10 Wrestlers Set For A Big Push Following WrestleMania 35
9. Ali
WWE stung Ali with a rotten, laughable name change this week.
Now simply known as 'Ali', which won't provoke derision from anybody with a remote understanding of 20th century cultural history at all, he is destined to appear in the André The Giant Memorial Battle Royal. He was tossed from the Royal Rumble match by Nia Jax for the novelty pop, so if he stays away from Colin Jost on April 7, he should survive this deeply unfortunate spell of awful luck.
In an alternate timeline, 'Mustafa Ali' might, might have wrestled Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 35, had he avoided injury. His babyface work is outstanding and multi-faceted, packed with awesome athleticism and rich, rare emotional depth. He might have caught on big, were it not for the concussion he suffered prior to Elimination Chamber.
In Daniel Bryan, however, he has a friend in a position of influence - which should not matter, in a meritocracy, but WWE isn't a meritocracy. WWE sees more value in Lacey Evans than they do Asuka.
Markedly different, Ali and Lacey Evans - how she has retained her last name is yet another mystery to decode - nonetheless share a heroic, human background ripe to inform both storylines and WWE's public image.