The internet has been ablaze with rumors that AEW stars would be flooding WWE’s Royal Rumble match set for the end of the month—particularly Jon Moxley, who in WWE was of course known as Dean Ambrose and was a member of The Shield faction alongside Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins.
The Shield has been getting a lot of play since it was announced that Reigns and Rollins would be going head to head at the Royal Rumble for the Universal Championship.
These rumors were perhaps ignited first when it was announced that Mickie James—a contracted Knockout with Impact Wrestling—would be appearing at The Royal Rumble despite James’ and WWE’s murky past relationship.
And with the ‘Forbidden Door,’ quite the phenomenon in recent pro wrestling history, fans got pretty excited, which is more than understandable.
Like a principal coming out to the school yard after the lunch ladies and monitors lose control of the kids, Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer, shut these rumors down in a smoking hot minute, or perhaps a ‘New York Minute’ would have been more appropriate considering that we are talking about WWE here. Among other things, Meltzer has recently said:
“There will be no AEW involvement at the Royal Rumble…”
via Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer
He also went as far to say that Jon Moxley would not be appearing at the Royal Rumble to his knowledge, reports cultaholic.com. Meltzer would certainly know. He is the forefather of pro wrestling journalism and essentially created the realm of what we do, my colleagues and I. He has had ties and contacts within the industry dating back before the early nineties and even before pro wrestling became a household interest across North America and the world.
This—the sudden outburst of these rumors online—is just another example of the internet getting way out of control, especially when it comes to this subject. WWE and AEW are in the middle of quite the war for supremacy, whether there are those out there that wish to admit it or not, and it isn’t likely that they would work together, other than WWE reportedly reaching out to Tony Khan to have WWE legends on the AEW roster speak on some WWE documentaries planned in the near future.
No word on that but Khan is intent on being the best. This is clear and he can’t be the best if he lets his talent be showcased in WWE; he’d end up looking like the smaller company in the end, which after 3 years of hard work on his part and his roster’s part, would be unfortunate.
Mustafa Ali requests his release from WWE…what’s next for him?
Besides….WWE has a hard time keeping the talent they do have, and when we say talent, we mean underutilized men and women that are better than what’s at the top of WWE right now…no offence to who’s on top.
Mustafa Ali recently requested his release, and it quite obviously made big news. The rumor is, as has been reported by Fightful Select, is that Ali and McMahon had a difference of opinion on where Ali’s character should go next…a difference of opinion that escalated into what they called a “heated argument.” Ali made the following statement on Twitter:
“I have a message that is much bigger than my dreams in pro wrestling. Despite my best efforts, I will not be able to deliver this message while working with WWE. Therefore, I am requesting my release from WWE.”
via Mustafa Ali on Twitter
His release isn’t yet confirmed. WWE might keep him prisoner, especially if they see that AEW shows an interest in him. They’ve pulled such shenanigans before.
His words aren’t exactly clear if he plans on staying in pro wrestling, especially the bit that states: “I have a message that is much bigger than my dreams in pro wrestling….” But this might be a way for him to hide the fact that he intends to go to AEW to further his career, which it would obviously do. This might not be so either though, and he may be intending to abandon pro wrestling as a whole.
This would be sad, as he truly is a great wrestler. He started his career in 2003. The 35 year old was a police officer when he first started out and worked his way up in the industry. Before starting with WWE in 2016 he worked the indies, making stops at NWA, IWA Mid-South and so many more. He used to wear a mask for the first six years he was practicing his craft. The reason for doing this was he wanted to avoid discrimination from bookers and fans.
Perhaps in the end it was WWE that was the biggest source of discrimination. They utilized him in matches only when it suited them, and when they went to Saudi Arabia for the Crown Jewel event (2021)…the match between he and Mansoor was the best match on the card—certainly up there with Edge vs. Rollins’ Hell in a Cell match.
Mustafa Ali deserves to showcase his abilities. Free him and let him astonish on a platform that allows their stars to shine no matter their race, their size, their gender or their background.
Ali would be a perfect fit in AEW…that platform would cater to a man of his talents, but time will tell. We’ll keep you posted, dear readers.
NEXT: AEW Was Interested in Lita but Apparently Never Had Plans to Acquire Mickie James—Serena Deeb on Why AEW is the Best
