"Messes everything up"- Mustafa Ali details the reason behind his new nickname in WWE
WWE Superstar Mustafa Ali recently revealed how he came up with The Disrupter nickname for himself in the company.
The former 205 Live star has been a part of Vince McMahon's global juggernaut since 2016. During this time, he has played several gimmicks, including the leader of the rebellious group, Retribution.
The former 205 Live member seems to be heading in a new direction as he is often referred to as The Disrupter. Ali revealed on the latest After the Bell podcast that he is often disrupting WWE's creative team's plans for him, hence earning the nickname:
"That's not a new thing. I think it's something I've vocalized. To me, a disrupter is a guy that disrupts the plans. He's not someone you plan for, but he comes in and messes everything up. That was me since I came into WWE in 2016 in the Cruiserweight Classics. I wasn't supposed to be in the tournament. I was the backup. Then Lince Dorado and I had this match, in which we tore it up." (from 25:23 to 25:42)
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Mustafa Ali also disclosed how he came up with the moniker:
"I'm constantly messing up their plans or disrupting their plans. So like when I had that conversation with you, that was just me finding OK, this is a kind of a moniker, a term that we can play with because that's the reality of the situation. I just come in and kind of mess things up and leave it alone," Mustafa Ali added. [from 25:43 to 26:18]
Mustafa Ali says he was "all the way at the bottom" during his early WWE days
Mustafa Ali made his WWE debut in 2016 in the Cruiserweight Classic tournament after Brazilian wrestler Zumbi was unable to participate due to visa issues.
The Disrupter revealed on the same podcast that he was not the focal point of the brand during his early days but ended up becoming the heart of it, thus disrupting WWE's plans for him:
"Slowly, 205 Live starts, not the main focal point. In the whole top cast of 205, I was all the way at the bottom. I was even told when I signed that my job was to be kind of more of an enhancement guy on 205 Live, and how did I leave that brand? I became the heart of 205 Live. The same thing on Smackdown."
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Ali also disrupted The Miz TV segment with Theory upon his return to the company last month. His last match inside the squared circle was on RAW this week where he faced off against Veer Mahaan.
If you use any quotes from the article, please credit After the Bell podcast with H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for transcription.