WWE's Mustafa Ali calls AEW star "criminally underrated"
WWE Superstar Mustafa Ali responded to a post on Twitter in praise of one of his fellow high-fliers, AEW's PAC.
Earlier today, the Inside The Ropes Twitter account asked its followers, "What wrestler does not get the love that they deserve?" The post featured WCW Legend Dean Malenko as an example. Responses ranged from other legends such as Rick Martel and Madusa to current stars like Dolph Ziggler and Dakota Kai.
Ali was, as of this writing, the first WWE star to respond to the query, and took the opportunity to praise one of his former rivals in the company.
a bastard named pac twitter.com/inside_therope…
PAC - formerly known as Adrian Neville (and then simply Neville) in WWE - has also had issues with the company. Following a run as NXT Champion, PAC was moved to the main roster. A highlight of his career saw him teaming with Arrow and Heels star Stephen Amell against Stardust and Wade Barrett at SummerSlam 2015.
Mustafa Ali's relationship with WWE has been turbulent
The former RETRIBUTION leader hasn't exactly had the best go of it in WWE as of late.
Following the dissolution of the faction, The Disrupter began a program with Mansoor. The former attempted to convince the latter that WWE was "full of backstabbers." Ali would later ask for his release from the company - which was denied.
Speaking on the After the Bell podcast, Mustafa Ali revealed that the reason he went public was because private conversations didn't come to any fruition:
"I'm very comfortable talking about it. I believe private conversations are meant to be private. The reason it went public is because that private conversation went nowhere. So anyone that truly knows me and I know there's a portion of the audience that was like, 'How unprofessional.' Anyone that's ever worked with me as a human being knows how much I love this place, how much I love sports entertainment, and how much I love wrestling. This is the only thing I ever wanna do. But for me to even get to that point, that's the issue," Ali said. [from 20:25 to 20:52]
i am requesting my release from wwe https://t.co/Q1QP8SA5zV
It seemed as though the man behind the infamous "SmackDown Hacker" vignettes was ready to sit out his contract. However, he reappeared on RAW the following April. He was part of a program involving Tomasso Ciampa, The Miz, and Theory. Ali then faced Theory, in a losing effort, at Hell In A Cell for the United States Championship.
Fans will have to wait and see if Mustafa Ali gets another opportunity to flourish in WWE or get released to find success elsewhere. Let us know your thoughts in the comments.