Potential Reason Why Chris Jericho Was Removed As Rusev’s Replacement In The Casket Match At The Greatest Royal Rumble

As you probably are aware of, former WWE Superstar Chris Jericho recently showed up again in Fukuoka for New Japan Pro Wrestling setting up his upcoming match against Tetsuya Naito at Dominion. Shortly before his appearance in Fukuoka, Jericho participated in WWE’s The Greatest Royal Rumble event in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

At one point Jericho was advertised as facing The Undertaker in a casket match, when he was announced as a replaced for Rusev who was originally announced as the opponent only to be pulled from the match, then once again booked for the casket match – which he lost.

Jericho’s involvement in The Greatest Royal Rumble was discussed on today’s issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. It was noted that Jericho’s upcoming dates with New Japan Pro Wrestling could have been a factor in him being pulled from from the casket match with The Undertaker at The Greatest Royal Rumble.

Regarding Chris Jericho, New Japan, and the casket match, Meltzer said:

“Jericho, as a courtesy, told McMahon that he was going to Fukuoka to shoot another angle with New Japan for his match with Naito at Dominion. Just a couple of hours later he was told that the Prince of Saudi Arabia asked for Rusev in he match instead of him so they were taking him out.”

It was also noted that Chris Jericho was told the Saudi Prince had requested that Rusev be in the casket match instead of him. However, this doesn’t make a whole lot of sense since the Prince had been looking to bring in big names for the event like The Undertaker, Hulk Hogan, and others.

Don’t forget to FOLLOW us on Twitter: @BodySlamDotNet and make sure to LIKE us on Facebook at facebook.com/bodyslamdotnet

(H/T our friends at Ringside.com for the transcriptions.)