Mustafa Ali Comments on Him Not Working In Actual Talent Scout/Recruit Role For TNA & Just Recommends Indies Names To The Company Instead
Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp held a recent interview with Mustafa Ali. One of the topics discussed included Ali’s thoughts about his belief why wrestlers are attracted to TNA right now.
“I think people see what TNA was able to do for myself, an AJ Francis, a Cedric Alexander, guys that had worked elsewhere. I hate the misuse — hey man, at the end of the day, I made amazing money and I got national exposure. The world knows me because of my time in WWE. Cookie didn’t crumble the way I wanted it to crumble. Alright, whatever, move on. I hate the whole misuse like that, but I think what people see from that perspective, they go — the creative room that we have in TNA is exponential, it’s awesome. Then, you see a talent like Leon Slater that was picked out of the indies and now elevated to this huge megastar where people are waiting for him to reclaim his X-Division title. People are calling for him to be world champion, people are wondering what his future holds. They’re calling him the youngest prodigy and all of this great stuff. So, I think you can’t help but flock to that because you see that. Now that we’re on AMC, it just grows even more.
Ali also gave his thoughts about him not actually working in an official talent scouting and recruiting role for TNA and instead he just recommends indie talents names to the company for them to consider.
“To answer your question, there’s no like formal title. I’m not scouting, I’m not a recruit, I’m not anything. I’m just a guy that wrestles on TNA that also happens to wrestle on independent shows. I sincerely love TNA so much. Not only do they allow me to provide for my family, but I really feel like TNA has allowed me to finally show the world/the wrestling world what I’m capable of. I don’t think I even scratched the surface in WWE. But, if you just look at my catalog of matches and promos and what I’ve done just in TNA the past year and a half, I can finally have — again, this is going to sound very jaded, it’s not. I think when you talk about my WWE run, you bring up the Randy Orton RKO and you talk about the match with Buddy and the WrestleMania match. That’s it. With TNA, I can name you 20 matches right now that people still talk about. That’s the difference. I feel like I got the ball and I’m running with it still. Right now, I’m the man in TNA. I feel like because I have that responsibility, I’m trying to help TNA in the sense where if I see someone special on the independents, I go ‘This kid or this girl’s got something, just give them a look.’ That’s all it is. There’s nothing about me arranging. I’m not on creative. Please stop asking me if you can, I’m not the guy. But, if I happen to see something amazing that gets me to go, ‘This guy could be over’, I’m going to just relay that information. I feel like other guys do it too. That’s the way wrestling should be, man. If we see someone that’s good, that’s going to benefit the company, why would I not want that guy on my team?”
Transcript h/t: Fightful.com
Dark Side of the Rings Ratings – Aug. 11, 2026
The August 11th episode of Dark Side of the Ring drew 128,000 viewers on VICE TV, up from the prior week show’s 93,000 viewers.
It drew a 0.04 rating in the 18-49 key demographic, up from the prior week show’s 0.03 rating.
This week’s episode focused on WWE Hall of Famer Paul Orndorff.
Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter
Misc. Wrestling News & Notes
New Japan Pro Wrestling reportedly drew a paid attendance of 7,777 for their Aug 15th G1 Climax 2026 event in Tokyo and 7,260 for their Aug. 16th G1 Climax 2026 Finals event in Tokyo, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that this year’s G1 Climax Finals match between Ryohei Oiwa and Yuya Uemura missed tying for the longest Finals match in G1 Climax history by two seconds. This year’s match went 35 minutes and 10 seconds while the all-time record is currently held by SANADA and Kota Ibushi for their Finals match in 2020.
Dave Meltzer also reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that this year’s G1 Climax tournament drew a total paid attendance of 50,495, which was up 17.2% compared to last year’s G1 Climax tournament total attendance. Meltzer reported that this was the second highest total attendance for a G1 Climax tournament since the COVID-19 pandemic, only behind the 2023 tournament.
Stardom reportedly drew a paid attendance of 758 for their Aug. 14th 5STAR Grand Prix 2026 event in Kobe, 1,011 for their Aug. 16th 5STAR Grand Prix 2026 event in Hamamatsu, and 1,610 for their Aug. 18th 5STAR Grand Prix 2026 event in Tokyo, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Lucha Libre AAA reportedly drew an attendance of slightly under 7,000 for their Aug. 15th AAA TV tapings at the Coliseo Centenario in Torreon, Mexico, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
CMLL reportedly drew an attendance of around 13,200 for their Aug. 14th Viernes Espectacular show at the Arena Mexico in Mexico City, Mexico, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Dave Meltzer reported that week’s show was the 14th straight week sellout and 25th sellout of the year at the Arena Mexico for CMLL.
In a recent interview with The Casual Conversations With The Classic podcast, former WWE and current indies talent Doc Gallows gave his thoughts about his son CJ Gallows recently teaming up with WWE Hall of Famer AJ Styles’ son Avery Styles in the indies. Gallows stated “We tagged with my 19-year-old son CJ Gallows and AJ Styles’ son Avery Styles. And it was like people were so happy to see that because they feel like they’re seeing, like, the next generation of the Bullet Club or something. But seeing them get those types of reactions and how happy people were to see them, and then the stuff that they were doing in the ring and trying, it was a lot of fun for us, man. It was way more rewarding than I would have thought it would have been five years ago or something. I tell my son all the time, he’s like, ‘I wish I was as big as you.’ I’m like, ‘No, you don’t, because you can do all kinds that I can’t.’ Mind-blowing. It reminded me how bad I was.” (Transcript h/t: F4WOnline.com)
Game Changer Wrestling recently announced that they will be holding their next Fight Club event on October 10-11 in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
GCW also recently announced one new match for the card of their No Signal In The Hills Pt. 5 event on September 12 in Los Angeles, California:
- GCW Ultraviolent Championship #1 Contender’s DLC match – Nino Extremo vs. Dr. Redacted vs. JKM vs. Anakin Murphy vs. Mr. Danger vs. Christian Napier
ACTION Wrestling recently announced one new match for the card of their co-produced ACTION x PRODUCE Dean~!!! Sunday School event with PRODUCE Wrestling on September 13 in Jersey City, New Jersey:
- ACTION Tag Team Championship – The Infantry (Carlie Bravo & Capt. Shawn Dean) vs. Top Team (Jay Lucas & Terry Yaki) (c)
Full Card for NJPW G1 Climax 2026 Finals
Britt Baker AEW Abscense & Potential Return Plans
Ilja Dragunov Reportedly Departing From WWE
