As noted, Elias was pulled from tonight’ King of the Ring quarterfinals match on WWE SmackDown due to an ankle injury.
It was revealed early on in tonight’s broadcast from Madison Square Garden that Shane McMahon would be replacing Elias in the KOTR match against Chad Gable. Shane also made Kevin Owens the special referee, promising to forget about the $100,000 storyline fine against Owens in exchange for his help against Gable.
The decision to do Shane vs. Gable on tonight’s SmackDown was a Vince McMahon call, according to PWInsider. There was talk of doing a Battle Royal to determine the replacement for Elias, but they decided to go with the pitch to use Shane instead.
Shane has been away from WWE TV for a few weeks due to jury duty. The feud with Owens was resumed on tonight’s SmackDown, but there’s no word yet on where they are headed with it.
Stay tuned for more updates on the King of the Ring tournament and Elias.
Since @IAmEliasWWE is injured, @ShaneMcMahon will find a replacement opponent for @WWEGable in tonight's #KingOfTheRing match! #SDLive pic.twitter.com/4x4s7kOT4R
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) September 11, 2019
WHAT A TWIST!@WWEGable will face The Best in the WOOOOOORRRRRLLLLDDDD @ShaneMcMahon in the #KingOfTheRing Tournament Semifinals TONIGHT! #SDLive pic.twitter.com/fvHr92X0Pn
— WWE (@WWE) September 11, 2019
It's official: @ShaneMcMahon will take @IAmEliasWWE's place in the #KingOfTheRing Semifinals against @WWEGable. #SDLive pic.twitter.com/LGYhURb68f
— WWE (@WWE) September 11, 2019
.@FightOwensFight can get his 100,000 dollar fine lifted. All he has to do is referee the #KingfTheRing match between @ShaneMcMahon & @WWEGable… correctly. #SDLive pic.twitter.com/NCecl4pYzy
— WWE (@WWE) September 11, 2019
