 Estrada in 2007 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Hazem Ali (1976-12-20)December 20, 1976 (age 48)[1][2] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Armando Alejandro Estrada[1][2] Armando Estrada[1][2] Mr. AE[2] Osama[1][2] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)[3] |
| Billed weight | 230 lb (104 kg)[3] |
| Billed from | Cuba[1][4] |
| Trained by | Ohio Valley Wrestling[1] |
| Debut | 2004[2] |
| Retired | 2019 |
Hazem Ali[5][6] (born December 20, 1976)[1][2] is aPalestinian Americanprofessional wrestler andmanager.[5] He is best known by hisring nameArmando Alejandro Estrada orArmando Estrada, who works forWWE.
Ali began hisWWE career wrestling in theirdevelopmental territory,Ohio Valley Wrestling, making his OVW television debut as abodyguard named "Osama" inMuhammad Hassan's entourage. When Hassan andDaivari were called up to the main roster, Ali remained in OVW wrestling with anArab, anti-Americancharacter, similar to that ofThe Iron Sheik, and began wrestling in atag team withDa Beast.[7]
WhenPaul Heyman beganbooking OVW, he expanded Osama's name to "Osama Rodriguez Alejandro", revealing him to actually be halfCuban and halfPalestinian.[5] Along with being an active wrestler he became a backstage interviewer, conductinginterviews with wrestler Robbie Dawber as a sidekick, for his ownstorylineSpanish language version of OVW's television show.[7] At the same time, he began a storyline campaign to be elected "Dictator ofKentucky", which he intended to rename "Los Kentuckos",[5] often coming to the ring with a placard reading "Bote for Lalo", purposely misspelling "Vote", based on his pronunciation and utilizing his nickname at the time: "Big Lalo".[2]
In April 2006, Ali was called up to the mainWWE roster and placed on theRawbrand. He debuted on the April 3, 2006 edition ofRaw as "Armando Alejandro Estrada", a Cuban businessman, and theheelmanager for the also debutingUmaga. Estrada was given a backstory where his immediate family exploited its ties withFidel Castro to live in commodity, while the rest of Havana (and even his uncle Manuel) lived in poverty.[8] His debut saw him mockingRic Flair, saying he was too old to still be in the business and promising to bring about a new hero (Umaga).[9] Estrada led Umaga in afeud against Flair until theBacklash pay-per-view at the end of the month, where Umaga dispatched Flair.[10]
Following the feud with Flair, Umaga began a period ofsquashingjobbers,[11][12] before and after which Estrada would cut promos about his charge's greatness. During this time, he stopped introducing himself beforepromos, as his use of longrolling r's and a short "ha ha" laugh was beginning to get him cheered instead of booed. On top of this, his name was simplified to Armando Estrada.[13]
At August'sSummerSlam, Estrada offered the undefeated Umaga's services toThe McMahons (Vince andShane) to "take out" theirD-Generation X (Shawn Michaels andTriple H) (DX) opponents during theirtag team match.[14] As Umaga attempted to deliver on Estrada's promise, however, he was attacked byKane.[15] Kane and Umaga feuded for two months,[16][17] with Kane attacking Estrada on at least one occasion.[18] The feud seemingly came to an end when, on the October 9, 2006Raw, Estrada's interference helped Umaga defeat Kane in aLoser LeavesRaw match.[19]
During December, Umaga, and thus Estrada, began a feud withJohn Cena over theWWE Championship.[20] In the opening stages Estrada inserted himself into matches and confrontations with the two, leading toVince McMahon's executive assistantJonathan Coachman signing a match between Estrada and Cena. Before the match Estrada attempted to buy Cena off (offering him a box ofCohibas, his watch, and finally cash) only to have him refuse. The resulting match was asquash, with Cena winning with his signatureFU (later called "Attitude Adjustment").[21]
In February 2007, he managed Umaga to his first title, theIntercontinental Championship,[22] and stood beside him during his partnership withVince McMahon and feud withBobby Lashley.[23] As the Umaga and Lashley feud intensified, Lashley targeted Estrada after being banned from putting his hands on Umaga, Vince, or Shane McMahon outside of official matches; on the May 8 episode ofECW on Sci Fi, Lashley shoved a wheelchair-using Estrada down a ramp into a collection of garbage cans, in what turned out to be Estrada's last appearance (except for one cameo) for months.[24] Estrada was written off television after the WWE creative team decided that there was too many people at ringside for the Umaga-Lashley match atWrestleMania 23.[25]
On August 14, 2007, during the broadcast of ‘‘ECW on Sci Fi’’, Armando Estrada was officially appointed as the General Manager of WWE'sECWbrand.[26] In this capacity, Estrada’s on-screen character was vested with authoritative control over match bookings, talent management, and the overall operational narrative of the ECW brand within WWE’s scripted programming.
