10 Things You Didn't Know About WWE Money In The Bank

5. ...As Was Mustafa Ali

Cody Rhodes Money In The Bank
WWE.com

Mustafa Ali's post-WWE podcast is going to be some listen when it eventually drops.

An injury prevented him from working the most unlikely title match in WrestleMania history. KofiMania was a nimble and immensely rewarding workaround to the WWE title match problem at WrestleMania 35, the match itself a masterclass of an emotional struggle triumphing over technical mastery, but one can't help but wonder what the pitched Daniel Bryan Vs. Mustafa Ali match would have looked like. Kofi was already very over through his time with the New Day. Ali was miles away. Was Bryan so good that he could work a WrestleMania-worthy version of Bret Hart Vs. The 123 Kid?

Beyond 2019, Ali has experienced - or rather endured - a torrid WWE career that was somehow worse and exponentially more insulting in the aborted planning stages. Rumours have swelled online about potential, mercifully abandoned terrorism storylines. Between the RETRIBUTION shambles, weekly sight gags of Bobby Lashley annihilations and a dropped mentor storyline with Dolph Ziggler, WWE has made it clear that they don't rate Ali at all, but won't release him from his deal, either.

He was also meant to win the men's 2019 Money In The Bank ladder match before Brock Lesnar, telling Alex McCarthy that he was only told of the last-second change while making his entrance.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!