Ex-WWE Star Addresses Crowd After First Match Since Release
A former WWE star had his first match since being released by the company and he talked to the crowd after it was over.
There were several notable wrestlers released by WWE in September 2023. Most of them had to wait 90 days for a no-compete clause to end before they could move on to wrestle elsewhere.
Since the start of the new year, the former Dolph Ziggler has appeared using his real name Nic Nemeth in NJPW. Former WWE US Champion Matt Riddle has also appeared in MLW as well.
Another former WWE star, Mustafa Ali, competed in his first match since he was released. Ali competed in a match in France for APC (Association les Professionnels du Catch) where he beat Aigle Blanc in the main event.
After the match, Mustafa Ali addressed the crowd by saying that promoters told him that fans wouldn’t chant his name, yet this crowd did exactly that.
“I’ve been thinking for more than the past 90 days, what’s the first thing I wanna say? It’s as simple as this, and if I tear up, I apologize because I mean this from the bottom of my heart. Every upper management person that I have ever worked for in this industry has told me to my face, ‘No one will ever cheer for someone named Mustafa Ali.’ No, even better than, ‘F*ck them,’ show them, and to those people watching, right now I’m in a sold-out house at A.P.C., and every single person in this building is chanting ‘Mustafa Ali.’”
Former WWE Star Mustafa Ali Wants To See Change In Pro Wrestling
As he continued with his post match speech, Mustafa Ali spoke about wanting to see change in professional wrestling.
“I’m gonna leave the ring tonight with one more note, and this is what I want in the industry: I want change in the industry. I want guys that are [at] a certain level to reach down and pull people up. The young man, the young man that I just shared the ring with, let me tell you something, I have been in the ring with Rey Mysterio, I have been in the ring with AJ Styles, Randy Orton, you name ‘em. I’ve been in the ring with them, and you, my good man, are just as good as them.”
“It was an absolute honor. This was for me more than you, trust me. It was an absolute honor to perform here. I landed this morning, and I have not slept, and I don’t give a sh*t because this gives me life. Thank you all, good night, I love you.”
@MustafaAli_X just gave a beautiful and powerful post-match speech to the APC audience here in Paris, France, 🇫🇷
Ali won his first post-WWE match against Aigle Blanc in a wonderful match that had the crowd hanging on the edge of the seat from start to finish. @APCcatchpic.twitter.com/I8B8HLlSSi
— Lucas Charpiot (@LucasCharpiot) January 6, 2024
During his WWE career from 2017 to 2023, Mustafa Ali competed for many championships, but never won any. He was always considered an underrated superstar who perhaps deserved more than he got there, so there’s a lot of anticipation to see what he can do outside of WWE.