Backstage News On Daniel Bryan’s Injury Scare On SmackDown LIVE, Mustafa Ali Draws Rave Reviews

WWE Champion Daniel Bryan suffered a surprising defeat this week on SmackDown LIVE when Mustafa Ali pinned him in a tag team match that saw Ali team with AJ Styles and Bryan team with Andrade “Cien” Almas.

Ali beat Bryan with the 054, but accidentally dropped his knees across Bryan’s throat/collarbone area and ribs.

It made for a scary moment given Bryan’s history of injuries, but according to Fightful.com, Bryan insisted he was no worse for wear after coming back through the curtain.

Ali could be heard checking on Bryan right after he hit the move, and he was highly apologetic backstage.

Bryan appeared on the Christmas edition of SmackDown LIVE that was taped later in the night, which suggests that he didn’t sustain a significant injury.

Here is a clip of the miscue.

ow pic.twitter.com/srQrHQfIKk

— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) December 19, 2018

Despite the miscue, Ali drew a lot of praise from his peers for his efforts in the match.

https://twitter.com/TheRealXPac/status/1075223260722163712

https://twitter.com/WWE_Murphy/status/1075228038957129728

https://twitter.com/VicJosephWWE/status/1075231705919676416

And just like that @MustafaAliWWE done shocked the world! #HellYeah #SDLive

— No Way Jose (@WWENoWayJose) December 19, 2018

A 205 guy just pinned the WWE Champion. @MustafaAliWWE #205Live #SDLive

— Ariya Daivari (@AriyaDaivariWWE) December 19, 2018