WWE Elimination Chamber 2019: 3 Possible Replacements For Mustafa Ali

Credit: WWE.com

Mustafa Ali was scheduled to be one of the six men competing inside the WWE Elimination Chamber structure this year for the WWE Championship, but he will reportedly have to miss the Pay Per View due to injuries.

On Monday afternoon, Fightful.com’s Sean Ross Sapp reported (can we call it an “SRS Bomb” or something?) that due to “mounting injuries”, WWE will pull Mustafa Ali from the WWE Elimination Chamber Pay Per View on Sunday.

Per Sapp, Ali has an injured tailbone that he aggravated at the Royal Rumble and an eye injury that got worse at a live event on Sunday. Ali apparently told WWE officials that he could still wrestle this match (which is unsurprising), but WWE is, wisely, erring on the side of caution with the rising 32-year-old superstar.

It’s incredibly tough news to hear, and Ali’s injury is just the latest in WWE since the calendar turned to 2019. Seth Rollins, Sasha Banks, and AJ Styles are among the other big stars who have been dealing with injuries lately, and while Tye Dillinger and Harper appear to be on their way back to television, the injury bug has bit WWE hard over the past couple of months.

Ali has been an absolute beast in the ring for WWE since signing with the company, becoming the “Heart” of 205 Live before joining SmackDown Live in mid-December. Ali has all the tools to be a top babyface in this company, so his presence at the Elimination Chamber will be greatly missed, especially after shining in the Royal Rumble with exactly 30 minutes of great wrestling.

If Ali is indeed unable to wrestle on Sunday, it’s time to take a look at three possible replacements for one of the other six men – Samoa Joe, Jeff Hardy, Randy Orton, AJ Styles, and, of course, Daniel Bryan are the others –  competing for Bryan’s new WWE Championship. Note that a Gauntlet Match on SmackDown Live was advertised to determine the last entrant in the Chamber, so Ali would presumably be replaced for this match, too.