5 WWE Wrestlers Who Should Jump To AEW (And 5 Who Shouldn't)

6. SHOULD - Mustafa Ali

Ali Cesaro
WWE

Mustafa Ali is too good and too nice to work in the WWE system.

He's so good that he can embody his keenly-felt frustrations to play against type in the heel role. He hasn't yet mastered how to do that in the ring - heat is nonexistent in the ThunderDome era and he is too spectacular not to get behind when watching him through a screen - but he has nonetheless demonstrated his value in a role that doesn't maximise it. Ali is a great talent, one of the many squandered in WWE's soulless content factory.

Great wrestler joins great promotion doesn't always work out because they are not necessarily a fit. Even then, it sometimes just doesn't work. Miro, for example, is a legitimately funny guy who works a style that should prove refreshing in AEW - but there are better big man workers and there are funnier promos. He should have set AEW alight. Maybe his arc is too unfocused. Maybe he just looked better in a bad company.

But Ali can't not work in AEW. At his best, in the earnest and passionate babyface role, there are so many great and effective heels to work with - MJF, Team Taz, Kenny Omega - that it would represent promotional malpractice if he didn't.

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!