On the December 13 episode of "205 Live", Ali made his debut for the brand, wrestling Lince Dorado to a double countout. On January 23, 2017, Ali made his "Raw" debut, teamed with Jack Gallagher and TJ Perkins to defeat Ariya Daivari, Drew Gulak, and Tony Nese. Ali began feuding with Drew Gulak, when Gulak began his "No Fly Zone" campaign on "205 Live". The feud culminated in a two-out-of-three falls match on July 18 episode of "205 Live", which Ali won. In February 2018, Ali began participating in the Cruiserweight Championship tournament; he defeated Gentleman Jack Gallagher in the first round, Buddy Murphy in the quarterfinals, and Drew Gulak in the semi-finals to advance to the final at the WrestleMania 34. At WrestleMania on April 8, Ali lost to Cedric Alexander, failed to win the WWE Cruiserweight Championship. Ali then started a rivalry with Hideo Itami, who interfered in his match against Buddy Murphy. On the August 7 episode of "205 Live", Ali lost to Itami and collapsed afterwards, rendering him out of action for a short time. On the October 24 episode of "205 Live", Ali defeated Itami in a falls count anywhere match to end the feud. On the October 31 episode of "205 Live", Ali defeated Tony Nese to become the number one contender for the Cruiserweight Championship, but failed to win the title from Buddy Murphy at Survivor Series.