WWE SmackDown: Gauntlet Match Huge For Samoa Joe, Mustafa Ali
WWE SmackDown will have a Gauntlet Match on the go-home show before the Elimination Chamber, just like Raw did last year. Seth Rollins was THE standout in last year’s Gauntlet Match on Monday night, and perhaps Mustafa Ali could have a similar performance…before running into Samoa Joe.
Mustafa Ali has established himself as one of the biggest stars on WWE SmackDown since officially joining the roster in mid-December. Recently, he’s made an enemy out of Samoa Joe, who took the opportunity to use Ali as a “message” to the rest of the roster prior to the Royal Rumble Pay Per View.
But at the Rumble, Ali got his revenge on the Samoan Submission Machine, eliminating the man who choked him out before lasting exactly 30 minutes in the 30-wrestler match. Ali would be eliminated by Nia Jax in the end, but there’s no shame in falling short against “The Force of Greatness”, especially after Ali stayed in the match for the second-longest time behind eventual winner Seth Rollins.
On this week’s episode of SmackDown Live, Ali will get a chance to put another workhorse performance in a Gauntlet Match that will serve as a preview for next week’s Elimination Chamber match. Samoa Joe, Mustafa Ali, Jeff Hardy, Randy Orton, AJ Styles, and champion Daniel Bryan will all compete inside the structure, with the winner walking away with the new and improved WWE Championship.
This Gauntlet Match isn’t without stakes, of course, because the winner will have the advantage of entering the chamber last. This will favor the heels in this match, which are Orton, Bryan, and Joe. Bryan’s partnership with Rowan could give him a key advantage in this Gauntlet Match, should he decide to use it, and Orton can never be counted out as a possible winner.
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But Joe is the heel to watch on Tuesday night, because he’s been on an absolute tear on the mic again. He eviscerated all the other men in the Elimination Chamber match to close SmackDown Live last week, and Joe is poised for a big win over the rest of the roster in order to build on this idea that he is the true force in the SmackDown Men’s Division.
Ali, however, is the thorn in Joe’s side. Much like Rollins won over the crowd’s hearts during last year’s Gauntlet Match on the Elimination Chamber go-home show, Ali is in a position where can show the “heart” – it was his nickname on 205 Live, after all – and determination that will further solidify his status as one of WWE’s best babyfaces. Ali looked great in the Rumble match, and he could have another tremendous display in this Gauntlet Match, which seems tailor-made for a wrestler with his skill-set.
Note that Vince McMahon told Ali that they see great value in his ability to obtain genuine empathy from the WWE Universe, which they could undoubtedly harness on Tuesday night to help sell the WWE Championship match inside the Elimination Chamber. Daniel Bryan’s new title will likely main event the show, and this Gauntlet Match can help get fans more excited about seeing Ali and Joe in there.
But Ali isn’t actually going to win the whole Gauntlet Match or the WWE Championship next Sunday for that matter. He isn’t going to enter the chamber last, simply because he’s a babyface who wouldn’t benefit from that advantage. Joe, however, would, and it would be interesting to see him grab the win from Ali to stop a heroic, worn-out Ali from winning the match in the end after outlasting the likes of Styles, Hardy, and last week’s opponent Orton.
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Of course, Orton is another possible winner due to Ali’s recent issues with The Viper, but Joe is in need of a big win on SmackDown Live, especially since he isn’t expected to walk away with the WWE Championship next Sunday. These two men, Ali and Joe, could benefit the most from a 30-45 minute Gauntlet Match, and since this one match will take up more than a quarter of WWE SmackDown’s show time this week, it’s important for WWE to make the absolute most of this opportunity to showcase their best and brightest male main event talent.