SmackDown Hacker FINALLY Revealed On WWE Raw

A resolution over six months in the making.

Mustafa Ali RETRIBUTION
WWE

Of course it was Mustafa Ali.

The new RETRIBUTION leader finally copped to being responsible for hacking SmackDown earlier in the year, doing so in a backstage promo on last night's Raw. A strong diatribe saw him claim his real strength was sowing chaos with a laptop, cell phone, or secret, saying a single click from him could bring somebody's world down, before revealing himself as the forgotten Smackdown hacker.

Ali claimed that he had sat at home all summer as his employers couldn't think of what to do with a guy named "Mustafa Ali," learning the wrestlers' secrets as they stabbed each other in the back on television.

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Fans and media outlets had pinpointed the former 205 Live man as the likeliest hacker before the storyline was canned after just a few weeks of activity. The cancellation was never adequately explained at the time, with the segments simply vanishing, the hacker disappearing into the ether before having any kind of real, palpable impact on WWE's shows and storylines - much like RETRIBUTION until Mustafa came along.

Ali was unveiled as RETRIBUTION's leader last week. The hacker storyline goes hand-in-hand with the group's aesthetic, so this at least makes sense.

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Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.