'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Most recently, WWE pushed one of its most under-utilized stars on the roster to the moon when he faced Intercontinental Champion Gunther in Saudi Arabia.
Mustafa Ali, whilst a free agent, was last used in a prominent role on the red brand against The Ring General. It remains to be seen where he goes from here. He has also been part of Wednesday's NXT shows in recent times.
Meanwhile, the 37-year-old has now brought up the name of his friend, Nor 'Phoenix' Diana, on his social media handle.
Congratulating the indie wrestler for making it into the Pro Wrestling Illustrated list of 74 top prospects of 2023, he even called for WWE NXT to recruit the young star. Mustafa Ali wrote:
Trending
New Champs in WWE! More RIGHT HERE
"Hello world, Give some love to [Nor Diana] An independent wrestler breaking down barriers, climbing the ranks and proving no one can define you but you."
Mustafa Ali details why WWE decided to drop his United States Championship storyline
Late last year, before Austin Theory captured the US title belt, Mustafa Ali was seemingly gearing up for a feud with then-champion Seth Rollins. However, after a few interactions on the red brand, the storyline fizzled out.
Speaking to Metro.co.uk, Ali explained that the creative team had him in a babyface role against Rollins. But the latter was experiencing a highly vocal crowd reception in favor of him, thus leading to change in plans:
"I don't think it was a knock," Ali said. "What I think happened was, I was this babyface that wasn't fully developed, so you have to reintroduce me as this contender. Even though Seth was this bad guy champion, he was blurring the lines where the fans were really starting to sing his song, and they had to make a decision. Do we lean into this, or does he commit to being the bad guy?"
Mustafa Ali has not won a championship in WWE. However, that all could change as the star's recent match against Gunther got him a notable fan reception and his in-ring work has been phenomenal.
