Former WWE Star Cedric Alexander Discusses 'Wrestling Soul Mate'

Across his 17-year in-ring career, Cedric Alexander has crossed paths with wrestlers from all over the world. Only a handful have created true magic with him, however.

While speaking with "Casual Conversations with The Classic," Alexander pinpointed those names as fellow TNA talents Mustafa Ali and Leon Slater as well as AEW's Buddy Matthews. Ali is considered his ultimate squared circle counterpart.

"To me, [reuniting with Ali in TNA] was a dream come true because there was a point where him or I never thought we were together again," Alexander said. "There was a point where it's like we pull the trigger or we don't. It's either now or never. We got to get it out. And I was like, man, I can't pass this up. Being in the ring with Ali is always a cakewalk. He's my wrestling soul mate. I'll go ahead and say that. There's a handful of guys in wrestling that I will put on that tier of like you put me on a card with them, I'm going to steal the show every time. On that list would be Buddy Matthews, Mustafa Ali, and Leon Slater."

Alexander and Ali first clashed under the WWE banner as a part of the "205 Live" brand, which primarily showcased cruiserweights, in 2017. Across the next six years, they'd share the ring on a dozen more occasions, one of which saw them vie for the vacant Cruiserweight Championship on the WWE WrestleMania 34 pre-show. Following their respective WWE departures in 2023 and 2025, Ali and Alexander later rekindled their in-ring chemistry at the 2025 TNA Slammiversary event.

According to Alexander, his connection with Ali can partially be attributed to their shared mentalities about their "205 Live" performances.

"It was the, 'Hey, if no one's going to take this thing and run with it, let's do it,'" Alexander said. "There was that time when 205 kind of had a dip with some troubles backstage and whatnot. Ali and I, without really making a formal announcement, just kind of said, 'Hey, we're going to go ahead and make them realize that [cruiserweights] ain't nothing to sleep on.'

"I remember there was that match that we had on 205 Live. It was right after the Royal Rumble. I think that was the turning point in 205 where we kind of took the bull by the horns and said, hey, we got to make this work; it's do or die. If we got to die making this work, we'll do it."

Alexander and Ali's first "205 Live" encounter took place in the midst of a five-way match to determine the number one contender to the WWE Cruiserweight Championship in February 2017. Jack Gallagher emerged victorious on that occasion. The following year, Alexander and Ali finally met one-on-one just days ahead of the 2018 Royal Rumble premium live event.

In the present day, Alexander resides as the TNA X-Division Champion, while simultaneously serving as a member of The System. Ali leads his own faction — Order 4 — while also maintaining his status as TNA's International Champion. Last month, they shared the ring once more, this time on the same side, for the Men's Champions Challenge tag match on "Thursday Night Impact." 

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Casual Conversations with The Classic" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.