Mustafa Ali gives Raquel Rodriguez some advice.
Ali has been with WWE since 2016 as part of 205 Live. He became part of the SmackDown brand in December 2018 and has been part of the main roster ever since. Ali has been through the ups and downs in the WWE system, including asking for his release in January, though his request was denied.
Raquel Rodriguez was just called up to WWE SmackDown after a successful run in NXT where she won the NXT Women's Title and the NXT Women's Tag Team Titles.
Appearing on The Bump together, Ali gave Rodriguez some advice as she's just beginning her main roster run.
"Raquel, I'm a big fan of your work and I was watching your interview and I was smiling. Not to get sappy here, but I see the emotion and the love you have for this. You're talking about the action figure and being in the (video) game, and that's real. Part of me is a little jealous because I miss that. I miss that love I have for all this. I know you know this because you're a competitor and you're hungry. There is going to come a point where, just because the way things are, the way the system is, the way the business is, the way it is, the completion, that love is going to start going down and there is going to be this level of competition that rises. I hope you don't lose that love. Hold onto it and cherish it, but there is going to be this moment where enough is enough and you have to take it. That's the point I'm at right now. I love the action figures, I love the t-shirts, this is everything I wanted to be when I was a kid. The other day, we had a religious holiday a few weeks ago, and my son got a WWE ring and I'm seeing him play with my action figures in the ring. Part of me loved it and part of me was like, 'that's not enough.' I need more. I need championships hanging on the wall. I need to have Hall of Fame stats, I need to be on more pay-per-views. There is going to be a point where it comes to that. Part of my advice is, enjoy the phase of your career that you're in right now where you truly do appreciate everything because you've worked so hard for it and I think the sky is the limit for you, but there is going to be a point, and I don't know when it's going to be, but you're going to remember, 'this is what Ali warned me about.' There's going to be a point where that love supersedes a little bit and the level of competition rises. I hope there's a balance for you, I wish the best for you," he said.
Ali returned to WWE Raw following WrestleMania 38 and entered into a feud with The Miz. Ali said he will continue to "disrupt the system" in WWE.
On Monday's WWE Raw, Ali lost to Veer as Miz served as the special guest referee. If you missed anything from WWE Raw, check out Fightful's full report on the show by clicking here.
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