Interview: Ali on His Main Roster Call-up and Having Creative Freedom for His Vignettes

Fightful held a recent interview with Ali and some of the topics discussed included his call-up from 205 Live to the main roster and the level of creative freedom he has for his vignettes on SmackDown.

On the topic of his call-up from 205 Live to the main roster, Ali stated that he was not told ahead of time that his appearance on an episode of SmackDown Live last December would be his actual call-up to the main roster.

“There was no advanced notice here. It’s like a recurring theme up here. I had showed up for the Smackdown Live TV taping and was told that night that I would be having that match with Daniel Bryan. And I was assured it was just a one time deal. “One time, you’re still on 205 [Live]. It’s just a one time [deal], but make the most of the opportunity.” And I was just thinking, “Oh, let me use this moment to get some exposure for 205 Live. Maybe I’ll capture the [fans, audience] and bring it over to 205 [Live].” And then the following week I showed up and was told that morning that, “Hey, you’re making the move to Smackdown. You’re teaming with AJ Styles versus Bryan and Cien (Andrade), and you’re on Smackdown now.”

On the topic of the level of creative freedom he has for his vignette segments on SmackDown, Ali stated he has full creative control over the direction and production of his promo videos. The only real input given from Vince McMahon is him asking for a new video to be made whenever its needed.

“They’re mine. A hundred percent mine. They’re not written. They’re not produced. They’re not directed by anything WWE. I showed a few samples Vince McMahon himself, some of the producers, and Vince’s direction was, “If we get involved with it, it’s gonna become its own thing. I like what I see, go out and make it your own.” So he literally tells me when he needs them and I make them. It’s very, very cool that someone’s self-producing, self-writing, self-directing and making their own vignettes.”