Quotes from Mustafa Ali

I am from Chicago, but my dad is from Karachi, Pakistan, and my mom is from New Delhi, India. So, I've got a little Paki-Indie fusion going on here.

I'm a proud Muslim. I'm proud to have a Pakistani origin. And I want this country to accept me. I want to bring to light the fact that we are all the same.

I feel like a lot of Indian fans don't know about my Indian background, so it's funny online that a lot of fans call me this Pakistani dude. No, I'm Indian, too.

My name doesn't exactly shout 'babyface.'

I did not want people to know that I was a Muslim; I did not want people to know my name or that I did not have an American name. I did not want that. Because I knew if they knew that, they would cast me as the bad guy.

I've always had faith in my ring ability, but sometimes it's how you are perceived, and how good you are doesn't matter.

I want to change how people perceived me when I came over here, change how the people perceive South-East Asians or Middle Eastern or Muslim or Hindu or whatever their identity is. I want them to just let that go and treat the performer as a performer.

If there is ever a crew that goes out every night behind the eight-ball and have their work cut out for them to be respectable, it's the '205 Live' guys.

I feel comfortable in the air, me as a person. I feel very in control of my body. You can toss me from the weirdest angle. I just know where I'm at. I don't even know how to explain it.

There are no limitations. There are no barriers. Nothing can stop you, and nothing can define you but you.

I didn't get targeted in high school for being a Muslim - it wasn't that - but I always felt like an outsider in that sense.

Instead of pondering about what if or what could have been, I'm just going to go out there and do.

I think it's something much bigger than just pro wrestling and the industry I work in. It's across all media. You look at Hollywood movies: there's not the Muslim hero or the guy who looks like me and has a name like mine who is portrayed in a positive manner or in a leading role. So, growing up, I didn't have a role model that looks like me.

The main events of '205 Live' are always among the discussion as far as top acts of the week in the world.

I feel it's a lot easier to hate or dislike someone that you see as different. It is a lot harder to hate them when you see they are just the exact same as you.

It doesn't matter if there are 500 people in the stands or 50,000 people, the '205 Live' guys stick to the script and tear it down each night.

One of the funny lines that Daniel Bryan said in a promo is that he made fun of me for driving in an SUV, and he asked why such a small man like myself needs to drive an SUV, but we're standing literally eye to eye, and I'm like, 'Ummm.'

If anything, who I am and my background helped propel me and helped me stand out.

I don't portray a terrorist. The American fans label me a terrorist. It doesn't matter what I claim to be: in their eyes, I am whatever they say I am despite the fact that I'm not committing any 'acts of terror.' I ask you, how am I portraying a terrorist? Because I look like a Muslim?

A lot of people will comment, 'All the high flying will catch up to you.' I think any form of wrestling will catch up to you.

My dad is really the reason I have this hard work ethic. I can fully remember him leaving home at 5 o'clock in the morning and not coming back until midnight.

I do this maneuver, my finishing maneuver. It's called the 054, and it's a 450 splash, but it's going backwards. I know my opponents aren't going to be thrilled to hear this, but I don't know what I'm doing up there. I literally close my eyes, and I just jump, and my body just takes over, and thankfully I haven't hurt anybody.

My mom said, 'You are reckless, and you need to get married.' And I was like, 'Okay.'

I want the next 16-year-old kid who looks like me to know he's not automatically the bad guy. Hopefully, that kid can look at Mustafa Ali and say, 'Hey, he's not the bad guy, and I don't have to be, either.'