Mustafa Ali’s new campaign begins.
TNA Wrestling held their first live show in 2025 and it was packed with a few surprises. One of those surprises saw the return of former X-Division Champion Mustafa Ali. That came at the expense of Mike Santana, who first declared that he was going to capture the TNA World title in 2025.
The smug and arrogant politician interrupted Mike’s speech and didn’t look at the TNA star when he first entered. Santana was in the ring during Ali’s new bid for the world title. Ali didn’t look at Santana once, but that devilish smirk towards the end of the segment made it clear that the 38-year-old knew what he was doing the entire time.
Santana vs. Mustafa Ali should be a great feud! And Ali announcing that he’s officially signed to TNA is good news. Though the contract details behind his TNA deal are unknown, TNA has been losing talent left and right for the past couple of months so it’s nice to see top names like Ali return to the promotion.
Ali first made his TNA debut at No Surrender and captured the X-Division Championship on the very first night. He successfully defended the title for 148 days, beating names such as Ace Austin, Jake Something, Trent Seven, and Amazing Red. Once he dropped the title to Mike Bailey, Ali left TNA to focus on his commitments on the independent scene.
It was reported that Ali was backstage at AEW’s All Out show in Chicago and even Ali made a campaign video detailing a meet and greet with fans outside of the arena.
But nothing ever came of Ali in AEW as he never made a television appearance. Ali coming back to TNA was a smart move as he’ll be able to get the spotlight he rightfully deserves. Sadly, he would’ve likely gotten lost in the shuffle within AEW’s huge roster. As previously mentioned, it’s great that his first feud is against Santana and hopefully Ali can add new wrinkles to his politician gimmick.
Welcome back Ali!