Mustafa Ali

“My name doesn't exactly shout 'babyface.'”

“I feel it's a lot easier to hate or dislike someone that you see as different. It is a lot harder to hate them when you see they are just the exact same as you.”

“I feel comfortable in the air, me as a person. I feel very in control of my body. You can toss me from the weirdest angle. I just know where I'm at. I don't even know how to explain it.”

“Sometimes you have to create your own chance.”

“What happened was like any guy on the indie scene - I've been wrestling for 16 years; everybody thinks I'm this new, young. I'm like, 'I'm 32. I've been at it for 16 years. I just couldn't get to the next level.'”

“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.”

“My daughter's absolute go-to is Sasha Banks. However, we did do the 'Dance Break' one time in Chicago, so she keeps talking about Carmella.”

“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 was like, 'Hey, I love highflying. I love lucha libre. Can I just put on a mask and pass myself off as a luchador?' Everyone was like, 'You're going to do what you want to do,' so that's what I did for the first four or five years. I just put on a mask and pretended to be this luchador.”

“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.”

“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.”

“Everyone in the world, regardless if they're Muslim or not, does not have to adhere to the label society slaps on you.”

“If anything, who I am and my background helped propel me and helped me stand out.”

“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.”

“At a young age, I was very aware I was different and not perceived in a good way. For a lot of my adolescence, I struggled with that, trying to identify where I belong and who my real friends are.”

“I always knew I wanted to be a pro wrestler for as long as I can remember.”

“A lot of people will comment, 'All the high flying will catch up to you.' I think any form of wrestling will catch up to you.”

“I still hold that pen; I still write my own story. So it's going to take a whole lot more than Samoa Joe running me over. And it's going to take more than Randy Orton kicking my face in. It's going to take more than Erick Rowan slamming my head through a table. You guys keep trying to put me down, but I will not stay down.”

“I do this maneuver, my finishing maneuver. It's called the 054, and it's a 450 splash, but it's going backwards. I know my opponents aren't going to be thrilled to hear this, but I don't know what I'm doing up there. I literally close my eyes, and I just jump, and my body just takes over, and thankfully I haven't hurt anybody.”

“I am the guy who always gets put in the tough spots. I'm the guy who gets put in these really dark spots, yet somehow, I shine through.”