Just a few weeks ago, Mustafa Ali was considered to be the heart of 205 Live and one of their best competitors. After being told management had nothing for him for the next few weeks, he quickly found he was being booked for a one-off match for SmackDown Live against WWE Champion Daniel Bryan.

That one show, which saw Ali be involved in three segments, was enough to launch him into the spotlight. His subsequent victory over Bryan during a tag team match served to create fan support around his character. Now, just days away from the Royal Rumble, Ali is viewed as one of the biggest threats in the match.

During the recent WINCLY podcast, Sean ‘X-Pac’ Waltman sat down to discuss a number of topics. One of the key topics Waltman addressed in detail was that of Ali- given that the two of them see multiple comparisons from fans on social media.

Given that Ali is currently poised to be a significant player in the Royal Rumble match, Waltman gave his insight into the idea that Ali could win the match. According to the wrestling star, Ali doesn’t need the victory. An impressive showing within the match will rise his stock in the company and do great things for him.

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“They don’t even need to give him the win to come out of this looking much better. For it to be a win for him, he doesn’t need to win the [Royal] Rumble [match]. All he has to do is go in there and kick some ass and make a good showing. In his own way, like, the way other guys have come in and clean house, like Diesel or things like that. Obviously, it would be a different way of doing it. But coming in and eliminating a s–tload of guys.”

Despite the comparisons between he and Ali, Waltman believes Ali will be a much more decorated performer than he. He believes Ali is a better athlete than him.

“Oh for sure! For sure! I think he can go way further than I ever went. He [has] got a better head on his shoulders and he’s a better athlete. Hell yes [Ali is the better athlete]. Oh, hell yeah. I’m not saying I’m not a great athlete, I just think he’s a better one. It’s okay to be a better athlete than me.”

Do you see Ali as a future Champion? Would you like to see Ali win the Rumble? Let us know your thoughts, opinions, and reactions in those comments below.

With H/T to Wrestling Inc for the transcription.

Steve Carrier

Steve is the Founder of RingsideNews. He has been writing about professional wrestling since 1996. He first got into website development at the time and has been focusing on bringing his readers the best professional wrestling news at it's highest quality.

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