Mustafa Ali’s NXT North American Title Win Nixed Amid WWE Release

Mustafa Ali was released from his WWE contract, and he was in the middle of some big plans in NXT. After all, there were reportedly plans for him until WrestleMania season next year. Now, we are getting even more information on this situation.

We previously reported that Mustafa Ali’s release meant that NXT had to switch up their North American Title plans for No Mercy. Trick Williams was placed in that spot, and he won the title.

Sean Sapp noted behind Fightful’s paywall that Mustafa Ali was actually supposed to win the NXT North American Title at No Mercy. So, his firing really did put a real wrench in plans.

Trick Williams is the new NXT North American Champion after defeating Dominik Mysterio at NXT No Mercy, however, that wasn’t the original plan. There were some incorrect reports stating that Dominik was originally scheduled to retain over Mustafa Ali. Actually, Mustafa Ali was supposed to win the North American Championship prior to his release. This is one of the reasons why NXT higher ups stated to us they were frustrated by the call to cut him.

Advertising

Advertising

Dominik Mysterio was always slated to retain the NXT North American Title over Dragon Lee on the September 25 episode of WWE Raw, but sources with knowledge of the situation told us that the original creative called for Mustafa Ali to cost Dragon Lee the match. This would have played off of Ali’s teases to appear on WWE Raw. After that, a triple threat match for the title would have been set for NXT No Mercy where Mustafa Ali would win the North American title. How things would have worked from that point aren’t clear, but Shawn Michaels, Mustafa Ali and NXT creative had tentative plans for Ali on the brand into March of 2024.

We will have to see what happens with Mustafa Ali from this point on. He was in the middle of a nice ride in NXT, but that was stopped far too suddenly with his release from the company. Hopefully, he lands on his feet, which is likely considering all the work he’s put into his craft.

Mustafa Ali may end up in AEW, because Bryan Danielson is a huge fan of his. His story is obviously far from over, even though his time in NXT came to an abrupt end with his release.

What’s your take on Mustafa Ali’s firing? Let us know what you think in the comments section!