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Mustafa Ali entered Total Nonstop Action Wrestling’s (TNA) Slammiversary event not knowing who would answer the call for his open challenge for the International Championship.
Ali told her followers on social media that TNA’s Director of Operations, Daria Rae, would make the announcement at the Slammiversary pre-show. Ali decided he wasn’t going to wait any longer and came to the ring during the pre-show.
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Mustafa Ali enters the arena during Showdown at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Fla., on October 7, 2025. (Kevin Sabitus/WWE via Getty Images)
As Rae was about to share the news with Ali, TNA Authority Director Santino Marella interrupted her. Marella and Rae both said they had opponents for Ali, making the open challenge a triple threat match instead of a one-on-one affair.
Ali’s first opponent was revealed to be Rich Swann. Then Uhaa Nation made his debut for TNA. Nation was known as Apollo Crews when he was in WWE. Nation was an Intercontinental Champion and United States Champion while in WWE. Nation dumped Ali out of the ring and turned his focus to Swann to start the match.
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Mustafa Ali will make his NXT debut at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Fla. on September 30, 2025. (Bradlee Rutledge/WWE)
Ali really had to dig in and try to fend off both the strength and agility of his competitors. But he got help from Order 4 members Tasha Steelz and Special Agent Zero. The two distracted Nation as he tried to put the finishing touches on Swann.
Zero took out Nation and that allowed Ali to take advantage of the one-on-one matchup inside the ring. Ali avoided Swann and rolled him up with a backslide pin and a bridge. The referee counted to three and it was Ali’s night to celebrate.
Ali’s International Championship tenure is his first since joining the company in 2024. He entered and won the X Division Championship and was named X Division Star of the Year in his first year there.
Uhaa Nation, formerly known as Apollo Crews, makes his debut on Monday Night RAW at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas on March 4, 2024. (Craig Ambrosio/WWE)
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Since then, Ali has put Order 4 by his side and he hasn’t been on the losing end of his fights much. He won the TNA International Championship against Trey Miguel at Rebellion in Cleveland in April and hasn’t looked back.
