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A busted face wasn’t enough to keep Mustafa Ali out of the show closing angle from last Tuesday’s SmackDown. But mounting injuries will apparently keep him out of the biggest match of his career - the WWE title match at Elimination Chamber this upcoming Sun., Feb. 17.
Fightful broke the news. Ali was apparently working through a tailbone injury, which he aggravated at Royal Rumble. Then on the Feb. 5 SmackDown, a Randy Orton boot gave him a nasty shiner. They’re not sure what happened at Sun. Feb 10’s house show in Fort Wayne, Indiana, but Fightful says another existing issue was “accelerated” there and “he’s likely not to be cleared for action all week long.”
WWE will blame the injury on Orton in-story. There is no indication WWE has settled on a replacement for Mustafa in match for Daniel Bryan’s championship. Samoa Joe, Jeff Hardy, AJ Styles and the Viper are still set to enter the Chamber at Houston’s Toyota Center on Sunday night.
Bad news for Ali, but if he’s really that banged up, rest is probably for the best. It’s also a big opportunity for another SmackDown Superstar.
Who will it be? When will Mustafa be cleared?
Stay tuned.