In early 2008, a storyline was developed involving Estrada andColin Delaney, anindependent wrestler portrayed as an underdog competing without an official WWE contract.[27] Exercising his (storyline) executive authority, Estrada subjected Delaney to a series of matches against a range of significantly larger and more experienced opponents, includingThe Big Show and the then-ECW ChampionChavo Guerrero Jr.[28] Estrada stipulated that Delaney would earn a WWE contract only upon securing a victory against these opponents.
The narrative arc culminated on the May 6, 2008, episode of ‘‘ECW on Sci Fi’’, where Delaney defeated Estrada in a singles match, thereby fulfilling the conditions to receive an official WWE contract.[29] The following week, Estrada announced that he had added himself to the ECW roster as an active competitor.[30] In his debut match as an official ECW wrestler, he secured a victory over Delaney, furthering their ongoing storyline.
On June 3, 2008, Estrada was removed from his position as General Manager during an episode of ‘‘ECW on Sci Fi’’, withTheodore Long announced as his replacement.[31] The (storyline) justification provided was that the WWE Board of Directors deemed it financially imprudent to compensate Estrada for both his managerial and wrestling roles.
Subsequently, Estrada’s character was depicted as striving to secure a wrestler’s contract, which parallels the earlier challenges he himself imposed on Delaney.[32] During this period, he was primarily utilized as a “jobber,” which saw him lose matches to both established and debuting wrestlers while attempting to earn his contract within the storyline framework.
On the August 5, 2008, episode of ‘‘ECW on Sci Fi’’, Delaney aided Estrada in defeatingTommy Dreamer, allowing Estrada to (storyline) win his contract.[33] His final televised appearance occurred on the August 12, 2008, episode, where he was defeated byFinlay.[34]
On November 18, 2008, WWE officially announced Estrada’s release from his contract, concluding his tenure with the company after months of inactivity.[35]
Following his WWE release, Ali returned to theindependent circuit.[25] On January 3, 2009, Ali, wrestling under his Armando Alejandro Estrada ring name, teamed withElijah Burke in a losing effort againstThunder and Lightning for theWorld Tag Team Championship at theWorld Wrestling Council's event Euphoria.[36] Before this, he also managedTeam 3D in a match for the titles, which Thunder and Lightning won.[37] On March 21 at Great Lakes Championship Wrestling's event, Two Worlds...Two Sweet, Ali, under the ring name "Mr. AE", defeatedAl Snow for the GLCW Heavyweight Championship.[36] On October 12, 2012 at a PWS Event, Estrada faced Jim Duggan in a losing effort. On October 20, 2012 at a Great Lakes Championship Wrestling's event, AE lost the GLCW Heavyweight Championship toRobbie E in a 3-way match. on December 1, 2012 at a Great Lakes Championship Wrestling's event, AE teamed withBilly Gunn andJay Bradley to faceToo Cool (Scotty 2 Hotty,Grand Master Sexay) andRikishi in a six-man tag team match in a losing effort. He retired in 2013.
Estrada re-signed with WWE in December 2010, but wouldn't be used until the May 26, 2011 episode ofWWE Superstars, when he returned as the manager ofTyson Kidd. Estrada had shed his previous image (including the Estrada character's previous accent), instead being presented as more of a professional businessman. The union proved to be brief, as Kidd's hunt for the right manager continued the following week. Although he was not seen on television again, Estrada actually remained contracted until June 26, 2012, before being let go by WWE, officially on July 2, 2012.[38]
In March 2019, Estrada made his return to professional wrestling with a role as manager ofJacob Fatu, nephew of former client Umaga.[39]
In September 2024, Estrada signed a legends contract with WWE.[40]
After his first departure from WWE, Estrada opened a restaurant, "Baby's Steak and Lemonade," inGlendale, Arizona.[25] The restaurant has since closed.[6]
He appeared in aCypress Hill music video in 2010. He speaks fluentArabic.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)initially introducing himself as Arrrmando Alejandrrro Estrrrada until it proved too popular and was scrapped
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