Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles Happens on SmackDown, Bryan Replaced By Samoa Joe at Crown Jewel

Daniel Bryan is officially off of Crown Jewel after he reportedly told WWE last week that he did not want to do the show in Saudi Arabia.

WWE wrote him off of the PPV by having his scheduled match against AJ Styles happen tonight on SmackDown.

In the opening segment of the show, Styles and Bryan confronted each other in the ring and Styles said that last week when he “accidentally” gave Bryan a Pele kick, it wasn’t an accident, it was meant for Bryan. Bryan said that he felt like hitting Styles on purpose and Styles said, “So what’s stopping you? You know what, we don’t have to wait for Crown Jewel. I will defend this WWE Championship right here, right now.”

Shane McMahon then came out and made the match official. Styles won the match, forcing Bryan to tap out with a calf crusher after he had worked on his knee throughout.

After the match, they shook hands and hugged, but Samoa Joe ran in and attacked AJ Styles from behind. Bryan tried to fight Joe off, but Joe locked the Coquina Clutch on Bryan, then raised the WWE title over his head.

Later backstage, AJ Styles told Paige that he wanted Samoa Joe at Crown Jewel and she made that match official.