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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.


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.


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.


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.