Mustafa Ali Hopes To Tell A Real Story On WWE

Mustafa Ali has a major opportunity ahead of him this Saturday at WWE Night of Champions when he challenges GUNTHER for the Intercontinental Championship. But regardless of whether he pulls off the win or inevitably loses, Ali's goal is to tell an incredible story with his character.

"I think the next chapter is telling the real story," Ali said during a recent interview with "Wrestlesphere." "I think in WWE, specifically, I've been trying to find my way, and everyone knows me as this passionate performer, this passionate storyteller."

Ali recalled producers and writers just seeing him as a "205 Live" wrestler who can do moves, and he keeps changing characters every year in hopes of finding one that he can tell the right stories with. He continued, "My big goal is I want to 'wow' the world. I want to tell them this incredible, passionate story that's mixed with performance, with emotion, with everything that makes WWE and sports entertainment great. That's my goal, and I think that's the next chapter."

Ali started his WWE career as a cruiserweight in pursuit of that division's title before breaking out in 2018 on "SmackDown" with matches against Daniel Bryan, Samoa Joe, and Randy Orton. In 2020, Ali became the leader of Retribution, which afforded him a couple of matches for the United States Championship. From there, he had a tag team and feud with Mansoor toward the end of 2021.

After his "Raw" appearances tapered off in 2022, Ali began portraying an overly positive character in search of his breakout opportunity in WWE. In recent weeks, he was able to defeat Chad Gable and Otis before winning a battle royal to earn his shot at the Intercontinental title.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Wrestlesphere" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.