Mustafa Ali explains what winning the WWE United States Championship would mean to him.
Ali didn't appear on WWE programming for several months following a SmackDown match in October 2022. He asked for his release in January 2022, but he later returned to WWE TV earlier in April. Since his return, he has repeatedly targeted the WWE United States Championship, but these efforts have not been successful. Ali has lost three consecutive matches on WWE TV; most recently, Austin Theory defeated him on the November 21 episode of WWE Raw.
In a tweet on December 5, Ali discussed these setbacks and his pursuit of the title.
they won’t care about you unless they know why you fight.
— Mustafa Ali / Adeel Alam (@AliWWE) December 5, 2022
here’s my truth. here’s my why. pic.twitter.com/iaMBnqAdFV
In his message, Ali noted that he feels like there aren't a lot of people following him into battle these days. and he understands why some of them may have given up on him, given the way he has lost a few matches in a row and taken several beatdowns. However, he stated that he hopes people don't give up on him.
"To me, it’s very easy to go into battle when you look behind you and there’s an army following you. But lately for me, when I look back, I don’t see a lot of people following me. I understand why a lot of people have given up on me. Week after week, loss after loss, beatdown after beatdown, I get it. But all I can say is that I hope you don’t give up on me," Ali said.
Ali then shared his mindset surrounding the WWE Unoted States Championship and why he keeps chasing it. He recalled how a fellow student blamed him by association for the events of the September 11th attacks when he was in high school. Ali noted that he was born in the United States, and he went on to become a police officer, but others still don't see him as "American enough." With that in mind, Ali stated that winning the WWE Unoted States Championship would give him the sense of belonging he has been chasing for his whole life.
"I hope you don’t give up on my chase for the United States Championship, and here’s why. Why do I keep getting getting up? Why, after beatdown after beatdown, do I keep picking a fight? The reason why is I wanna take you all the way back to when I was in high school. On 9/11, the tragic events unfolded, and the teachers thought it would be best to let the students talk and express their emotions and how they feel. I remember raising my hand and saying, ‘I can’t believe this happened to us.’ Kid in front of me turns around, and he says, ‘Us? What are you talking about? Your people did this.’ I looked around the class, and I looked at the teacher, and I was hoping someone would say something to help me or defend me. No one said anything. Despite being born here in this country, despite being an American, despite being a former police officer, a guy that actually wanted to protect people, that was willing to put his life on the line, I’m not American enough. So the United States Championship, sure it means more TV time, it means more money. It means a lot of things to a lot of people, but to me, it means I belong, and that’s all I’ve been chasing for my entire life. I don’t know how I’m gonna become the United States Champion, I don’t know when I’m gonna become the United States Champion, but I know why I wanna become the United States Champion. Now you do, too," Ali said.
Ali previously commented on asking for his WWE release. Check out his comments here.
During an appearance on WWE's The Bump, Ali stated that he needs more championships. Click here to see what he had to say.
Fightful Select recently reported that, despite Ali's participation in the SmackDown World Cup, he is still a member of the WWE RAW roster. More information is available here.
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