18 Things You Probably Missed From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Feb 5)

8. The Swelling Around Mustafa Ali’s Left Eye

Randy Orton Mustafa Ali Samoa Joe
WWE.com

Both Ali and Orton worked a stiff match that was sort of like a proving ground for the former. There was evidence of that undercurrent of brutality when Mustafa's left eye began to swell up and close mid-match.

Later, he came out as part of the run-in festival after Jeff Hardy vs. Daniel Bryan, and there was some visible bruising on his face. That looked sore as hell, and it actually happened during the Orton match. Aside from a brief mention on commentary from Corey Graves though, WWE didn't really shine a light on it.

They missed a trick there. Someone backstage should have spotted the shiner and instructed the announcers to make a bigger deal out of it when he returned for the Chamber preview spot.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.