For people of the Muslim faith, there is no greater moment for personal reflection than their sacred pilgrimage. For WWE Superstar Mustafa Ali, the chance to journey to Mecca, Saudi Arabia and perform Umrah during the Holy Month of Ramadan could not come at a better time in his life.
After all, the 37-year-old star has changed so much since he joined the company six years ago, going from an underdog alternate in the Cruiserweight Classic tournament to one of the most prominent Muslim voices in American pop culture today, continually reinventing himself trying to achieve the potential he’s still only scratched the surface of.
On a personal level, he’s become a husband and father of three, and while that may have opened up a tender side he wasn’t aware of before, it has by no means diminished his fire, nor his desire to put his mark on this sport. But how will he do it? That’s what he’s still figuring out.
During his trip to Saudi Arabia, and before Ali and WWE return to the Kingdom for Night of Champions on May 27, Ali sat down with Esquire Middle East to discuss the trip, his spiritual journey, and his past, present, and future in WWE.
Read our full conversation below.
Esqiure Middle East speaks with WWE’s Mustafa Ali
How’s Jeddah been so far?
Mustafa Ali: It’s awesome, man. Everything’s been amazing. We’re fasting during the month of Ramadan, so the accommodations have been very, very nice.
Were the wife and kids able to come to?
Mustafa Ali: No, unfortunately. I was trying to make it happen but with school, the kids’ schedule, it didn’t work out. But you know, hopefully, Inshallah, next time I come down, I’ll be able to bring them.
How special is it for you to be able to come and experience Ramadan here in the Muslim world, and perform Umrah?
Mustafa Ali: I think you hit the nail on the head with the word special. This is such a special thing for me, because one, I’ve never been to Umrah. I’ve been to Riyadh to perform, but usually when we perform, it’s like we’re in and we’re out. Now that I have a few days here I get to attend, attend these iftars and do media and speaks to people, meet some fans, do some charitable work, and go on some historical tours—all of that’s great.
But the biggest thing to me is at the tail end of this trip as I get to perform Umrah. And not only do I get to do that, I get to do that in the month of Ramadan, which is just incredible. The last 10 nights of Ramadan. It’s so unique because I’m doing this off a work-related trip.
The wife and I were discussing Umrah a few weeks ago, like, man, I don’t know with my schedule like it is how I’m going to make this happen, or when I am going to have time to go. And a few days later, they call me asking if I would you like to come to Saudi, and saying they could set up Umrah if I’m interested. And I was like, ‘amazing. Yes. I was just talking about this. Yes, I would love to do it’. So yes, I feel incredibly blessed and thankful for the opportunity.
I can’t imagine how different it must be here from growing up in the Chicago area, in which practicing your faith came with a much smaller community.
Mustafa Ali: Yeah, being somewhere where it’s the norm is wonderful. The experience itself is just wild. Anytime I get to talk about my story, about being a Muslim athlete performing during the month of Ramadan and fasting, there’s so many questions. I hope there’s a lot of inspiration that goes out based off my story, because at the end of the day, there’s so many people that watch this product that can identify with me due to the fact that I’m Muslim, especially as I participate in Ramadan here and perform Umrah.
You may not agree with me, but I think a lot of people would say you are one of the most important Muslims in American culture today.
Mustafa Ali: Thanks for the kind words. I wouldn’t consider myself like famous by any means, but I appreciate it.
I wanted to dive into your own personal journey. I imagine coming to perform Umrah is a culmination point for you. How has your relationship with your faith grown and changed?
Mustafa Ali: Faith is a tricky thing, man, because I feel like faith is based upon experiences and identifying them and breaking them down. A lot of times you’re like, ‘Oh, why? Why did this happen?’ or why didn’t you get to experience a moment of happiness and success? I think understanding how things work themselves out, or how a good thing could be followed by a bad thing, or vice versa, comes with time and maturity.
Was becoming a father and a husband part of that maturity?
Mustafa Ali: I think becoming a father and a husband and having a family that I have to worry about has helped a lot. The fact that I am having Umrah happen, the fact that I’m here doing that right now, it can’t be coincidental that I’m at a point in my life right now, where I’m contemplating a lot. You know, I’m not exactly old, but I’m not exactly young. I’m at this point where I’m asking, what is my purpose? What is my life’s work going to be? Have I done enough? Is what I have enough?
At times, you want so much more for yourself on a career basis. But then at the same time, I’ve looked at myself, and how selfish it is to not see how blessed you already are. Look at this beautiful family, this beautiful home, this dream job that you’ve acquired. There’s a lot of—I don’t want to say internal conflict, but just thoughts bouncing around my head constantly.
I don’t know why my heart’s at ease knowing that Umrah is coming up and the clarity and the answers that I’m looking for, will hopefully be It’s a time for a lot of self-reflection. As cool as it is to share the journey of being this Muslim athlete web and show everyone I’m doing Umrah, selfishly, I need it. Hopefully I find the peace that my mind and my heart are yearning for.
I get it. You’re 37. I’m 36, so I’m also in that same place.
Mustafa Ali: We’re old, man! It’s halfway over!
Yeah, like, are we having a mid-life crisis right now?
Mustafa Ali: Yeah, I have that conversation a lot with my wife. I just feel like professionally and, as you’re pointing out, as a Muslim figure. I really thought I would have accomplished a lot more by now.
I had a lot of steam behind me in 2019, before the injury happened, that kind of took me out of the world title picture feel like I’ve never really recovered from it. I was kind of down about this. And then my wife is like, ‘you’re this Muslim athlete, you have the respect of your colleagues in the industry. And you may not see it, but you are earning a lot. Sometimes it’s nice to be reminded of what you accomplished and not be so hard on yourself. And so that’s something I’m working on every day.
