WWE News: Member Of ‘205 Live’ Added To ‘SmackDown Live’ Roster
The roster moves continue to go down in the WWE, as it was announced by the company on SmackDown Live that Mustafa Ali has been made a permanent member of the main roster.
Last week, Ali was given a match on SmackDown Live against current WWE Champion Daniel Bryan, and it appears that he impressed the powers that be since he was given a far more visible spot on the main roster.
Not only was he called up to the main roster. He was actually put in the main event of SmackDown Live in a tag team match with former champion AJ Styles against Daniel Bryan and Andrade “Cien” Almas.
In the match, Mustafa came in on a tag from AJ Styles and then got beat down by Almas and Bryan. Eventually, he made the hot tag to AJ Styles who got the match back under control for the babyfaces.
After Styles beat up the heels for a bit, Ali would get involved again, landing a somewhat botched hurricanrana on Almas outside the ring. AJ would tag in Ali, who would climb to the top rope, hit the inverted 450 and pin Daniel Bryan for the win.
Ali was known as “the heart of the Cruiserweight division” during his run in the 205-pound division. Presumably, because of his smaller size, he’ll be booked as an underdog babyface along the lines of a Daniel Bryan when he was still a good guy.
It’ll be interesting to see how he’s used on the main roster. The WWE is promising changes to the way it writes some of its characters. It has promised to do more of what the fans want and less of what they don’t.
Interestingly, there hasn’t been an overwhelming demand to move Ali from the 205 Live roster to the main roster, so time will tell how the fans take to him.
It's good to have you, @MustafaAliWWE! #SDLive pic.twitter.com/KjzgXYkSc9
— WWE (@WWE) December 19, 2018
Mustafa Ali was a police officer before deciding he wanted to make a run at a career in the WWE. Before coming to the company, he spent 13 years wrestling on the independent scene. He appeared in a slew of promotions before competing in the first WWE Cruiserweight Classic. Some places he’s worked include All American Wrestling, GALLI Lucha Libre, IWA Mid-South, Jersey All Pro Wrestling, National Wrestling Alliance, and Proving Ground Pro.
It’s interesting that the WWE chose Mustafa Ali as the 205 Live performer to bring to the main roster, as he actually wasn’t even originally scheduled to participate in the Cruiserweight Classic. He came in to replace Brazilian wrestler Zumbi who couldn’t compete due to visa issues.
WWE also announced that there would be no more roster moves other than the six NXT call-ups reported by the Inquisitr last night and Mustafa Ali.
