Mustafa Ali is well aware that his politically inspired gimmick could be misinterpreted by fans.
Ali repackaged himself as a politician following his WWE exit in 2023. He had previously attempted — unsuccessfully — to pitch the character to WWE creative under Vince McMahon. He later solidified his new persona in TNA Wrestling by introducing new members to his Order 4 faction.
Speaking to SEScoops’ Scott Fishman in a new interview, Ali discussed the challenges that come with portraying a hated politician given the current state of the world. He also clarified that everything his character says or does exists strictly within the confines of pro wrestling and entertainment.
“I am who I am,” he said. “My name is Mustafa Ali. I’m very clearly from a certain region of the world. My belief is very open. So within that and this character, I have found that it is tricky sometimes what I want to say and how I want to say it or how I want to be perceived can be misconstrued, can be misquoted and misinterpreted.
“At the end of the day, we are entertainment. Our job is to entertain the fans. I would never want someone from anywhere in the world to tune in and feel offended or feel like I’ve been isolating them in a negative manner. This character, this presidential politician, almost dictator-esque character is strictly within the confines of professional wrestling. There is no subliminal messaging, no I’m really talking about this, I’m talking about championships, contenders, and that’s it.”
Mustafa Ali explains on putting his own character through scrutiny
“At the end of the day, I’ve found I need to sometimes be cautious of real-life events and how they can be misinterpreted into wrestling. This character makes it a little more difficult to navigate. I am very open about what I think is right and wrong. I’ve always been about treating people right.
“That’s a conversation for another time, but the point being is this character I do have to double-check sometimes what I’m saying and how I’m saying it or how it looks because we unfortunately live in a world today where a fan will grab a quote, or screenshot, and saying, ‘he was saying this,’ and that is not what I was saying at all within the context of the promo.
“It is fairly difficult. I feel like anywhere you look in the world now there is trouble. How do you not try to mirror that? Whether it’s intentional or not intentional. At the end of the day, my goal is to put on the best product, performance. My goal isn’t to offend anybody with what I’m saying. I’m fairly cautious. That’s always in the back of my mind when I’m performing.”
Mustafa Ali and Order 4 will be at Orlando’s Full Sail University for TNA Wrestling’s tapings on November 13–15. WrestleZone provides coverage of the show every Thursday.
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