A Quote by Mustafa Ali

There's a level of exposure that 'Smackdown' and 'Raw' get that other brands like 'NXT,' 'NXT UK,' and '205 Live' do not get. But at the same time, I feel like I would not be who I am without '205 Live.'
I think '205 Live' is the ultimate underdog story. This isn't a knock on any other brands; you have your stars on 'Raw,' you have your stars on 'SmackDown Live,' and I almost feel like NXT already has this amazing face to continue building stars, but '205 Live,' that is not the case. There is no foundation. We are not capitalizing off of stars.
I do believe that Raw, SmackDown, and NXT are the three brands, and I think that people can come from Raw or SmackDown to NXT, and I think that people from NXT can go to Raw or SmackDown. It's very interchangeable.
I wanted to be a part of WWE and part of NXT first, as, if I went to 'Raw' or 'SmackDown' right away, I would always wonder what NXT would have been like.
I will always rep '205 Live.' I will always support '205 Live.' I will always be the heart of '205 Live.' I will always be watching because you will never know when the heart of '205 Live' will beat again.
A different demographic of people watch NXT compared to Raw and Smackdown; NXT is followed by the real knowledgeable, hardcore internet audience, whereas the main shows have a more family feel.
I just look at like, if I'm doing 200 plus dates a year on the road with Raw or SmackDown, or I'm doing a manageable load of 30 to 50 matches with NXT - I can do four years of that in the time that I do one year on Raw or SmackDown.
I can compete anywhere. I can compete on 'Raw,' on 'SmackDown,' on 'Main Event.' I can compete on 205 Live if they want me to.
Any time guys move to 'Raw' and 'SmackDown,' I think that is what has kept NXT so relevant and has kept the fans so invested because they are now conditioned that whoever leaves or comes in, NXT, as a product, is going to give really exciting sports entertainment every time.
I didn't feel that I was ready to leave NXT. When I was called up to SmackDown, I was very nervous. I hadn't done many of the things at NXT that I thought I was supposed to. I didn't have a TakeOver match. I never held the title. I only had a few matches on NXT TV and to be called up and told, 'Well, here you go!'
The atmosphere we get with NXT and NXT fans, they're a die-hard group. They care deeply about NXT.
For a long time, we had Raw and SmackDown, and there wasn't really anything else. The NXT Universe kinda opened up channels for wrestlers to come in from the independent circuits, like myself.
I don't know that I like the idea of having NXT television superstars in the crowd. I don't want to have people from Raw and SmackDown in the crowd while I'm wrestling.
The main thing is that everything is taped at Full Sail. It is kind of like competing on home turf every time in terms of the tapings and specials. The main roster travels, I am in Hartford for live Smackdown, then head to Edmonton and Calgary and Denver. It is travel travel travel. NXT is more stationary.
I have had way more opportunity on 'Smackdown Live' than I ever did at NXT.
The way '205 Live' came about, there was a lot of trust put into our roster. Because if you look at it, the majority of our roster had not been in the developmental system and NXT. And the majority of us had not been on TV prior to that. So for WWE to trust us and literally hire us and throw us on live TV, it was very, 'Whoa!'
I always say that one of my main goals - I look up to the Four Horsewomen. When I was in NXT, I remember just looking at the Four Horsewomen and standing in in the locker room thinking like, Wow, they used to be here in the same spot that I'm at, and now they're on Raw, and they're on SmackDown. They're doing these amazing things.
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