WWE Planned To GREEN SCREEN Daniel Bryan Into Saudi Arabia

Yet more Crown Jewel craziness as WWE Championship match ALMOST took place as planned...

Daniel Bryan AJ Styles
WWE.com

WWE surprisingly took the simplest route possible in writing Daniel Bryan out of Crown Jewel.

After the 'YES! Man' made public his intention not to travel to Saudi Arabia in the wake of the scandal enveloping the country and company following the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, WWE gave an enjoyable match away on SmackDown Live then immediately set up a replacement one in the aftermath.

The path of least resistance is sometimes the best one to take. But - amidst the utter lunacy of this entire show - they nearly took the most absurd.

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As reported in yesterday's Wrestling Observer, plans were on the table for the company to film an entire match between Champion and Challenger in front of a huge green screen at a facility not too far away from Orlando's Performance Center.

The concept - and it speaks to the madness surrounding Crown Jewel that this isn't the most insane story this week - had the company using a ring in front of the digitally-malleable wallpaper to either pre-record or go live with the contest that could then be inserted into the show.

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Dave Meltzer's report implied that it would only be for Network viewers rather than the live crowd in attendance, but the potential rumblings on trying (in vain) to fool the audience made the endeavor more hassle that it was worth

The tumultuous card has defined what has been one of the most chaotic months in company history.

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Shawn Michaels' decision to come out of retirement was a worthy top story until the aforementioned Saudi scandal hit the headlines. Under mounting pressure to cancel the show (they didn't) and dedicate proper time to Evolution instead, (they didn't) WWE was rocked by Roman Reigns' revelation of a new battle with leukaemia, further trivialising the need for a wrestling show when the company were laughably trying to suggest it could help transform perceptions of a country mired in global controversy.

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett