Mustafa Ali Ends WWE Hiatus On Raw, Wins First Match In 8 Months
From asking for his release over bad creative to a triumphant return as a babyface.
Mustafa Ali's journey in WWE has been anything but direct. It has meandered all over the place, most of the time in a disappointing direction.
Ali had a brief period where he looked like he was being positioned as a top star on SmackDown before an injury derailed that dream. A series of starts and sputters gave way to RETRIBUTION, which really shouldn't need any explanation (nor does it deserve one). By last fall, he was losing matches on SmackDown in less than 3 minutes.
But in January, Ali announced via Twitter that he had requested his release from WWE after not wrestling since October. He reportedly had a heated disagreement with Vince McMahon about his creative direction and basically was sitting out for the past six months.
That changed Monday when Ali interrupted a Miz TV segment with Theory, returning to the company he publicly wanted to leave. The heels wasted no time in referencing Mustafa's discontent with WWE, but fans were firmly behind the returning superstar, especially once he tried to goad Theory into an open challenge for his United States Championship.
.@AliWWE is back on #WWERaw and his sights set on @austintheory1's #USTitle! pic.twitter.com/KsKwmieBAB
Advertisement— WWE (@WWE) April 26, 2022
While that effort failed, Ali did land an impromptu match against Miz, which he won. That celebration was short-lived, however, because Ciampa (sans Tommaso) blindsided him on the ramp afterwards, presumably setting up that feud.
It will be interesting to learn what led Ali to end his holdout and return to WWE, especially since he picked up a win over an established superstar and then was immediately programmed into a rivalry with one of the better wrestlers on Raw. Maybe it was just the promise of being allowed to work his craft rather than jobbing in 2-minute TV matches.