WWE Star Credits Daniel Bryan For His Recent Push

While Mustafa Ali has been a standout star on 205 Live for quite some time, there's no doubt that he needed to get to RAW or SmackDown to fully capitalize on his time in WWE.

With his recent move to SmackDown, Ali gives one man in particular a lot of credit for making it happen: Daniel Bryan.

Ali has opened the eyes of many fans in recent weeks with his standout performances on SmackDown going up against Bryan, and during a recent appearance on Chris Jericho's podcast Talk Is Jericho, the up and coming star credited the WWE Champion with helping make it all possible.

"There is so, and I'll never put words in anyone's mouth, but there is so many inclinations that I'm having that he's got more to say about it than he's letting on." Ali said. "I mean just for a guy to get plucked out of 205 and get put with him in a program and then attacked [by Daniel] backstage after my third week on SmackDown. It's all him, you know what I mean? And man, what a guy to learn from. I can't say enough good things about him, but yeah, he'll never come out and say it. I have a strong feeling he's more involved than he's letting on."

Ali and Bryan had a great match on the December 11th edition of SmackDown, a bout that marked Ali's move to the main roster after over a year with 205 Live.

Ali ended up involved in the Fatal Five-Way match on the January 1st edition of SmackDown Live with the winner moving on for a match with Bryan at the Rumble. While AJ Styles emerged victorious in the match that also included Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio, and Samoa Joe, Ali's inclusion in the bout says a lot about WWE's thoughts on his potential moving forward. For what it's worth, legions of fans were hoping for a Bryan/Ali rematch at the Rumble even when another fantastic match between Styles/Bryan was in the cards.

To go from 205 Live to being slotted into a number one contenders match for a shot at the WWE Championship in under one month speaks volumes for Mustafa Ali's future as long as he can keep his momentum going in the weeks ahead.