Last month, WWE released several stars as part of mass releases that hit the main roster and NXT hard.
Mustafa Ali was among the wrestlers to be released despite being set to challenge Dominik Mysterio for the North American Title this past Saturday at NXT No Mercy. Dominik instead defended the title against Trick Williams, who won the title. They will run it back in a rematch on tonight’s NXT.
It was reported on Monday that the original plans didn’t call for Ali to win the title, and the decision to put it on Williams was likely late.
However, that’s not the case. Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select reported that there were plans in place for Ali to have a run as the North American Champion. This is one of the reasons why NXT officials were reportedly frustrated by the call to cut him.
While Mysterio was always slated to retain the title over Dragon Lee on the September 25 episode of Raw, the original creative called for Ali to cost Lee the match. Following this, WWE would’ve set up a triple threat match at No Mercy with Ali going over.
It was added that Shawn Michaels, Mustafa Ali and NXT creative had tentative plans for Ali on the brand into March 2024.
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