Mustafa Ali Was Reportedly Scheduled to Win NA Title at WWE NXT No Mercy

– Fightful Select has another backstage report on recently released former WWE Superstar Mustafa Ali. As previously noted, WWE released Ali when he was scheduled to face Dominik Mysterio in an NXT North American Title Match at last Saturday’s NXT No Mercy premium live event.

With Ali no longer a part of the company, Mysterio faced Trick Williams instead on the card, and Williams picked up the win, capturing the NXT North American Championship. According to Fightful’s report, Mustafa Ali was originally the one who was penciled in to win the title on the card before he was unceremoniously cut from the roster.

Fightful’s report notes that this was a source of frustration for NXT higher-ups backstage when WWE opted to release Ali right before the event. It’s also stated that Mysterio was not originally scheduled to retain the title over Ali.

The original plan in place was to have Mysterio retain the belt on the September 25 edition of WWE Raw, but Ali would’ve cost Dragon Lee the match. Ali had already teased appearing on Raw before he was released when this was supposed to play out. This would’ve set up a Triple Threat Match for NXT No Mercy, with Dragon Lee added in. Ultimately, Ali would’ve won the match and the title.

Additionally, NXT’s creative team, Shawn Michaels, and Ali reportedly had plans for the wrestler to appear on the brand that would’ve taken him through March 2024. However, they did not pan out.