Mustafa Ali Explains Decision To Re-Sign With TNA, Wanting To Maximize Time In His Career

Mustafa Ali has re-signed with TNA, and he recently discussed his thought process around deciding to re-up with the company. Ali announced in his interview with Denise Salcedo that he had signed a new deal with TNA. The new contract comes as TNA is about to debut on AMC next week.

During the same interview, Ali went into his decision to say with TNA. He noted that he thinks a lot about “the hourglass,” aka the time left in his career. Ali noted that TNA is a place where he’s been able to take chances and make his mark, something that’s important to him. You can see the highlights below:

On His Thought Process About Re-Signing With TNA:

“So I’m just speaking from me, right? Like, I know other people like security, they like — and these are all important factors. They like the people they work with, your bosses, I get that. I’m a little unique, and this might sound arrogant. I’m just being honest. I feel like, you know…the hourglass? I have nightmares about that. I feel like I’ve done so much in the game, but I’ve never really transcended to that next level, and the question is constantly why? Why doesn’t Ali resonate in that level? And like yeah, I mean, people bring up like cool stuff I’ve done all the time. I’m not satisfied yet. So to me, the investment and the thought decision wasn’t just ‘How do I take care of my family?’ But it’s like, how do I make sure that I maximize whatever time I have left in my career.

“I mean, like I’m not the oldest guy out there, but I’m not the youngest either, you know? So I have this thought process of this battle against time. And I can’t tell you how many times I — I’m just gonna give him a shout out specifically because he’s the guy that I deal with the most. But Tommy [Dreamer]. I have an idea, and sometimes he’s not with it. But I go, ‘Tommy, I believe in this.’ And he goes, ‘All right. We’ll see.’ He’s like, ‘But you better believe if you’re wrong, I’m going to tell you you’re wrong.’ I go, ‘As long as I’m if I’m right, you tell me I’m right.’ 100% of the time I’m right. [laughs]”

On Deciding To Sign With TNA:

“So with that, what I’m saying is like — you asked me about TNA and I got a smile on my face. And I’m saying, ‘I did this and I did this.’ So that was a huge factor in my decision that this investment of time, if I’m going to give this company another X amount of years or months or whatever the agreement is that we have, I want to make sure that I’m on the field. That I’m able to make a play.

“And that’s not a knock on anybody else. It’s just me personally speaking, I know my time here is going to be well spent. Not to mention there’s a nice little paycheck that comes with it. So I get to take care of my family more.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Denise Salcedo with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.