By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Insight With Chris Van Vliet with guest Mustafa Ali
Host: Chris Van Vliet
Podcast available via Podcasts.Apple.com
On his WWE release: “Not surprised that it happened. Surprised when it did happen? Yeah. I was in NXT at the time, and I actually had a pay-per-view match scheduled that weekend with Dominik Mysterio for the North American Championship.”
On if he was going to win the North American Championship if the match happened: “I don’t believe anything until it happens. But yeah, I don’t mind sharing. I think that was the plan. But mind you, the plan was actually to put the North American Championship on me months prior. But WWE is so smart with advertising and contract negotiations. So NXT, the network deal was coming up. Shawn Michaels in NXT is awesome. He explains to me, ‘Hey, we’re gonna put the North American Championship on you.’ What happens is the network deal is coming up and this is when Judgment Day, specifically Dom [Dominik Mysterio), is just white hot. I mean, they’re still white hot right now, but Dom was next level right there. So they were like, ‘Hey, everyone in Judgment Day has a championship. We want to put a championship on Dom, and we want to spike the ratings for NXT.’
“Because the idea is if you spike the ratings with the contract negotiations this helps you. So this is when Seth [Rollins] was coming and Becky [Lynch] was coming. So I get a call from Shawn, ‘Hey, we’re actually putting the championship on Dom, and here’s a reason…’ I go yeah, that makes total sense, awesome, do it. I didn’t expect it coming. Dom’s gonna come and challenge Wes Lee and beat him, great. So we do that. Then we do a three-way match, which was super fun with Dom, me and Wes Lee. And then [Shawn] is like Hey, Dom is needed back on the main roster. Poor guy was working six days a week. So I think that was a plan. Was it a surprise? No, because I saw WWE stock and WWE in general going this way [up], and my stock just going this way [down].”
On Money in the Bank: “So yeah, I show up to Money in the Bank, and they’re like, ‘Hey, you’re winning it.’ I go, what?! Okay, cool. So this is so funny because I’m one of the shorter guys in the match. So they actually had me climb up the ladder so they could adjust the briefcase so it was within grabbing distance of me. All day we’re putting this match together. Everyone’s like, ‘Hey, man, congrats.’ [I’m like] Yeah, this is awesome. I was like maybe I can get this briefcase to light up, because I was wearing the light-up stuff at the time. I’m thinking this is one of those Cloud 9 moments, I can’t believe this is happening, because it’s not happening.
“So the match is about to start. Entrances have started. I want to say Baron Corbin is making his entrance. I don’t know why, I just have his music in my head. I have a very funny visual for you. So I’m wearing this light-up mask and I’m wearing this jacket that lights up and I have a glove, and they all kind of pulsate with lights, obviously. Jamie Noble comes up ‘Hey, boss man wants to talk to you. Go talk to the boss.’ I was like, okay. The entrances are happening. Vince [McMahon] is looking up and I come over. Now mind you Gorilla is completely dark, so I just have these red lights that are flashing on Vince’s face and he’s all shadowy. So you can see the picture that I see.
“He goes ‘Change of plans. Do the match, everything you called. When the time is right I want you to climb up the ladder and grab the briefcase. Someone’s going to come out. I want you to hold the briefcase and just have shock on your face. He’s gonna run down, tip the ladder over, and you stay down. Do you understand?’ And again, my lights are just flashing on his face, so I see what he’s saying but there’s a moment where he goes black and it’s red, black and it’s red. I’m like, ‘Copy that, sir.’ I just walk away I’m like, It’s Brock [Lesnar]. Who else could it be? I’m walking, I’m like, whatever. My music is hitting.
“So he literally told me [right before]. None of the guys in the match know. Finn [Balor] didn’t know. Randy [Orton] didn’t know, Baron Corbin is in the match, Drew McIntyre, Andrade. No one knew. I’m the only guy that knows. I’m walking down, I’m just focused on the match at this point. The match happens, climbing up the thing and man, it’s just like, I know everyone’s like well why didn’t you just grab the briefcase? I want to be like, because my boss told me.
“So I climb up, I grab it. Brock’s music hits. They cut to him. I do the slip. You don’t see it, but when I’m looking down Brock hits a ladder out of the way, and it just completely annihilates a cameraman named Rico, just hits him in the head. He goes down, he needs stitches. I’m watching this and I’m like he’s gonna murder me! I hope I’m not destroying the mystique of Brock here, but what a pro. Gets in the ring, grabs me, looks up to me. He’s like, ‘Hey, kid you ready?’ And I’m like, yeah? He goes ‘Okay, nice and easy, one, two.’ And the thing is, he was so nice about the push that I was expecting this violent thing that I hurled myself off the ladder and I ended up hitting the top rope with my mouth, cutting my mouth, completely my fault, hurting myself, and I go down. He’s just pro’s pro, man. I’m saying that, but you can see if you watch it back, if you cut to the clip of the guys on the floor selling, they’re all very unamused that this match happened that way.”
On being eliminated from the Royal Rumble by Nia Jax: “So that spot wasn’t originally for me. I don’t know who it was for, but someone was not very much okay with getting eliminated by a woman. And I’m at this point where I’m trying to prove that I’m a pro’s pro. I’m down for whatever. I can kind of see, I think it was Jamie Noble because it was some sort of frantic search. I looked at Jamie and I was like, ‘What’s the spot?’ He looked at me and he goes, ‘Would you be okay with it?’ I just go, ‘Yep. What is it?’ He goes, ‘Well, Nia is gonna beat up R-Truth and then she’s gonna take everyone’s finisher. But before she does that I just need her to throw somebody [out].’ I don’t know who the original person is. I really don’t know. But I remember going, it’s a scripted show, it’s fine. Me and Nia are homies.
“So I remember I told Nia, Hey, I’ll do it. And she was so like, Thank you. I could see the sense of relief. So I could see why some people were like, oh man, that made you look weak. I go Nia is shoot strong as hell and could pick up anyone in this room right now, and she tossed me over. So we did the thing with Nia. I do the whole [thing] I’m not gonna hit you. I did this thing and then she head-butted me, picked me up. Gets talked about to this day. Actually, I think the RKO and the 619 she took in the Royal Rumble gets talked more. But yeah, it was a moment. I could see how some of the guys were like I wouldn’t have done that. But one, I didn’t have a problem with it and two, I was looking like, I think that goes a long way to like Vince and to like Bruce [Prichard]. This guy didn’t have a problem getting the spot over because that’s a moment. That’s what we want to do. We want to create moments. That was the honest intention behind it. So yeah, it wasn’t originally designed for me from what I understand.”
Ali would’ve won probably if Vince wasn’t there back then.