I loved wrestling, and I wanted to go out and entertain people and all that stuff, so I get trained, and when they decided, 'Hey, you're ready for a match, and you've got to start thinking about a character,' I was thinking this guy and this guy, and they go, 'No, no, no - you're a Muslim. You've got to be a bad guy.'
— Mustafa Ali
In the initial stages of my career, I was actually hiding behind a mask to hide who I was, but I was getting frustrated. I wasn't getting better bookings; I wasn't competing at bigger events.
It doesn't matter if there are 500 people in the stands or 50,000 people, the '205 Live' guys stick to the script and tear it down each night.
I don't portray a terrorist. The American fans label me a terrorist. It doesn't matter what I claim to be: in their eyes, I am whatever they say I am despite the fact that I'm not committing any 'acts of terror.' I ask you, how am I portraying a terrorist? Because I look like a Muslim?
My favorite wrestler growing up was Bret 'The Hitman' Hart.
I was that 16-year-old who loved WWE, and I wanted to be a pro wrestler, but I didn't understand why I had to be the bad guy. I wanted to be like Jeff Hardy - I wanted to be like Rey Mysterio - but I was told I had to be the guy who screamed terrible things about America and attack people from behind.
The way '205 Live' came about, there was a lot of trust put into our roster. Because if you look at it, the majority of our roster had not been in the developmental system and NXT. And the majority of us had not been on TV prior to that. So for WWE to trust us and literally hire us and throw us on live TV, it was very, 'Whoa!'
I've always had faith in my ring ability, but sometimes it's how you are perceived, and how good you are doesn't matter.
I feel like I'm a guy you can give the ball to, and I'll run with it.
When I was trying to achieve my goal, I started training. I became a character, and everyone was expecting me to become the 'Prince of...' or the Middle-Eastern, and I wanted to wear a mask, and I wanted to be like a luchador from Mexico. And people asked me, 'Why are you putting a mask on?' And the truth is, I did not want to deal with who I was.
I want to change how people perceived me when I came over here, change how the people perceive South-East Asians or Middle Eastern or Muslim or Hindu or whatever their identity is. I want them to just let that go and treat the performer as a performer.
I want the next 16-year-old kid who looks like me to know he's not automatically the bad guy. Hopefully, that kid can look at Mustafa Ali and say, 'Hey, he's not the bad guy, and I don't have to be, either.'
Prior to the Cruiserweight Classic, I had a tryout with WWE in 2013 and was told that I wasn't what they were looking for at the moment.
I think '205 Live' is the ultimate underdog story. This isn't a knock on any other brands; you have your stars on 'Raw,' you have your stars on 'SmackDown Live,' and I almost feel like NXT already has this amazing face to continue building stars, but '205 Live,' that is not the case. There is no foundation. We are not capitalizing off of stars.
There wasn't a defining moment or match or even a person that made me want to wrestle. It all just sort of happened. Kind of like puberty.
Everyone in the world, regardless if they're Muslim or not, does not have to adhere to the label society slaps on you.
If anyone understands the enormous mountain that cruiserweights like myself have to climb, it's WWE champion Daniel Bryan - who not only climbed that mountain but now stands atop it.
Sometimes you have to create your own chance.
My message to everyone is that we truly are one, and the minute you see me as the person, not just as the Muslim - when you see me as Adeel Alam and not just the character on TV - when you see past all of that, we are all the same, and we are all just one.
I won't tell you that I'm lucky to be here because I know I'm skilled, and I know I'm talented in the ring. That doesn't mean that I don't appreciate the opportunity.
I did not want people to know that I was a Muslim; I did not want people to know my name or that I did not have an American name. I did not want that. Because I knew if they knew that, they would cast me as the bad guy.
There were days I'd wrestle at 9 o'clock, and afterward, I often didn't shower and would just throw on sweatpants. I had my police gear in the car and would rush to get to the station by 10:30, clean myself off as best I could, and be ready for my shift by 10:59.
Mustafa Ali is who I wanted to see when I was growing up. I'm not wearing anything on my head; I'm not saying anything in Arabic. I'm just going to come out as Mustafa Ali.
The biggest thing with the '205' guys is that we are trying to build the brand and each other, which makes it more difficult, but we are all stepping up to the plate.
If there is ever a crew that goes out every night behind the eight-ball and have their work cut out for them to be respectable, it's the '205 Live' guys.
I always knew I wanted to be a pro wrestler for as long as I can remember.
Wrestling is a reflection of society, and it does have an impact on people.
The main events of '205 Live' are always among the discussion as far as top acts of the week in the world.
I think it's something much bigger than just pro wrestling and the industry I work in. It's across all media. You look at Hollywood movies: there's not the Muslim hero or the guy who looks like me and has a name like mine who is portrayed in a positive manner or in a leading role. So, growing up, I didn't have a role model that looks like me.
I want people to hear the name Mustafa Ali and want them to know that I'm a proud American. I'm from here, I'm from Chicago; I'm just like one of you.
It's very hard to be a family man, a father, a husband, an independent wrestler, and a police officer.
I'm out here for opportunity and championship and a belt that spells my name, but on a bigger stage, my bigger goal, my mindset is to completely eliminate any doubt in some of the minds that, 'Hey I don't want to take my dream to WWE. Where I'm from, what I believe in, it could cause any trouble.'
My name doesn't exactly shout 'babyface.'
