Adeel Alam (born March 28, 1986) better known by his ring name Mustafa Ali (/ˈmʌstəfə/ MUH-stə-fə), is an American professional wrestler.

Adeel Alam[3] was born on March 28, 1986, in Bolingbrook, Illinois,[2][4] to an Indian mother from New Delhi, and a Pakistani father from Karachi.

[10] Alam wanted to be a wrestler since his youth, idolizing first Bret Hart and later also Eddie Guerrero, Rey Mysterio, Hardy Boyz, Chris Jericho, and Hayabusa.

[12] On June 25, 2016, after Brazilian wrestler Zumbi was not able to participate in the Cruiserweight Classic tournament due to visa issues, WWE announced that Mustafa Ali would replace him.

[14] Ali appeared on the October 26 episode of NXT, where he and Dorado entered the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, but were eliminated by Kota Ibushi and TJ Perkins in the first round.

[15] On the December 13 episode of 205 Live, Ali made his debut for the brand, as a face wrestling Lince Dorado to a double countout.

[16] On January 23, 2017, Ali made his Raw debut, teaming with Jack Gallagher and TJ Perkins to defeat Ariya Daivari, Drew Gulak, and Tony Nese.

[20] In February 2018, Ali began participating in the Cruiserweight Championship tournament; he defeated Gentleman Jack Gallagher in the first round,[21] Buddy Murphy in the quarterfinals,[22] and Drew Gulak in the semi-finals to advance to the final at the WrestleMania 34.

[27] On the October 31 episode of 205 Live, Ali defeated Tony Nese to become the number one contender for the Cruiserweight Championship,[28] but failed to win the title from Buddy Murphy at Survivor Series.

[29] During his time in 205 Live, Ali gained the attention of WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, who decided to put him on the SmackDown brand.

[41] According to Ali, he was originally booked to win the match, but before making his entrance to the ring, was instructed by Vince McMahon to not obtain the briefcase.

[45] In August, Ali competed in the King of the Ring tournament, where he defeated Buddy Murphy in the first round,[46] but lost to Elias in the quarterfinals.

[54] After moving to the Raw brand, Ali later began competing on WWE Main Event, trading victories in matches over the likes of Ricochet and Akira Tozawa.

In June, Ali began a storyline with Mansoor, trying to convince him that the rest of WWE superstars were "backstabbers", "would do anything just to get ahead", and "cheaters",[58] leading to a match at Crown Jewel, where he was defeated.

[62] On the May 2, broadcast of Raw, Mustafa Ali yet again interrupted Miz TV and requested a United States Championship shot.

Ali made a surprise return on the May 30 episode of NXT, appearing in the crowd just before North American Champion Wes Lee and Tyler Bate teamed up against The Dyad (Jagger Reid and Rip Fowler).

[64] On January 6, 2024, Ali made his first post-WWE appearance at Association les Professionnels du Catch's (APC) 20th Anniversary show, defeating Aigle Blanc.

[66][67][68] On February 18, Ali made his debut for Revolution Pro Wrestling (RevPro) at High Stakes, in a winning effort against Robbie X.

On January 13, 2024 at Battle in the Valley, Ali made his New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) debut in a pre-taped vignette, challenging Hiromu Takahashi to a match at Windy City Riot on April 12.

[71] On the January 23, 2025 episode of Impact!, Ali returned to TNA, where he interrupted Mike Santana and announced that had signed a contract with the promotion.

[77][78][79] After leaving WWE, Ali began a new gimmick, where he portrayed a politician and would walk around with bodyguards dressed as members of the United States Secret Service.

[81] He was the subject of a 2009 documentary focusing on issues that Muslim wrestlers face when booked as villainous characters and stereotyped as terrorists.

"[85] Alam spent four years serving as a police officer in Homewood, Illinois, a suburb south of Chicago, in order to support his family before being signed to WWE.