Mustafa Ali Recalls Getting the Call From William Regal About the Cruiserweight Classic

– During a recent chat with Mark Andrews on My Love Letter to Wrestling, WWE Superstar Mustafa Ali recalls William Regal calling him to tell him about the Cruiserweight Classic tournament. Ali ultimately got a slot in the tournament after he was initially brought in as a backup. He stated the following (via WrestlingInc.com):

“By, like, March, I was on the phone with William Regal. He’s like, ‘Hey listen, there’s this tournament. It’s in June.’ And Regal is the one that got me my initial WWE tryout and he’s like, ‘I know this could be a huge opportunity for you. Just stay ready.’ So he tells me I’m in this Cruiserweight Classic thing. You tell some friends and family and you get all excited, and then the initial list of participants is released on WWE’s Twitter account, and everyone’s name is there except mine. I go, ‘What is going on?'”

Later, Ali found out from Regal that he was being used as a backup for the tournament along with nine other wrestlers. Mustafa Ali did get the opportunity to compete in the touranment when Lince Dorado’s original opponent couldn’t make it. He then faced Dorado in the first round in a losing effort.