There could be plans in the work for Ali.
The former 205 Live standout has made an impression on many he's worked with on Smackdown Live, especially Eric Bischoff according to those that we spoke to. Both he and Vince McMahon were said to have walked up to Ali and congratulated him on the King of the Ring match he had with Elias, with one saying it was Elias' best match. Eric Bischoff was said to be in favor of pushing Ali, though there have been stops and starts and unfulfilled plans made for Ali in the past.
We're told Kevin Dunn was also happy with Ali and Elias' match. There was also plenty of Elias praise, with it being noted that Elias is well liked and easy to work, and both are guys "everyone seems to want to work with."
In addition, we were told of a situation last week where Liv Morgan and Ember Moon were set to work a dark match before Vince McMahon nixed it via Michael Hayes. B-Team and a completely unprepared Heavy Machinery were brought out and did a match instead -- with the latter in tank tops and shorts.
Generally WWE doesn't have people work without warming up, but didn't want Liv Morgan in front of the live crowd before she was repackaged