Mustafa Ali surprised the wrestling world on Sunday when he requested his release from WWE. If the company grants this request, his time with the promotion will be remembered for plenty of missed opportunities. The lack of a proper blow-off to his feud with Kofi Kingston might be the best example of all.
Many fans remember how Ali had been slotted to challenge for the WWE Championship heading into WrestleMania 35, but an injury forced WWE to pivot. KofiMania was born, and the rest is history. Ahead of WrestleMania 37, WWE started teasing a potential clash between the two stars, but these plans were abruptly dropped. Ali was left off the card, while Kingston teamed up with Xavier Woods to face AJ Styles and Omos.
In an interview with Alistair McGeorge of Metro.co.uk, Kingston looked back on the story WWE could have told if the company proceeded with his rivalry with Ali. He called it “perfect”, but noted that, as they often do, plans changed.
“It was perfect,” said Kingston. “It was written, you didn’t even have to go out of your way to creatively write anything else, it was perfect! But alas, that’s not the direction that “the office”, I guess, wanted to go in.
‘That’s just kinda the way that it goes! Maybe down the line we’ll get a change to revisit that opportunity.”
To elaborate, Kingston hnetd he was told of a potential direction for the feud, and they started working toward that destination before the creative path went a different way.
“I was told a few things, and we start working towards those things that we’re told, and then all of a sudden it’s not those things,” said Kingston. “But that’s really kind of standard fare for us.”
The former WWE Champion then expressed his disappointment that the match never happened; he also praised Ali’s in-ring ability and his impressive creativity
“It was really disappointing, man, because I think he’s so amazing in the ring and such an innovator,” said Kingston. “He finds ways to do the littlest things in such a different way, but he puts his own spin on it. He has a great mind for the business and a great mind for storytelling.”
For now, it’s unclear whether WWE will grant Ali’s request, but fans are already asking many “what ifs” about his time with the company.
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