Mustafa Ali discusses his championship opportunity this past Sunday.
Fans were left disappointed by Mustafa Ali being added to the WWE Title match at Fastlane on Sunday. Not because of their hatred for Ali but because many fans were hoping Kofi Kingston would be added to the bout between Daniel Bryan and Kevin Owens. While the crowd chanted for Kofi during the early portion of the match, the hard work of Ali, Bryan, and Owens got the audience more into the triple threat contest and less into KofiMania by the end of the bout.
Speaking to UPROXX, Ali revealed when he found out about being added to the match and the crowd being against him.
"I would say I was told about an hour and a half, maybe, before that match went on. So the pay-per-view had started, and I still didn’t know that I was competing in that match," said Ali. "So yeah, talk about getting ready really quickly and having your mind in a whirl. Watching the show, I kind of went in expecting more of what’s happening with Kofi — and I’ve got all the love and respect in the world for Kofi Kingston — but I knew what I was going up against coming out that night. Obviously it’s one thing to get thrown into a championship match last minute, but we always have to stay ready. And I was ready, I went out and gave it everything I had."
Ali continued, "But I knew as soon as I walked out, they were not going to be happy to see me, because they wanted to see Kofi right now. And that’s been the story of my entire life! People have a negative reaction towards me, I get put in a really tough spot, I get thrown into a really dark spot, but somehow some way, my light will shine. Somehow I still can overcome. And at the end of the day, yeah I walked out to boos, but when I walked out of that arena, they were cheering."
Bryan would go on to pin Ali in the triple threat bout to retain his WWE Title. Kofi Kingston could get his title shot at WrestleMania 35 if he's able to defeat Randy Orton, Samoa Joe, The Bar, and Rowan in a gauntlet match this Tuesday on SmackDown Live.
