1. Adeel Alam was born on March 28,1986 and better known by his ring name Mustafa Ali, is an American professional wrestler.
36 Facts About Mustafa Ali
1. 2.
Mustafa Ali is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is a former TNA X Division Champion.
3.
Mustafa Ali makes appearances on the independent circuit and in New Japan Pro-Wrestling.
4.
Mustafa Ali is best known for his tenure in WWE from 2016 to 2023.
5.
Mustafa Ali initially worked for their new Cruiserweight Division as part of the 205 Live brand.
6.
Mustafa Ali would be released from the company in September 2023, and returned to the independent circuit in December 2023.
7.
Mustafa Ali made his debut for New Japan Pro-Wrestling and TNA in January 2024.
8.
Mustafa Ali worked in various promotions, including Dreamwave Wrestling, where he was a former Dreamwave Alternative Champion and Dreamwave Heavyweight Champion.
9.
Mustafa Ali appeared in other promotions, including All American Wrestling, Freelance Wrestling, GALLI Lucha Libre, IWA Mid-South, Jersey All Pro Wrestling, National Wrestling Alliance, Proving Ground Pro, and WrestleCircus.
10.
Mustafa Ali did it all during the day while working night shifts as a police officer.
11.
On June 25,2016, after Brazilian wrestler Zumbi was not able to participate in the Cruiserweight Classic tournament due to visa issues, WWE announced that Mustafa Ali would replace him.
12.
On January 23,2017, Mustafa Ali made his Raw debut, teaming with Jack Gallagher and TJ Perkins to defeat Ariya Daivari, Drew Gulak, and Tony Nese.
13.
Mustafa Ali began feuding with Drew Gulak, when Gulak began his "No Fly Zone" campaign on 205 Live.
14.
In February 2018, Mustafa Ali began participating in the Cruiserweight Championship tournament; he defeated Gentleman Jack Gallagher in the first round, Buddy Murphy in the quarterfinals, and Drew Gulak in the semi-finals to advance to the final at the WrestleMania 34.
15.
At the event Mustafa Ali lost to Cedric Alexander, thus failing to win the WWE Cruiserweight Championship.
16.
Mustafa Ali then started a rivalry with Hideo Itami, who interfered in his match against Buddy Murphy.
17.
Mustafa Ali made his first appearance on the December 11,2018, episode of SmackDown Live, confronting Daniel Bryan and losing to him later that night and the next week was confirmed as a full-time SmackDown roster member.
18.
At the Royal Rumble on January 27,2019, Mustafa Ali competed in the eponymous match, lasting 30 minutes and eliminating Shinsuke Nakamura and Samoa Joe, before being eliminated by Nia Jax.
19.
Mustafa Ali made his televised return at the Fastlane pay-per-view, as a last minute addition in the WWE Championship match between Daniel Bryan and Kevin Owens, which Mustafa Ali lost after being pinned by Bryan.
20.
At Smackville, Mustafa Ali failed to capture the Intercontinental Championship, from Shinsuke Nakamura.
21.
At the Hell in a Cell event, Mustafa Ali lost to Randy Orton.
22.
At the Crown Jewel event, Mustafa Ali competed in a ten-man tag team match as a part of Team Hogan, coming out victorious against Team Flair.
23.
At Survivor Series, Mustafa Ali competed as a member of Team SmackDown, and was eliminated by Seth Rollins his team won the match.
24.
Mustafa Ali faced Riddle in a rematch for the title at Fastlane but was unsuccessful.
25.
On January 16,2022, Mustafa Ali publicly requested his release from WWE which was eventually declined by Vince McMahon.
26.
On September 21,2023, just 9 days before he was scheduled to challenge Dominik Mysterio for the NXT North American Championship at NXT No Mercy, Mustafa Ali announced that he was no longer working for WWE as he was one of several wrestlers released that day.
27.
On December 21,2023, Mustafa Ali announced that he would be taking independent bookings.
28.
On January 6,2024, Mustafa Ali made his first post-WWE appearance at Association les Professionnels du Catch's 20th Anniversary show, defeating Aigle Blanc.
29.
On January 13,2024 at Battle in the Valley, Mustafa Ali made his New Japan Pro-Wrestling debut in a pre-taped vignette, challenging Hiromu Takahashi to a match at Windy City Riot on April 12.
30.
Mustafa Ali made his in-ring debut at No Surrender, defeating Chris Sabin to win the TNA X Division Championship.
31.
Mustafa Ali retained the title against Jake Something, Ace Austin, and Trent Seven on TNA PPVs At Slammiversary, he lost the title to Mike Bailey, ending his reign at 148 days and marking his first loss in TNA, as well as his first overall loss since 2023.
32.
Mustafa Ali had previously tried to use this gimmick in WWE but was rejected by the creative team.
33.
Mustafa Ali made his video game debut as a playable character in WWE 2K19 and has since appeared in WWE 2K20, WWE 2K22, and WWE 2K23.
34.
Mustafa Ali was the subject of a 2009 documentary focusing on issues that Muslim wrestlers face when booked as villainous characters and stereotyped as terrorists.
35.
Mustafa Ali has been married to his wife Uzma since January 2011, and they have two daughters and a son.
36.
Mustafa Ali was criticized for not displaying a Pakistani flag and representing the country by his Pakistani fans in January 2017.