Mustafa Ali publicly requested his release from WWE last Sunday. He hasn't wrestled on WWE programming since late October.
According to a report from Fightful, WWE has no plans to grant Ali his request. They plan on keeping him under contract for the remainder of his deal even though he is not being used currently on WWE television.
Ali's request to be released from the company could potentially be due to creative and ethical disagreements with the company. Scroll down to reveal more.
When Mustafa Ali took to social media to announce that he is requesting his release from WWE, he noted that he has a message that is bigger than pro-wrestling.
“I have a message that is much bigger than my dreams in pro wrestling. Despite my best efforts, I will not be able to deliver this message while working with WWE. Therefore, I am requesting my release from WWE,” he wrote.
During an interview with Sky Sports, Ali spoke about how he does not want to portray a "bad guy" in the way he saw many wrestlers with Middle Eastern heritage do when he was growing up.
"When I tuned in (to watch wrestling), anyone of Middle Eastern heritage was always portrayed as the bad guy," Ali said.
"The evil foreigner, the terrorist. And I knew I didn't want to do that."
Scroll down to why Mustafa Ali has requested his release from WWE.
Mustafa Ali's request to be released from his WWE contract was addressed recently on Wrestling Observer Radio. According to Dave Meltzer, WWE presented Ali with a character that he was unwilling to portray.
"He was given an idea of a new character and he was not happy with that idea and he asked for his release," said Dave Meltzer about Ali.
It is not clear what type of character Ali was asked to play. Scroll down to reveal more on why WWE has not granted Ali's request to be released.
WWE has not chosen to keep many of its unused talent under contract recently when it is much cheaper to simply release them. In the past, WWE has kept wrestlers under contract to keep them from going to other promotions, but that does not appear to be their current strategy.
Recently, Toni Storm requested her release from WWE and was granted it instantly despite being involved in an angle with Charlotte Flair on Smackdown. So, what is different about Mustafa Ali's situation? Why is WWE willing to release Toni Storm but not him? Why are they willing to release names like Bray Wyatt, Braun Strowman, and more but they won't let Mustafa Ali leave for another company? Only speculation can be had at the moment. Scroll down to reveal possible reasons why Mustafa Ali has not been released.
That Mustafa Ali publicly requested his release from WWE likely means he had privately asked for it previously and been denied. So, it should not come as much surprise now that reports are stating WWE has no plans to grant his request.
A possible reason why WWE might be choosing to keep him under contract is a belief that the relationship between the two sides is repairable. They likely do not want Ali making negative comments about the company publicly after he leaves, especially concerning the potential nature of those criticisms.
Vince McMahon is said to be a fan of Ali's, and likely sees value in keeping him in the company should the relationship between the two sides be salvageable. That is another potential reason why Ali has not been released. Only time will tell but it does not appear as though Ali will be leaving the company anytime soon.
