September 28th 2023.
Shawn Michaels, WWE’s Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative, addressed Mustafa Ali’s shock departure from the company just over a week before NXT No Mercy. Michaels admitted he was taken by surprise and said, “I found out right before he did. I will say this, I’d be lying to you if I said it didn’t take us by surprise. That’s one thing I’m learning here, is that main roster and NXT are totally separate rosters. I think the world of Mustafa, had a great working relationship with him in the time that he was here, I will miss him.”
Michaels went on to heap praise on Ali’s creativity and skills between the ropes, insisting he’ll be a success wherever he goes next. “He’s an unbelievably creative and talented young man and no doubt his future looks incredibly bright and he’ll be successful,” he said. “I’m going to miss him and I enjoyed working with him for the time that I did have him here.”
With Ali no longer in the picture, viewers found out on Tuesday night that Dominik Mysterio will be defending the North American Championship against rising star Trick Williams at NXT No Mercy. Michaels said, “That’s what we do here in NXT. We adjust. The fire drill is something that is a regular thing here in the WWE and certainly here at NXT. I feel we made a great pivot, we adjusted. Now, Trick Williams is the beneficiary of that, and he has the biggest match of his life at No Mercy.”
Ali himself had some kind words for his replacement, congratulating Williams on the big opportunity. “Good for Trick, deserves it,” he wrote.
WWE presents NXT No Mercy on Saturday night at 1am. Tune in via the WWE Network to watch the North American Championship match between Dominik Mysterio and Trick Williams.
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