On September 21, many beloved names in WWE were released due to the UFC merger, thus beginning their 90 day holding period before they could appear in another wrestling company. December 21 marked the official expiration of that clause allowing former WWE Superstars like Mustafa Ali to wrestle all over the world. To mark the occasion, Ali announced on his social media that he is set to embark on a “world tour campaign.” So far he’s booked in companies like GCW, PROGRESS, RevPro, DreamWave, Prestige Wrestling, DEFY Wrestling, Pandemonium: Pro Wrestling, C*4, and Warrior Wrestling.
The vignette he released alongside the announcements also revealed many familiar faces that he would like to face, including Kazuchika Okada, AEW’s Ricky Starks, Will Ospreay, and Swerve Strickland, Alex Shelley, El Hijo del Vikingo, Matt Cardona, “Speedball” Mike Bailey, and Zack Saber Jr./TMDK. “You see, our great sport has fallen into the hands of leaders who are corrupt; leaders who are selfish! Leaders who kicked down the door of opportunity only to shut that door behind them. Now, with righteous anger in my heart, I am here to announce that I am launching a campaign to rid our sport of these corrupt leaders!” Check out the list of nine confirmed appearances so far below.
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Ali shocked the world on September 21 when he revealed on Twitter that he was no longer with WWE, ending a seven year run. Many believed it was a mistake or that he was hacked but it was quickly confirmed by Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp who also revealed a number of other names, including Dolph Ziggler, Dana Brooke, Aliyah, Emma, Rick Boogs, Shelton Benjamin, Elias, Mace and Mansoor, and Riddick Moss. Ali had been incredibly vocal about his frustrations with his booking in WWE for quite some time. He first appeared in WWE’s first-ever Cruiserweight Classic tournament and becoming a prominent part of 205 Live.
In January of 2022 he asked for his release from WWE but was not granted it after not appearing on TV for three months at that point. “I believe private conversations are meant to be private. The reason it went public is because that private conversation went nowhere — anyone that’s ever worked with me, dealt with me as a human being, knows how much I love this place,” Ali said on WWE After the Bell with Corey Graves at the time. “How much I love sports entertainment. How much I love wrestling. This is the only thing I ever wanted to do. For me to even get to that point, that’s the issue.” After moving down to NXT in June, Ali was scheduled to face and defeat former NXT North American Champion Dominik Mysterio in a title match at NXT No Mercy but that match obviously did not take place.
Are you excited for Ali’s worldwide wrestling tour beginning in 2024? Who are you most excited to see him face? Let us know in the comments!
