WWE News: Daniel Bryan returns to the ring as Special Guest Referee after SmackDown goes off the air
What's the story?
SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan returned to ring tonight after SmackDown Live and 205 Live went off the air. However, he did not take part in the in-ring action and played the role of a special guest referee in the dark main event match between the Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose and his opponent The Miz.
During the bout where the Championship was on the line, Daniel Bryan sent Miz's wife Maryse backstage for interfering in the match. In the end, Ambrose came out on top as he pinned the former WWE Champion after hitting him with Dirty Deeds.
Below is a photo from the dark Main Event tweeted by a fans in attendance:
In case you didn't know...
Daniel Bryan has been involved in a non-physical feud with the Miz for a while now, where the former IC Champion has taken shots at Bryan on multiple occasions. He has been accusing the General Manager of not completing the promise he made to the fans regarding an in-ring return.
Miz has also been involved in a feud with Dean Ambrose recently, which resulted in him losing his Intercontinental title to Dean during the January 3rd episode of SmackDown Live last month.
The heart of the matter
SmackDown tonight was live from Seattle, which is the home state of Daniel Bryan. Hence it's possible that WWE chose Bryan as the special guest referee to please the fans and keep them in the arena throughout the shooting of 205 Live, so they can watch the local star in the ring afterwards. Here are some more pictures from the dark match:
What's next?
WWE has been building the feud between Daniel Bryan and the Miz for a while now. However, given his medical conditions, the possibilities of Bryan wrestling Miz in the future are not very high.
Still, he is believed to get involved with the Miz at some point in the foreseeable future, and tonight's Dark Main Event match may be a resemblance to what role the SmackDown Official would play in this feud.
Sportskeeda's take
The rivalry between Miz and Ambrose looks to be far from over at this point and it's quite possible that their feud will culminate at WrestleMania 33, with Daniel Bryan playing the same role in their match as he did today.
You can now watch the complete highlights oft this week's episode of SmackDown Live below:
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