Why Mustafa Ali Should Win the WWE NXT North American Championship

At NXT Heatwave, Ethan Page retained the NXT North American Championship in a great match against Tavion Heights. Once the match was over, a video played. The current AAA Latin American Champion, El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr., wanted a shot at his title. On September 30, 2025, the episode of NXT, Ethan Page wanted to meet him face-to-face.

A car pulled up to the NXT parking lot, and a man got out. Instead of his theme music playing, Mustafa Ali’s music echoed throughout the arena. He entered the ring and told Page he deserved a title shot. He said two years ago to the day, he was supposed to fight Dominik Mysterio for the belt at No Mercy. However, he got released the week prior. He doesn’t just deserve the title shot; he deserves to win the belt for himself and for TNA.

Ali Needs Redemption for What Was Taken Away

Ali made his return to NXT on the May 30, 2023, episode of NXT. Over the next several months, he got key wins while getting over with the NXT crowd. However, his run sadly got cut short by mass releases on September 30. That wasn’t going to be his first time competing for the title. He initially lost in a triple threat match versus Mysterio and Wes Lee at Great American Bash. Rhea Ripley interfered, causing Mysterio to retain. At No Mercy, he was going to face Mysterio one-on-one for the title until his release.

Not only did he lose his first shot under suspicious circumstances, but his second shot was taken away from him without warning. For two years, he has been waiting for this moment to arrive. Winning the NXT North American Championship at NXT Showdown would be a full-circle moment for Ali.

TNA Deserves a Wrestler Winning an NXT Title

NXT and TNA have been evenly matched in terms of singles matches throughout their partnership. What’s obvious, though, is NXT wrestlers winning and keeping the top TNA belts. Trick Williams is the current TNA World Champion. Jacy Jayne held the TNA Knockouts World Championship, while Kelani Jordan holds the belt right now. TNA wrestlers are rightfully angry about their belts being stolen. NXT has held TNA belts hostage, so it’s time for TNA to do the same to them.

Since July, the only time they held the belts was when Ash By Elegance held the TNA Knockouts World Championship for 33 days. That’s highly unfair to them, and that’s why Ali should capture the NXT North American Championship. Given his motivation, Ali should absolutely be the first person to do that. The way TNA gets even in the partnership is to let their wrestlers win NXT’s titles.

The First Person To Balance The Partnership Should Be Ali

When WWE released Ali in September 2023, many fans were shocked. He was having success in his NXT run. Not only that, but he was going to face Dominik Mysterio for the NXT North American Championship. Releasing someone with an upcoming title match is not a good thing to do. For two years, he held that in the back of his mind. That’s why when he made his NXT return, he went straight to Page. Even if the NXT and TNA partnership hadn’t broken down, he deserved the title shot for a legitimate reason.