is driving him, Ali was quick to point out: ‘There’s no bitterness in my voice, right?’

With that established, he continued: ‘There was a point where I would go to sleep at night, and I knew there was something more. I just knew it. I could see it. I could feel it, it was in my soul.

‘The frustration came from not being able to do it. And if anyone is an artist, if anyone has any sort of creativity, it’s like telling a musician, you hear that song in your head, you’re not allowed to write it down. You cannot sing it. You just need to get it out…’

Ali is proving he is the full package (Picture: TNA Wrestling)

Now, he has the change to write his own legacy, and prove himself as the total package many fans and peers have long known him to be.

‘There was something inside of me that knew this was the real me I wanted to be able to project, this image,’ he said. ‘I don’t think there’s ever really been a question of my in-ring work.’

He added: ‘But there was always a question of my, my personality, my delivery, my ability to deliver a good promo or a good segment. You know, what is marketable about it?

‘I had all the answers to it. So again, respectfully, happily, I’m saying it’s just so good to be able to do that.’

Against All Odds airs on Friday, June 14 via TNA+ and YouTube.

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