WWE News: Ali on last-minute change and his title shot at SmackVille

What's the story?

In a WWE backstage interview -- courtesy WWE's official YouTube channel -- Ali opened up on his defeat at the hands of Shinsuke Nakamura in their Intercontinental Title match at the SmackVille event.

Addressing the same, Ali asserted that despite ending up on the losing end, he's glad that he took the opportunity to replace Finn Balor on short-notice and face reigning Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura at SmackVille.

In case you didn't know...

Finn Balor was initially scheduled to face reigning WWE IC Champion Shinsuke Nakamura at the special SmackVille event.

Nevertheless, owing to Balor reportedly having to deal with a case of stomach flu, Ali stepped in to face Nakamura in an Intercontinental Championship match at the event.

The heart of the matter

One ought to note that despite putting forth a valiant effort in his battle against Shinsuke Nakamura, Ali was unable to win the Intercontinental Championship.

Regardless, Ali seemed to be quite optimistic in a backstage interview, following his loss to Nakamura...Expounding upon his loss in the title matchup, Ali stated --

"You said a word before, "unexpected", and that seems to be a reoccurring theme for me. Few months ago at Fastlane it was a WWE Championship match, and I found out an hour before the match, that I would be given that opportunity. Tonight, I show up at Smackville, I find out 30 minutes before the match."

"30 minutes, that I have an opportunity at the Intercontinental Champion. But you know what you do hear -- Opportunities are rare here, and you take the opportunity, and you fight your heart out, and throw your best shot. Yeah, I didn't win, I'm not the Intercontinental Champion; but I took advantage of that opportunity." (*H/T Sportskeeda for the transcription)

What's next?

The general consensus in the professional wrestling community is that Ali is likely to continue being utilized in a prominent role on WWE TV programming in the days to come.

What are your thoughts on Ali's statements? Sound off!