Daniel Bryan was kept off WWE Smackdown Live this week, and WWE were pretty transparent as to why -- well, kind of.
Bryan was withheld from Smackdown Live for the WWE medical team's fear that he would sustain a chest infection after he suffered deep bruising at Friday's Greatest Royal Rumble event in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, or at least that's what WWE announcers told the audience.. Bryan revealed in a post-match interview that Roderick Strong caused the bruising, as they were a little too eager in the ring after not wrestling one another for nine years. In reality, WWE didn't like the way the bruises looked for TV.
As first revealed on FightfulSelect.com, Daniel Bryan was planned for the show. Bryan was set to interrupt the segment between his Backlash opponent Big Cass, and the "little person" that was portraying a mock version of Bryan himself. After Bryan wasn't cleared, his portion of the segment was nixed.
As of now, we aren't aware of Bryan's status for WWE Backlash this Sunday, however there were also "VTR graphics" that promoted his match with Big Cass as if it would happen.
You can see more spoilers from Smackdown Live at this link, which Fightful.com often brings you for both Raw and Smackdown. You can also see our live coverage at this link, and our post-show podcast at this link.