Report: "Heated Argument" With Vince McMahon Preceded Mustafa Ali's Absence

Mustafa Ali announced earlier on Sunday that he had requested his release from WWE. The announcement comes after a several-month absence from WWE events for Ali.

A new report from Fightful Select indicates that Ali's absence was apparently preceded by an argument with Vince McMahon.

In November, Ali posted a video of a proposed character vignette to his social media, depicting himself speaking at a faux political rally about a "New America". Fightful's report notes that the character was initially accepted by WWE, before, "those in power in WWE changed their mind."

The report goes on to say that in place of that angle, there was a pitch from McMahon for, "something Mustafa Ali would never have done." The pitch led to what's been termed a "heated argument" between McMahon and Ali, and Ali hasn't been around since.

In late November, Ali and his wife welcomed their third child, leading some to believe that his absence was due to paternity leave. Fightful's report, however, claims that Ali only requested one date off for paternity leave, and he's been available to be used since early December.

It is not known if WWE has released, or will release, Ali. As it stands, Ali's most recent match took place on the October 29 SmackDown, a quick loss to Drew McIntyre.