Mustafa Ali recently appeared on “Chasing Glory With Lilian Garcia”. During the interview, he discussed his nervous feelings heading into Wrestlemania 34 and who calmed him down prior to his match. Here are the highlights:
On Being Nervous Prior To His Match Against Cedric Alexander At Wrestlemania 34:
The one time it really got to me was WrestleMania 34. It was a pre-show match, but still, it’s WrestleMania, and they told me there’s like 2 million viewers on the pre-show and they told me that John Cena is going to be watching ringside so try to do your best. It’s all this stuff. It’s the Cruiserweight Championship with me and Cedric Alexander in New Orleans, Louisiana. I was having anxiety, and there was a moment with 10-15 minutes before we were up and I was wearing a new debut costume, everything was ready in my head, and I don’t want to say it was a panic attack, but the anxiety got to me and I was freaking out.
On Referee Jason Ayers Being Able To Calm Him Down:
I told [Ayers] that it is getting to me and I start going on about me; what if I screw up? What if I fall? What if I choke? He looked at me dead in the eye and he said that this was the first time he has ever heard me talk about myself. He said, ‘You know that you are about to go out there and kill it for your family: for your daughter, for your son, so that you can get this money and you can take care of them and also what you stand for. For your message and everything that you are fighting for is right now, so get your head in the game.’ He may have used some expletives in there too but when he said that it was like, absolutely.
I don’t think I even thanked him I just walked away and went straight into autopilot and had a WrestleMania moment, and even though I didn’t win the Cruiserweight Championship, but maybe next year, we’ll see. That is the only time where the pressure got to me after 16 years of wrestling.
You can listen to the full episode of “Chasing Glory” featuring Mustafa Ali below:
Credit: Chasing Glory With Lilian Garcia. H/T WrestlingInc.
