10 Wrestling Facts We Didn't Know Last Week (August 23)

8. Vince Gave Ali Permission To Do His Own Promos

Ali WWE
WWE

Any fan of good promos should check out some of Ali's vignettes that pop up bi-weekly on SmackDown. His realistic, gritty delivery is believable, and the real-life superhero character he's honing is one to watch. Best of all, the vids don't seem scripted. There's a simple reason for that.

WWE don't have any say on content at all.

Ali said during a chat with Fightful that he decided to produce a handful of promo vignettes in his own spare time and then hand them to Vince McMahon personally. The boss was so impressed by Ali's initiative that he told him to keep on submitting promos. If they continued to be high standard, then WWE would air them on TV.

To recap, there are no WWE cameramen, producers, lighting guys or any other production workers around when Ali films his vignettes. They're done completely off his own back with friends, and he's not told what to say or do in them. How things have changed.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.