Mustafa Ali publicly requested his release from WWE on Sunday, less than two weeks ahead of the Royal Rumble event.

"I have a message that is much bigger than my dreams in pro wrestling. Despite my best efforts, I will not be able to deliver this message while working with WWE. Therefore, I am requesting my release from WWE," Ali wrote.

Ali, 35, has been with WWE since 2016. He was initially signed as part of an emphasis on the cruiserweight division, eventually drawing the attention of upper management for a main-roster push. While it seemed at several points that WWE was pushing Ali to the top of the card—he was originally supposed to win Money in the Bank in 2019 before Brock Lesnar was booked in that spot—he never received a chance at consistent upper-card status.

The beginning of the end for Ali's tenure in WWE was likely the failed Retribution stable, which bludgeoned the momentum of every member. Ali, Dominik Dijakovic, Dio Maddin, Mercedes Martinez and Mia Yim are all highly touted wrestlers who were thrown into gimmicks that never got off the ground. Ali was the only member of the group to not undergo a name change.

Since the disbandment of Retribution, Ali's been an inconsistent fixture on television. He was thrown into a tag team, later turned feud, with Mansoor ahead of last year's Crown Jewel event in Saudia Arabia. Once Ali and Mansoor blew off their feud at the Saudi event, he was essentially written off television. 

It's unclear what pursuits Ali wants to do outside of wrestling he feels cannot be done in WWE. He has been an outspoken advocate of police reform and several other social justice issues. 

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