Daniel Bryan Officially Off WWE Crown Jewel; Samoa Joe Now Faces AJ Styles
A major shakeup to the Crown Jewel card.
SmackDown Live opened with a confrontation between AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan as the two cleared the air of whether or not Styles’ pele kick was a misfire last week. Styles revealed that the friendly fire was intentional, leading to both men wanting to settle the score on now rather than waiting until Friday.
Shane McMahon granted their wish, allowing the WWE Title match to take place on SmackDown Live. Styles and Bryan battled for 25 minutes in a back-and-forth affair that eventually ended with Styles forcing Bryan to tap out with a calf crusher.
Styles and Bryan embraced after the bout, showing a mutual respect. A returning Samoa Joe was having none of it.
Joe put Styles and Bryan to sleep with the coquina clutch before holding up the WWE Title. Later in the night, an angry Styles requested another match against Samoa Joe at Crown Jewel. The two battled throughout the summer with Styles seemingly closing the chapter on the rivalry with a submission victory at Super Show-Down. But after Joe’s attack on Tuesday, Styles was ready to re-open the book.
As first reported by Robbie Fox of Barstool Sports, Bryan has been refusing to go to Saudi Arabia for Crown Jewel for over a week now. Mike Johnson of PWInsider reported earlier today that Bryan was not budging on his refusal.
If you’ve missed anything from SmackDown Live, head over to Fightful’s live coverage. And stick around for the post-show podcast.