Yeah, and we’ve all noticed that no matter what you’re given, whether it’s Retribution or anything else, any time there’s an opportunity for you, you put your full self into it.
Mustafa Ali: Thank you. Yeah, I guess that’s my one solace. I always hear the fans saying, like, ‘oh, this guy deserves better, you should be presented better’. And at the end of the day, all I ask is that, as long as fans know that anytime I’ve been given something, I put my heart and soul into it. I’m dedicated, whether I agree with it or not. I’ll try to make it work. And I think that’s resonated with fans. They know this guy will make anything work.
Yeah, and obviously I’m just a fan/journalist or whatever living on the other side of the world, but from my perspective it does seem that the guys who never lose faith, who take whatever they’re given and spin it into something greater, are the ones who end up thriving, like Sami Zayn is now.
Mustafa Ali: Right, right. And that’s the nature of what we do, right? There’s ebbs and flows, there’s highs and lows, you just kind of ride with it. And the Sami example is great, because I think it was supposed to be a one time on-screen moment was Roman, but the chemistry was there, and it kind of unfolded from there. That’s the nature of what we do. There’s not five to 10-year plans. this is going to be a you know, it’s just kind of roll with the punches. So, you know, if you if you stay ready, you don’t have to get ready. If you commit to everything you do, then, you know, hopefully it’ll click one day and hopefully it’ll click one day for me to
Yeah, and I say that not discounting everything you’re accomplishing now.
Mustafa Ali: Yeah, no worries. I appreciate it.
And you’ve done a lot for representation as well. The moment when you corrected the pronunciation of “Mustafa” is one that really stuck with people.
Mustafa Ali: It’s become an iconic line. A lot of people bring that up a lot. I love it.
It’s not a mistake—it shows you care about how your culture and background is presented, which means a lot to people.
Mustafa Ali: I think that’s why that resonated with a lot of people, because it happens to them every day. Names like Muhammad and Ayesha get mispronounced or westernized, treated as if they’re too hard to learn how to say right. When I clap back, but that line, a lot of people at home are like, Yeah, you know, I mean, and I was guilty of it, too. I’ve been in the company for six years, and I remember introducing myself and saying it the mispronounced way, too.
Obviously I was a heel when I did it originally, so I did it in a snippy tone, but I do want to encourage people. It’s okay to correct people and with a smile and tell them like, ‘oh, actually, my name is pronounced this way’ and help them with the pronunciation. But I think people understand the confines of what I was doing with the character, but that I feel like a lot of people resonated with that.
And looking back to six years ago, the Cruiserweight Classic was such a f***ing beautiful moment. Sorry to swear during Ramadan.
Mustafa Ali: I’ll let it go, because I love it, too.
But looking back, there’s only a few of you left in the company keeping that spirit alive.
Mustafa Ali: Yeah, unfortunately, a lot of amazing talent have gone on to other endeavors. Cruiserweight Classic-wise, it’s me, Cedric Alexander, Drew Gulak, and Akira Tozawa as the last ones standing, so to speak.
The Cruiserweight Classic is dear to my heart, man, even that I was an alternate that wasn’t originally supposed to be in that. At the time, I thought I was in the tournament, got there and found out that I was a backup, an alternate. So if someone got hurt, or didn’t make it, then I might be in the tournament. And then I asked how many alternates there were, and they said 10. I thought, there’s no way I’m in this. And luckily, a spot opened up and I got to compete with Lince Dorado in the first round, and we had like five minutes. Like you said, I poured my heart and soul into it, and I made it the most action packed five minutes that I could possibly think of. And one thing led to another and, eventually, I took that opportunity and got a job here. I think that tournament is going to remain a cult favorite. I’m proud of the work that I’ve been put into it.
How do you feel this WWE experience has helped you grow on a personal level?
Mustafa Ali: On a personal level, I’ve realized, when you come in as a performer, you’re all about the performance. You ask, what can I do? What can I wear? What can I say? What story can I tell the audience? I feel like—this is going to get taken out of context. But, you know, no one wants us full interviews anymore. Everyone just reads the clickbait headlines anyways—But I feel like I quickly figured that out. And now my time and emphasis has been on learning the business side of things. This is a business, so I’m so interested in things like digital media rights and distribution and target audience and demographics and because these are the things I feel can really push certain individuals or groups or stories in certain directions, because at the end of the day, it’s a business.
We have such a dynamic explosive roster now where athletically, a lot of people can have a lot of good matches. A good match is not that hard to put together now with this current roster. So with that, there’s got to be something more to you than just what you do in the ring. And that’s why you constantly see me ping-ponging in these character ideas, trying to find my way in, finding out how I fit into the puzzle in this conglomerate, this entertainment machine.
That’s how I’ve changed as a person as far as my work side. I’m more focused on the business side of things and how we get the most out of this, rather than just the performance side.
And then on a personal level, I’m a father of three now, I have this incredible wife that I can’t stop gushing about, because she’s just the most amazing thing in the world. I have just insane level of gratitude. Now, I’m always going to be this competitive guy. I’m always going to feel that when you put me in the ring and you give me enough time and the platform to do it, I’m going to steal the show. I have that undying confidence in me, and I’ll always have that. But I also have this caring, tender side of me. I can’t wait to go home to my family and watch movies with them and eat chocolate chip cookies.
That’s a side of me that never really existed before. So that’s how it evolved lately.