5 reasons why Mustafa Ali was added to the WWE Championship match

How the tables have turned! Kofi Kingston took Mustafa Ali's place in the Elimination Chamber after the former 205 Live star got injured and today, Ali was added to the WWE Championship match when everyone was expecting it to be Kofi.

The WWE Universe was stunned ahead of the WWE Championship match when it was announced that it will be a triple-threat match. It was originally scheduled to be Kevin Owens vs The New Daniel Bryan after Vince McMahon denied Kofi Kingston an opportunity at the title.

However, when the announcement of the triple-threat was made, the crowd in Ohio went wild but it was Mustafa Ali who came out and not Kofi.

Here are 5 reasons why Mustafa Ali was added to the WWE Championship match:

#5 Mustafa Ali had earned his opportunity

The push Kofi Kingston is getting is only because of Mustafa Ali's injury. As mentioned before, Kofi took the place of Ali in the Elimination Chamber last month and that got the WWE Universe behind him.

His performance in the Gauntlet match on the go-home episode of Elimination Chamber was enough to get the majority of the WWE fans behind him. But his incredible display inside the Chamber saw the fans rooting for him to win the title.

And right up after he got pinned by The New Daniel Bryan, #KofiMania was trending and everyone wanted him to win the title at WrestleMania 35.

In all this, everyone seemed to have forgotten about Mustafa Ali. The former 205 Live star was doing so well before he got injured and there was nothing stopping him from reaching the summit.

However, injury at the hands of Randy Orton 2 weeks before The Elimination Chamber saw him replaced and since then, his push was over.

#4 To protect Kevin Owens

Kevin Owens has returned to the ring ahead of schedule. He was originally scheduled to come back after WrestleMania but Vince McMahon was keen on getting him in before so that he can have a role at The Grandest Stage of Them All.

Owens has work done on both his knees and was just regaining full fitness. At this time, having him in a matchup vs Daniel Bryan and that too for the WWE Championship was a huge gamble.

The best thing to do at the moment was to make it a triple-threat and have a fully fit Superstar and Daniel Byran share the limelight for the majority of the match with Owens getting involved here and there.

That is exactly what happened as Mustafa Ali and Bryan stole the show with Owens slowly getting back to his best.

#3 Getting the crowd completely behind Kofi

Everyone loves the story of an underdog winning and WWE have used it several times in the past. We have seen is several times in the recent past too with the likes of Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns.

Now, with the crowd all behind Kofi Kingston, Vince McMahon is using it to get more out of this storyline. If taking him out of the title picture tonight wasn't enough, he also got Kofi squashed in a handicap match, which is cleverly disguised as a triple-threat matchup.

With Mustafa Ali added in the last minute and the crowd was chanting “We Want Kofi” throughout the match and that is exactly what Vince wanted. Now, it won't be long before the New Day star gets his chance at the title again, and that too at WrestleMania.

#2 Pinning Owens would kill his push

The most probable reason why Mustafa Ali was added to the match was just to take the pin. Pinning Bryan was never in the question and getting Owens pinned on his comeback would have instantly killed his push.

Having Ali take the pin was hurting no one and only made Owens and Bryan look strong at the same time. There was nothing at stake for Ali and despite getting pinned, he might just get another opportunity for taking the champ and Owens to their limit.

Moreover, despite having Owens return as a face, WWE have already hinted that he could become a heel before WrestleMania. Thus, having him take the pin would have made things complicated and the creative team would have made a lot more work to do.

#1 Making the WrestleMania matchup even better

When Kofi Kingston was taken out of the title match at Fastlane, everyone expected it to be happening at WrestleMania. The chances of a triple-threat match between Kofi, Byran and Owens were high but it was 2 heels vs one face.

The result of that match was pretty obvious and now with Mustafa Ali added to it, there might be a slight twist. While it is still expected for Kingston to walk out of WrestleMania 35 as the WWE Champion, the addition of Ali helps make the matchup a more interesting one.

The triple-threat match between Ali, Bryan and Owens was an entertaining one – just imagine how good it would be if it is a Fatal 4-Way with Kingston added to it as well.

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Did WWE do the right thing by adding Mustafa Ali to the match? Sound off in the comments section below!