TNA Wrestling star Mustafa Ali discussed various topics with Rewind Recap Relive, including the current state of the wrestling industry.
Ali said, “You know, I’m so grateful to be involved in the industry at a time where so many friends, people that I consider family are flourishing, right? There’s opportunity everywhere. And that’s not meant to kind of like rub it in someone’s face. That’s meant to motivate those out there that are are pursuing a contract, that are trying to make pro wrestling the way that they put food on the table. It’s so possible, man. It takes a lot of work, a lot of grit. It’s very competitive. But the opportunities to a point are kind of everywhere, you know? You just got to go take advantage of that.”
On re-signing with TNA:
“TNA and me specifically, it’s just this synergy. It’s this fit. I get along really, really well with Carlos [Silva] and the creative department. I’m a very hands-on, opinionated person. I still think I’m a good soldier. I might question the order before I go do it, but at the end of the day if my sergeant or if the person above me gives me an order, I follow through on that. So I’ll never I’ll never knock myself for that. I definitely am a team player but man, am I opinionated. And that’s welcomed with the creative team at TNA and with Carlos. I have ideas, I have visions. And I would want to say like nine times out of 10, they kind of see the vision with me. And it’s not a knock on other places. It’s just that I’ve been able to develop that relationship. That was a big key component for me. I’m very very blessed to be able to do this for such a long time where I’m able to provide for my family financially. Selfishly, I was looking to be creatively fulfilled. And I feel like the best chance I had at doing that is with TNA, and I’m so happy.”
On signing before TNA’s AMC deal was announced:
“I actually was negotiating this deal before I even knew about the network deal being finalized. You always hear about deals. You always hear — you know, in wrestling it’s like, ‘I’ll believe it [when] I see it. So I’m not saying I didn’t believe it, but I definitely was like, ‘We’ll see.’ So I still kind of decided to stay here with TNA despite not knowing that the network deal was on the horizon. So it was kind of like, I re-signed and then a couple weeks later, ‘Oh, we’re on TV as well with AMC. Awesome.’ So it was like a nice little uh cherry on top. But very grateful and appreciative for the opportunity they have here at TNA. I’m sure they’re very grateful and appreciative for having Mustafa Ali on the roster.”
You can check out the complete podcast in the video below.
(H/T to 411Mania.com for transcribing the above quotes)
