Let’s face it…Mustafa Ali has been misrepresented on WWE programming for quite some time, and we all know that it isn’t his own fault. By now we all know how WWE works and if you don’t fit the mold of what upper management feels is the ideal product, then you get sent to the back of the line.
At the end of the day, it’s dreadful and a pretty horrible way to treat people; especially in this oversensitive world we seem to be living in right now. My only question is: Why aren’t people talking about this like they should…being blatantly honest about what’s going on here?
They held him down and that’s the only way to look at it. Last month, he was brave and bold enough to request his release and in quite the public way, and WWE decided not to release him, despite the fact that they themselves have no use for him, quite obviously.
They don’t even seem to care about how this looks. They’re holding an epic talent hostage, to merely sit at home and do nothing; meanwhile they don’t give a thought to the fact that they are wasting 2 and a half years of this epic talent’s life and career. Or maybe they do, and perhaps they’re as cruel as many out there say that they are. What other conclusions do they want us to come up with here?
“When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.”
-Maya Angelou
Regardless, Ali hasn’t stayed quiet about it. He posted a statement on social media, essentially stating without stating that he was sentenced to 2 and a half years, so essentially he’s being held hostage by an organization that suddenly needs to stoop to such behavior in order to get ahead. And they want to say that AEW isn’t competition?! Come on, folks!
“I’ll see ya all in like 2/12 years,” Ali tweeted. And really, the message was read loud and clear…at least by me and I hope you, dear readers.
We’re all smarter than that. This is blatant. They’re basically saying: “If we can’t have him to treat as we wish and take him out only when we need him for shows in Saudi Arabia, then neither will you.”
Why isn’t anyone talking about racism here? That too is blatant, I’m sorry to say. Yes, WWE goes often to Saudi Arabia, but that’s only because it’s good for money. Trust me…they wouldn’t go over there if they didn’t make money. And do you remember the best match of the night the last time they were there in 2021 for Crown Jewel? That’s right…Ali vs. Mansoor.
But they haven’t talked about that since. Apart from his honest tweets, he’s been posting videos of himself training, and no not lifting weights, but videos of himself running the ropes, which in pro wrestling is what it really comes down to; what happens within the confines of that ring, which is where Ali is capable of painting a picture worthy of a spot in the greatest of museums, alongside some of the greatest works of art imaginable, should he be given the platform.
So yeah, it just gets frustrating—for fans, for Ali, quite obviously, and yeah, even for us journalists covering all of this as it goes down, because as weird as it may sound, we have our favorites too, and it gets frustrating to see them being treated this way.
And something like this only paints a worse picture of what WWE’s all about…sheds a light on what’s going on there and it’s dreadful to say the least. I guess all there is left to say is: WWE…do the right thing, free Ali and save what’s left of your decency, which isn’t much right now.
Otherwise, we’re all in for a long 2 and a half years indeed. Hold tight, Ali. We’re with you, brother.
Matt Cardona takes NWA World Title
Matt Cardona has been racking in win after win in recent history, and really, there are those out there that say he deserves it. He took a lot of crap in WWE (what else is new?), and he has been representing himself well on the indie circuit and at Impact. He recently became the Digital Media Champion at Impact, defeating female former champion, Jordynne Grace and it was just last year that he won the GCW World title as well and now this.
I don’t have to stress what the NWA World title means to you guys, dear readers, because if you’re reading this magazine, then you’re pretty much deeply rooted in what it means to be a pro wrestling fan. If this article found you, then you know, and I’ll move on assuming that you understand that this win for Cardona means he’s secured himself into the annals of professional wrestling history and lore and I’ll leave it at that for now.
So until the next one, and for one more time I’ll say, Free Ali, and hopefully you guys start a chorus of that online, and we can maybe force the issue, and have WWE do the right thing for once. After all, Ali deserves it and we deserve it. Free Ali and let him do what he does better than most out there.
