Ali’s Name Has Been Changed Again, But For The Better

WWE Superstars lose parts of their name all the time. Big E Langston becomes Big E, Antonio Cesaro becomes Cesaro, Alexander Rusev becomes Rusev, Chad Gable becomes … uh, “Shorty G,” and so on. Rarely does a Superstar get their lost name fragment back, however. That’s an honor we can now give “Ali,” who appears to have had his official WWE name reverted to the original, Mustafa Ali.

Ali previously lost his first name back in March, when he was becoming a more active part of the weekly shows and had to be less identifiable, I guess? It was surprising to see them go with “Ali,” though, as you’d imagine that was taken, especially in the worlds of pop culture and combat sports.

Via WWE.com:

In need of inspiration? Look to Mustafa Ali, a Superstar who has the unique ability to enthrall audiences with just the light in his eyes.

For more than a decade, Ali pursued his dream of making it as a WWE Superstar, competing on the independent scene while working as a police officer in Chicago and starting a family.

Barely squeaking his way into the 2016 Cruiserweight Classic after being announced as an alternate, Ali displayed a dogged perseverance that eventually took him all the way to a bout for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship against Cedric Alexander at WrestleMania. Although he was narrowly edged by his friend, Ali had the capacity crowd in the palm of his hand from bell to bell.

Ali moved from 205 Live to SmackDown LIVE and wasted no time turning heads, as he scored an incredible pinfall victory against then-WWE Champion Daniel Bryan in a tag team match. No stranger to thrilling moments inside the squared circle, Ali puts his extensive in-ring ability on full display when he executes the jaw-dropping 054, a reverse 450 splash on the Tuesday night brand.

Welcome back, Mustafa. Let’s hope this doesn’t mean they’re taking away Buddy Murphy’s “Buddy” and just calling him “Murphy.”