Mustafa Ali has opened up about his injury that led to Kofi Kingston becoming WWE Champion.
The former 205 Live star was set to compete in the 2019 Elimination Chamber match for WWE Championship. Kingston however, replaced Ali in the match due to an injury. While Kofi did not win the bout, his performance in the match led to fans rallying behind him for another opportunity at the title. This eventually led to him winning the first World Championship of his career at WrestleMania 35.
Ali talked about the missed opportunity during a new interview with Chris Van Vliet. He first discussed how Kofi is a really nice guy behind the scenes and noted that the two became really good friends after this series of events. Mustafa Ali called KofiMania a ‘beautiful gift’ but admitted that he felt a little jealous at not being able to compete in the bout:
“Now, no way am I comparing, but as a competitor, of course, there’s some jealousy, right? I’m watching. I’m like, man, could you imagine what a healthy Ali could do in the Elimination Chamber? But then I go and look and I’m so mad at myself. I’m like, if only I didn’t take that bump at the live event. I’m sitting there kind of like, I could have, I would have been fine.”
At The End Of The Day I’m Happy: Mustafa Ali
The former WWE star noted how his wife reminded him about the importance of his health and at the end of the day, he’s happy that he wasn’t allowed to compete with his injury:
“At the end of the day, I’m healthy, I’m happy. Everything works. I’m good. My brain isn’t mush. WWE did the right thing. They protected me for the day. You gotta protect these athletes from themselves, because we have that thing. We get hit, we get up. The instinct is, I’m good.”
Apart from this Ali also talked about being part of the Money In the Bank ladder match which was won by Brock Lesnar, being eliminated from Royal Rumble by Nia Jax and more.
