Report: WWE Wanted Mustafa Ali To LOSE Raw Return Match

WWE jammed a bunch of surprise returns in Monday night's episode of Raw, but the most stunning of the bunch was Mustafa Ali returning after six months away and just three months after he publicly requested his release from the company.

Ali returned to confront The Miz and new United States Champion Theory, and he went on to defeat Miz before being jumped by Ciampa. His absence and discontent with WWE was referenced a few times by the heels, but they didn't dive deep into things, especially not the fact that he held out due to creative differences with Vince McMahon.

Now, Fightful Select reports that WWE creative devised plans last week to bring Ali back to TV, and as of Sunday, those plans called for Mustafa to actually lose his return match against Miz, though that obviously (and smartly) was changed. Ali reportedly was slated to meet with John Laurinaitis on Monday but hadn't been briefed of the plans to that point. He apparently was fine with the references to his self-imposed exile from WWE.

Fightful also confirmed something that Ali has previously tweeted about his contract status, that it's not up until mid-2024 (he previous tweeted that he wouldn't be out of WWE for 2-1/2 years). WWE could "freeze" his deal due to inactivity, but they haven't as of yet.

Here's hoping that WWE doesn't screw this up or screw Ali over, but this is WWE we're talking about here.