Mustafa Ali’s Punctured Lung & Fractured Ribs Reportedly Not Caused By Cage Dive
The cause of Mustafa Ali’s injury woes following TNA Lockdown aren’t what many fans initially assumed.
Mustafa Ali won the International Championship for the second time at Lockdown on August 23 at Credit Union 1 Arena in Chicago, Illinois, defeating Jason Hotch inside a steel cage. However, it was later revealed that the new champion did not escape unscathed. The most dangerous moment came when Hotch climbed to the top of the cage and landed a crossbody on Ali through a table on the floor, though Ali ultimately captured the title after hitting two 450 splashes.
The dive from the cage was widely assumed to have caused Ali to suffer fractured ribs and a punctured lung, but Bryan Alvarez reported on Wrestling Observer Radio that this was not the case.
“Apparently whatever it was that resulted in Ali fracturing his ribs and puncturing his lung, it was NOT the high cross spot off the top of the cage. It was, as is often the case in wrestling, just some random bump in the match.”
-Bryan Alvarez
TNA Wrestling revealed the injuries during the Injury Report segment on the August 27 live episode of Impact from the CAA Centre in Brampton, Ontario. Ali had been scheduled to team with Special Agent Zero against Jason Hotch and Trey Miguel that night, but John Skyler took his place. Instead, Ali appeared via video from a hospital bed, where he offered Hotch a truce.
Ali confirmed the injuries himself on social media, revealing that he suffered a punctured lung and fractured ribs at Lockdown. He added that he walked out of the arena on his own two feet and vowed to return.
Since then, Ali has withdrawn from two independent bookings in September, where he had been scheduled to face Dan Archer for Australian Championship Wrestling in Melbourne on September 4 and Ravie Davie for Community Pro Wrestling in Glasgow on September 27.
There has been no indication that Ali will vacate the International Championship. Meanwhile, Jason Hotch will face Trey Miguel on the September 3 episode of Impact to determine the next challenger for the title.
You can find a full recap of everything that took place at TNA Lockdown here.
As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on Mustafa Ali’s condition as soon as we hear more, and we wish him all the best in his recovery.
H/T to F4W Online for the transcription.
