WWE Hell In A Cell 2019: early match card predictions

Shinsuke Nakamura (c) (w/Sami Zayn) vs. Ali [Intercontinental Championship]

At WWE Elimination Chamber 2019, Ali was scheduled to be in the WWE Championship Elimination Chamber match. However, thanks to Randy Orton giving him a black eye, he was unable to compete and was replaced by current WWE Champion Kofi Kingston.

At WWE Money In The Bank 2019, Ali was very close to grabbing the Money In The Bank briefcase. However, he was screwed by current number one contender for the WWE Championship, Brock Lesnar, who entered the ladder match at the last-minute to become Mr. MITB.

In the King of the Ring Tournament, Ali was looking forward to rewriting his story by finally winning something monumental in his career. However, he unfortunately lost to Elias in the second round of the tournament.

On SmackDown Live last month, Ali pinned the current Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura. This victory should have guaranteed Ali a future title shot at SummerSlam, but he is now on his quest to get that title shot and hopefully win the Intercontinental Championship from Nakamura.

Surprisingly, Nakamura has already retained the championship against Apollo Crews and The Miz. With Nakamura being a transitional champion while former Intercontinental Champion Finn Balor took a two-month vacation, it’s only a matter of time until he loses the championship.

Considering that the WWE always seems to have big plans for Ali but not follow through with them, the time to deliver on any plans for him should be now before his babyface popularity plummets some more. For a small man who got called up from 205 Live to the main roster, it is ineluctable that Ali will have a difficult time rising in the ranks of the WWE. However, stars can’t shine without darkness and Ali will hopefully be the ‘light’ at the end of the tunnel.

Prediction: Ali