Mustafa Ali Addresses WWE Sabbatical and Return

Mustafa Ali and WWE were at odds for quite a while earlier in the year after Ali requested his release from WWE. WWE would not grant it and it seemed like he might just be waiting out his contract, but then he recently made his return to WWE television on Monday Night Raw, and his absence was made part of a storyline. Ali addressed what he calls a 'sabbatical' from WWE and his return on the most recent episode of After The Bell with Corey Graves, and while he didn't provide all the answers fans were looking for, he did reveal a few details on the whole situation.

"I believe private conversations are meant to be private. The reason it went public is because that private conversation went nowhere," Ali said. "Anyone that truly knows me, I know there is a portion of the audience that was like, 'how unprofessional.' Anyone that has ever worked with me, dealt with me as a human, knows how much I love this place, how much I love sports entertainment, how much I love wrestling. This is the only thing I want to do. For me to even get to that point, that's the issue."

"Everyone is judging the action, they are not judging the intention behind the action. Imagine how much it would take for me to try and leave. That's the conversation and the hot topic. There are situations that I can't publicly discuss, but that's what I want to say about the whole issue," Ali said. "The only reason it got to that point is because there was no other option. it's incredible the things you'll do when your back is against the wall and you're fighting for survival. I wouldn't have done something unless I believe in it. I still stand by the choice I made. I did what I had to do."

"For those that don't know, I went on a little sabbatical. Always flip it, try to look at the positive things. It wasn't intentional, but one huge positive was, my youngest daughter was born in November and I got to be home for the full process. My other two kids, I was there, but not there every day and because I was doing tours. It wasn't the intention, but I was there for the whole thing," Ali said.

As for what led up to him going public with that conversation and requesting his release, it was a mounting frustration after running into several walls, with Ali adding that he cared too much at times.

"There wasn't an 'aha moment.' The reality of it is, I realized that my problem was that I care too much. I'm this super passionate guy. I was giving one of the commentators details about what the story was and what I was trying to go for, it was Kevin Patrick, and he said he asked you [Graves] about me and Corey said, 'The one thing about Ali is that he sees it all. So if he's telling you something, he's thought about it," Ali said.

"The 'aha moment' was, you have to control your passion. I'm a really passionate guy when it comes to this. It's not just about me. I'm the guy that goes, 'We can make this guy look even bigger if we shot it this way and then he looks great.' I'm the mad scientist sometimes and the majority of guys I get to perform with are like, 'What are we doing?' That's the trust level I have with performers and producers. When you have this super passionate guy that feels like he's running into wall after wall, the sound reality is, I just control my passion now," Ali said. "I'm doing the job to the best of my ability and then some, but just caring too much about how it should be, at least in my mind."

H/T Cageside Seats