Vince Russo says released WWE star is AEW-bound: "He's going to be the first one to get hired" (Exclusive)

Former WCW World Champion Vince Russo believes that it's just a matter of time before AEW hires a recently released WWE Superstar.

On September 21st, 2023, WWE released over 20 wrestlers from their roster following the recent merger with the UFC under their new parent company Endeavor. This came just a few days after a number of backroom staff were also let go from their positions.

But out of all of the wrestlers who were let go by WWE, Vince Russo has cited Mustafa Ali as the one who will end up in All Elite Wrestling before anyone else. On a recent edition of "The Wrestling Outlaws," Russo claimed that he tried to offer advice to Ali months before he was let go.

"Listen, I can't tell you how many times I was throwing so much creative out there and the guy was laughing at me on the internet, and I kept saying 'bro, if you don't come up, or if they don't come up with some kind of a character, you're going to be gone.' That's what I said bro and he be gone bro, what can I say?" [26:18-26:49]

Russo went on to say that Ali will be the first one hired by AEW as it seems the former WWE Superstar wants to be considered a great wrestler above anything, something that AEW values over anything else.

"Here's the thing, let's be honest about Mustafa Ali. This is a dude that wants to be a great wrestler, that's what he wants his gimmick to be, he's a great wrestler. Bro, he's going to be the first one hired by AEW. There is absolutely zero doubt in my mind, he is tailor-made for that. He can just go there and do all the high-spots and wrestle and everyone will love him and you don't have to worry about a character. He's going to be the first one to get hired." [26:50-27:20]

You can watch the full clip from The Wrestling Outlaws right here:

A current AEW star might be the key to bringing Mustafa Ali to the company

It certainly seems that out of everyone who was let go by WWE last week, Mustafa Ali is the one who people believe will become "All Elite" when his non-compete clause expires.

Mustafa Ali joining AEW certainly seems like a real possibility due to his connection with Bryan Danielson, which Dave Meltzer noted in the most recent edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter could help Ali land a job in All Elite Wrestling thanks to how much Danielson likes him.

The two men worked together a number of times during their time in WWE, with Ali being positioned as a potential challenger to Bryan in 2019 when the American Dragon was the WWE Champion.

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Do you think Mustafa Ali will join AEW? Let us know in the comments section below!

Please credit "The Wrestling Outlaws" and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling when using quotes from this article.