On this week’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown , viewers at home got their first glimpse of the hooded individual that has been responsible for the random glitches on recent episodes of the blue brand’s show. While WWE has yet to confirm this person’s identity, a number of wrestlers have been linked to the mysterious new role, including one superstar who hasn’t been seen on SmackDown for quite some time — Mustafa Ali.
As seen in this YouTube clip, the latest SmackDown glitches appeared on Friday as Dolph Ziggler and Heavy Machinery member Tucker were in the middle of their singles match, with the words “the truth will be heard” flashing on the screen. The hooded figure then appeared on the Titantron, telling everyone to pay attention and repeating the aforementioned catchphrase before he hit a button on his keyboard. This triggered a series of clips showing how Sonya Deville was the one who had sabotaged longtime friend Mandy Rose’s romance with Tucker’s Heavy Machinery teammate Otis.
According to Ringside News , there appears to be some evidence to back up the various “online rumors” that have hinted that Ali is the person behind the glitches. These include the design of his hand light, which closely matches the circular pattern that was visible on this week’s segment. As further pointed out, Ali’s character has “always wanted to be the truth,” which is consistent with how the perpetrator of the glitches is trying to “expose injustice.”
“The truth will be heard…” #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/ojuCuacIoB
— WWE India (@WWEIndia) April 4, 2020
On March 17, the same “the truth will be heard” catchphrase had appeared on WWE’s Twitter account, with the words appearing upside-down in a post that was soon deleted. As previously reported by The Inquisitr , there was some talk that Matt Hardy — who had become a free agent on March 1 — was the person behind the bizarre social media update. However, Hardy’s debut on All Elite Wrestling that very same week quickly put the kibosh on rumors that WWE was bringing him back less than three weeks after his contract expired.
There have been other names suggested for the man behind the mysterious glitches, including WWE newcomer Killer Kross and current Impact Wrestling star Sami Callihan (formerly Solomon Crowe on NXT). However, Ali’s long absence from WWE television could lend credence to the rumors linking him to the new role, as the company sometimes keeps its wrestlers off TV for weeks in order to properly relaunch them under a new gimmick.
Per ProFightDB , Ali’s last TV match took place on the December 13, 2019, episode of SmackDown , where he and Shorty G lost to The Revival. He has since been used exclusively in untelevised “dark” matches, winning a string of bouts against Drew Gulak and Apollo Crews in January and February.