WWE shortens Mustafa Ali’s name

Mustafa Ali is the latest to have his name shortened.

WWE.com updated Mustafa Ali’s bio page this afternoon, shortening his name to just Ali. Any mention of his former first name has been dropped, so it is likely going forward he will only be going by his last name.

He had returned recently on television after being out a few weeks last month due to a concussion. As fate would have it, his injury actually was the catalyst for Kofi Kingston to enter the main event scene on SmackDown. He replaced Ali as part of a gauntlet match to determine who would enter last in the Elimination Chamber. Although he didn’t win the match, nor did he win in the actual Elimination Chamber itself, his performances connected with the crowd.

Ali is not the first to have his name changed once he was brought up to SmackDown. Otis (Dozovic), Tucker (Knight), (Luke) Harper, (Erik) Rowan and Andrade (Cien Almas) also had longer names before they were shortened.