3 Ups & 7 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Oct 29)

2. Xenophobia (Again)

Mustafa Ali
WWE

Oh hell no.

Going down the 'you're all racists and only hate me because of my name' path with Mustafa Ali is a huge mistake. Nobody actually hates his heritage, or how proud he is of it. If anything, people agree that Ali is an inspiring human being who should be flying the flag for tolerance and inclusion.

The fact that WWE keep coming back to this is frankly disgusting. Xenophobia has been part of pro wrestling forever, but that argument is flimsy. It becomes even flakier when realising that hey, Mustafa has already done this racial angle before. Good lord, are they trying to make him look silly?

Ali's rants are tedious, ill-advised and add nothing to WWE's product. This forced idea that he feels persecuted because of his skin colour, name or background is hard to stomach considering what's been going on in the real world.

Make it stop.

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Contributor

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.