WWE's Punjabi Prison Was Originally Supposed To Be An Exploding Deathmatch
Former WWE writer explains what went wrong.
The Punjabi Prison was originally supposed to mirror the "Exploding Deathmatch" made famous in Japan, according to an ex-WWE writer.
Court Bauer, a former member of the SmackDown creative team, claimed on the Wrestling Inc. Podcast that he managed to persuade Vince McMahon to bring the gimmick to the United States in 2006.
"The original idea actually was rooted in my pitch in the Spring of 2006 to bring the exploding deathmatch made famous in IWA Japan and FMW to the States because it's one of the rare things WWE had never touched," Bauer explained.
But things went south when Bauer caught a glimpse of the finished product, after Kevin Dunn, WWE's executive producer, had arranged for the structure to be built.
"It looks like a set piece from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom," he stated. "I don't know what to make of it, a play set some poor child would get killed on."
Bauer said his fellow writers were in disbelief after seeing their vision mutate into something unrecognisable.
"Unanimously across the writer's room, jaws dropped. And we're looking at this thing doing double takes."
Alex Greenfield, then-head writer, was said to have coined the "Punjabi Prison" name.