Mustafa Ali suffered a dislocated jaw injury during his match against Mike Santana at TNA Sacrifice in El Paso, Texas. Despite the injury, Ali continued competing and finished the match.

According to Fightful Select, Ali managed to reset his jaw himself during the match. The injury is not considered serious, and Ali is expected to continue his scheduled appearances.

The match ended with Ali securing a victory over Santana, adding another win to his record since joining TNA Wrestling. His decision to complete the match despite the injury demonstrates his professional commitment.

Ali chose to sign with TNA Wrestling earlier this year, establishing himself as one of the promotion’s prominent performers. His ability to work through the dislocated jaw shows his determination as a competitor.

TNA Unbreakable is scheduled to take place in the coming weeks, with Ali expected to participate as planned despite the recent injury.

.@Santana_Proud intercepts @MustafaAli_X with a cutter OUTTA NOWHERE!

Watch #TNASacrifice on TNA+: https://t.co/1GrcYv6zfO pic.twitter.com/xvAclAm7qP— TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) March 15, 2025

The 2025 Royal Rumble event takes place on February 1 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, airing on Peacock and Netflix. The event traditionally features surprise entrants, and former TNA X-Division Champion Mustafa Ali has emerged as a potential returnee.

Ali, who departed WWE in September 2023, addressed the possibility of a comeback during an appearance on INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet. The former 205 Live competitor indicated maintaining positive relationships with WWE personnel and acknowledged potential pathways for a return.

Since his WWE departure, Ali has competed on the independent circuit and captured championship gold in TNA Wrestling. A Royal Rumble appearance would mark his first WWE appearance in nearly two years.

Mustafa Ali says he has "good relations" with WWE, with "multiple paths" to a potential return to the company:

“I think there’s multiple paths, yeah. And the thing is there’s good relations there. The thing with them moving to Netflix is very, very interesting, because it just… pic.twitter.com/odCtSrkO56— WrestleTalk (@WrestleTalk_TV) December 24, 2024

Nic Nemeth expresses interest in Royal Rumble appearance

Speaking of potential Royal Rumble surprises, former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Nic Nemeth discussed the possibility of participating in the 2025 event. During a conversation with Daily Star, Nemeth shared his perspective on a potential one-night return.

Nemeth expressed enthusiasm about creating a memorable moment:

A Rumble spot? Dude, that’s so cool. WWE’s killing it right now. To do something fun and wear my old trunks, get the old music to play, come out there and kick somebody in the face, that would be awesome. But the most important thing, it would just be creating a viral moment, so I could talk about TNA. That’s the only reason I’d want to do it. It’d be cool to see some old friends.

Nemeth’s 19-year WWE career began in Ohio Valley Wrestling in 2004. His accomplishments include two World Heavyweight Championship reigns, along with NXT, Intercontinental, and United States Championship victories.

After departing WWE following the TKO Group formation, Nemeth has competed in TNA Wrestling, New Japan Pro-Wrestling, and AAA. A Royal Rumble appearance remains possible given TNA’s existing partnership with NXT, following the precedent set by TNA champions Mickie James and Jordynne Grace in previous years.

Former WWE superstar Mustafa Ali shares unique perspective on witnessing Cena’s emotional RAW celebration during his memorable June 2022 appearance.

John Cena’s 20th-anniversary celebration on June 27, 2022, brought together numerous WWE superstars to honor his legacy. The event featured backstage interactions with Rey Mysterio, Chad Gable, R-Truth, and Shinsuke Nakamura before Vince McMahon introduced Cena to the crowd.

During a recent appearance on Chris Van Vliet’s INSIGHT podcast, Mustafa Ali provided a firsthand account of the atmosphere during Cena’s entrance. Ali, who stood on the entrance ramp alongside other roster members, recalled the unique energy of the moment.

The former WWE star shared his experience of feeling the physical impact of the crowd’s reaction:

The only time I’ve experienced an arena shaking is when John Cena made his return. I felt the building shake. It was the episode of RAW [June 27, 2022] where he was walking backstage and shaking everyone’s hand, and then he was talking to Stu off camera, and they [WWE] had us all loaded on the entrance way.

Ali emphasized the unprecedented nature of the crowd response:

So if you go back and watch that clip, John comes out, the whole roster is on the entrance ramp; he comes out, and the building is shaking. I’ve never experienced this in my life.

Potential historic achievement awaits John Cena at Royal Rumble 2025

The celebration of Cena’s past achievements could soon be overshadowed by a historic milestone. The 16-time world champion has an opportunity to break Ric Flair’s shared record at Royal Rumble 2025, nearly 3,000 days after his last WWE Championship victory at the 2017 event.

Cena’s return on RAW’s Netflix premiere could set the stage for a championship opportunity against Gunther on February 1.

The potential clash would pit the veteran against one of WWE’s most dominant current champions, with the possibility of establishing a new record in professional wrestling history.