The reason Baron Corbin was kept off of SmackDown television was due to his popularity in Kansas City, according to Brad Shepard of BodySlam.net. During the dark match in which he teamed with Jinder Mahal vs. AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura he received the loudest cheer for the evening.

Corbin is not from Kansas City, but has lots of ties to Missouri as he is a two-time Amateur Kansas-Missouri Golden Gloves regional champion and he also played offensive guard for Northwest Missouri State University in the NCAA Division II, where he was named honorable mention all-MIAAA in 2007 and first team in 2008.

A fan in attendance at #SDLive said Baron Corbin received the loudest pop of the night. He was intentionally kept off TV because Smackdown Live was held at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, MO. He wrestled in a dark match, teaming with Jinder, and losing to AJ and Shinsuke. #WEE

, Brad Shepard 🤘🏻 (@TheBradShepard) February 7, 2018