Former RETRIBUTION member pokes fun at himself for not being used on WWE TV

Former RETRIBUTION leader Mustafa Ali recently poked fun at himself for not being featured on WWE television on social media.

Ali has had a bizarre career in the promotion thus far. The former cruiserweight star is regarded as one of the best in-ring talents in the company and has shown that he is more than capable of cutting a promo, but is yet to win a title in WWE.

The former 205 Live star was the SmackDown hacker in a storyline in 2020 that went nowhere and was also cast as the leader of RETRIBUTION, a failed faction during the ThunderDome era. Mia Yim, Slapjack (Shane Thorne), Mace, and T-Bar (Dominik Dijakovic) were also a part of the group.

In 2022, Mustafa Ali and Austin Theory were in a rivalry for the United States Championship. Ali got creative and made a fake news show about their feud.

Recently, the 36-year-old took to Twitter and quote-tweeted the video of his fake news show segment. He captioned the clip with a conversation, telling himself that the segment would not be featured on television.

Former WWE writer criticizes Mustafa Ali

Former WWE writer Vince Russo recently criticized Mustafa Ali for thinking highly of himself.

Mustafa Ali lost to Austin Theory in a United States Championship match on the December 5 edition of the red brand and hasn't appeared on television since. Ali has been featured on Main Event and at live events.

Speaking on Sportskeeda Wrestling's Legion of RAW show, Russo criticized Ali for having a high opinion of himself despite not accomplishing a ton during his wrestling career.

"Just the tweet he sent my way, I could tell just by that tweet alone, 'Man, this guy who has done absolutely nothing, thinks mighty highly of himself.' So that tells me, that's the way he probably carries himself around the locker room. Thinking highly of himself and he's a great wrestler and nobody is going to teach him anything," he said. [From 34:15 - 34:56]

Mustafa Ali requested his release from WWE last year, but the company did not grant it. Time will tell if he gets an opportunity in 2023 or if the 36-year-old starts a new journey in a different promotion.

Would you like to see Mustafa Ali featured more on RAW or SmackDown? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.