WWE's Mustafa Ali Gets His Name Shortened

Mustafa, we hardly knew ya...

by Andy H Murray
Mustafa Ali
WWE.com

Say goodbye to "Mustafa Ali," and hello to just "Ali," because the former 205 Live wrestler has become the latest victim of WWE's long-running name-shortening habit.

Pro Wrestling Sheet heard that WWE planned on altering the 32-year-old's moniker ahead of time. The company then updated the former Mustafa's profile page to reflect the changes on WWE.com, while the high-flyer changed his Twitter handle too.

The SmackDown up-and-comer has since commented on the move:-

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WWE's last significant name-shortening saw Andrade 'Cien' Almas lose his nickname and surname in January. Ali's shouldn't have an adverse effect on his career, as he's still one of WWE's foremost rising stars despite his recent injury setback, but it's hard to understand why they've made the move. Is "Mustafa" really that complicated a forename?

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Surging at the start of 2019, Ali's career was set back when injuries prevented him from competing for the WWE Championship at Elimination Chamber. He finally got his shot at Fastlane, but fell in a three-way with Kevin Owens and Daniel Bryan, and Kofi Kingston has risen in his absence. Still, there are plenty of reasons to remain optimistic about his prospects on the blue brand.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.