Mustafa Ali suspects Bryan was responsible for his call up

[héad.casé]

"I literally come to the arena and initially, it was, 'hey, you're not working 205 tonight.' And I knew that because I had been talking to the writer before and I was told, like, 'hey, you're going to have a few weeks off because we don't have anything for you on 205.' I'm thinking I have the next three or four weeks off and probably in the new year I'll be doing something, so I'm kind of showing up at TV, just hanging out and they were like, 'hey, you're working SmackDown tonight.' 'Oh, okay.' 'And you're working Daniel Bryan, and you have a promo with him too, and it's three segments.' I'm like, 'okay,' and I'm kind of blowing off this writer, like, 'okay, yeah, yeah.' And he was like, 'no, I'm being serious. They need you right now. Like, go. Go.'"

"I'm like, 'is he confusing me for somebody? What is going on?' Then I find out and I'm told that day, 'it's just a one-time deal. We kind of want to see what happens with it. We're going to give 205 the rub and Bryan wants to work with you,' so I was obviously honored and I went out there and I did my thing. I was told it was a one-time deal. 'Okay, cool.' The next week, 'hey, when you get in, go see Road Dogg, Brian James.' And Road Dogg's the one that tells me. He's like, 'hey, we're taking you off of 205. You're on SmackDown now and you're teaming with AJ Styles tonight and you guys are working the main event again against Andrade and Daniel Bryan. And you're getting the win on Bryan.' I don't know if it was a test. I don't know if it was, 'let's just throw him in the water and see what happens, not just the water, the deep end.' I don't know."

"I'll never put words in anyone's mouth, but there are so many inclinations that I'm having that Bryan had more to say about it than he's letting on. I mean, just for a guy to get plucked out of 205 and I get put with him in a program and he's attacking me backstage after my second or third week on SmackDown. It's all very him. Do you know what I mean? And, man, what a guy to learn from. I have nothing but good things to say about him, but he'll never come out and say it to me, I don't think. I have a feeling he is more involved than he's letting on."

Source: Talk is Jericho