Mustafa Ali Isn’t A Scout/Recruit For TNA, Just Recommends Indie Names To The Company
Mustafa Ali is looking out for TNA.
Along with other names like Nic Nemeth and Eddie Edwards, Mustafa Ali is widely considered to be a top ambassador for TNA Wrestling. No matter where he’s at, Ali frequently represents the company in a positive light.
In a new interview with Sean Ross Sapp, Ali explained why wrestlers are attracted to TNA right now.
“I think people see what TNA was able to do for myself, an AJ Francis, a Cedric Alexander, guys that had worked elsewhere. I hate the misuse — hey man, at the end of the day, I made amazing money and I got national exposure. The world knows me because of my time in WWE. Cookie didn’t crumble the way I wanted it to crumble. Alright, whatever, move on. I hate the whole misuse like that, but I think what people see from that perspective, they go — the creative room that we have in TNA is exponential, it’s awesome. Then, you see a talent like Leon Slater that was picked out of the indies and now elevated to this huge megastar where people are waiting for him to reclaim his X-Division title. People are calling for him to be world champion, people are wondering what his future holds. They’re calling him the youngest prodigy and all of this great stuff. So, I think you can’t help but flock to that because you see that. Now that we’re on AMC, it just grows even more.
Back in July, Fightful Select issued a report on Ali, saying that he scouts talent on the independent scene and recommends them to TNA. In his interview with Sapp, Ali talked about his work.
“To answer your question, there’s no like formal title. I’m not scouting, I’m not a recruit, I’m not anything. I’m just a guy that wrestles on TNA that also happens to wrestle on independent shows. I sincerely love TNA so much. Not only do they allow me to provide for my family, but I really feel like TNA has allowed me to finally show the world/the wrestling world what I’m capable of. I don’t think I even scratched the surface in WWE. But, if you just look at my catalog of matches and promos and what I’ve done just in TNA the past year and a half, I can finally have — again, this is going to sound very jaded, it’s not. I think when you talk about my WWE run, you bring up the Randy Orton RKO and you talk about the match with Buddy and the WrestleMania match. That’s it. With TNA, I can name you 20 matches right now that people still talk about. That’s the difference. I feel like I got the ball and I’m running with it still. Right now, I’m the man in TNA. I feel like because I have that responsibility, I’m trying to help TNA in the sense where if I see someone special on the independents, I go ‘This kid or this girl’s got something, just give them a look.’ That’s all it is. There’s nothing about me arranging. I’m not on creative. Please stop asking me if you can, I’m not the guy. But, if I happen to see something amazing that gets me to go, ‘This guy could be over’, I’m going to just relay that information. I feel like other guys do it too. That’s the way wrestling should be, man. If we see someone that’s good, that’s going to benefit the company, why would I not want that guy on my team?”
Elsewhere in the interview, Ali talked about his recent match with Jason Hotch. Check out his full comments by clicking here.
Fans can check out Fightful’s full interview with Mustafa Ali in the video linked at the top of this article.
