Mustafa Ali the latest wrestler to ask for his WWE release - here's why

WWE superstar Mustafa Ali has requested his release from the company, with a report saying he's fallen out with chairman Vince McMahon.

Mustafa Ali in a file photo. (Image: WWE)
By Shayne Dias | Jan 17, 2022 | 2 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

WWe superstar Mustafa Ali has become the latest wrestler to ask for his release from the company. The Chicago-born wrestler of Indian and Pakistani origin confirmed this on social media.

“I have a message that is much bigger than my dreams in pro wrestling. Despite my best efforts, I will not be able to deliver this message while working with WWE. Therefore, I am requesting my release from WWE,” said a video on his social media accounts.

And while this has seemingly come out of nowhere, it has been brewing for a while. A report by Sean Ross Sapp in Fightful says that Ali had a heated argument with WWE chairman Vince McMahon.

The reason? A character pitch made by Ali which was turned down. He even shared the pitch on social media, hinting at some degree of dissatisfaction.

“A few weeks ago, I made a statement that some deemed controversial. My intentions were to bring a beautiful vision to life. Unfortunately, for reasons beyond my control, I won’t be able to make that vision a reality. But I can share with you what could have been,” Ali tweeted.

Sapp claims that WWE initially accepted the “New America” before McMahon changed his mind. He then pitched Ali a new storyline, something Sapp described as “something Mustafa Ali would never have done.”

How things went sour for Mustafa Ali

This led to disagreements between the pair and a heated argument too. As a result, Ali was pulled from TV and indeed hasn’t been used since November 2021.

As for whether or not his request will be granted, WWE’s policy has been seemingly to not keep talent unhappy with their spots.

Indeed, given they cut more than 80 wrestlers last year due to budget cuts, it would be hard to deny anyone’s release requests.

Ali has been part of the company since 2016 and impressed in the cruiserweight division before being called up. He put on some good matches on the main roster and got over with fans.

Ali was even put in the WWE title scene in 2018 but his momentum was derailed due to injury. Some would argue that he’s never gotten it back since.

He’s been actively featured, even becoming the leader of the ill-fated Retribution stable that went nowhere. Until recently, he was working a program with Mansoor before being pulled from TV.

As things stand, that would seemingly be the last WWE program he worked.