After two months of B-level pay-per-views, things will start to heat back up for WWE this weekend.
WWE will make its return to Saudi Arabia for Crown Jewel on Saturday. Like with every Saudi show, this will be one of WWE’s most star-studded and financially lucrative events of the year. WWE receives an estimated $50 million for every event it holds in Saudi Arabia. It’s part of a sportswashing deal between WWE and the Saudi government.
The card for Crown Jewel is a huge upgrade over Payback and Fastlane. Roman Reigns, Bianca Belair and Logan Paul are all back. John Cena is still around. Nearly every singles title will be defended. The show will help set the stage for Survivor Series and Royal Rumble season.
Reigns being in action is the biggest thing that differentiates Crown Jewel from WWE’s recent premium live events. He will defend his undisputed WWE universal championship against LA Knight in Saudi Arabia. It’s Reigns’s first match since SummerSlam and just the fifth title defense he’s made this year.
Reigns vs. Knight is a match that easily could have headlined WrestleMania 40. If things go well at Crown Jewel, maybe Knight could still end up being Reigns’s WrestleMania challenger next year. No one expects Knight to win the title from Reigns on Saturday. Despite all of the momentum Knight has right now, it would be silly to end Reigns’s historic title run before WrestleMania. It’s a title reign that needs to end on the grandest stage possible. Knight should view this match as a WrestleMania dress rehearsal. While Cody Rhodes is still the favorite, this is a chance for Knight to make the case that he should be the person who dethrones Reigns.
WWE has a conundrum with this Reigns vs. Knight match. What’s the best possible finish to keep Knight’s ascension going? He’s not going to be a sacrificial lamb who Reigns defeats cleanly. WWE is going to do something to protect Knight. But Rhodes, Jey Uso, Sami Zayn and Drew McIntyre have already been protected in their losses to Reigns. It would feel like a broken record if Bloodline interference causes Knight to lose. The finish needs to make Knight stand out from Reigns’s previous challengers. Could WWE go with a disqualification or countout instead? Non-finishes are inherently risky. Fans want to see you deliver a definitive outcome, especially with a first-time matchup like this. Still, a disqualification would solve a lot of issues. It would allow Knight to actually defeat Reigns—though Reigns would still retain his title in the process. Knight is in the midst of a special run. The connection he has with fans doesn’t come around often. WWE understands that and has started to give Knight a real megastar push. Even if it’s by DQ, Knight beating Reigns would be a huge show of faith in Knight’s ability to be one of the top stars in the company for years to come.
Eight matches in total are scheduled for Crown Jewel, including one bout airing on the preshow. The main card will stream live on Peacock starting at 1 p.m. ET.
Here’s a full rundown of the lineup, along with predictions for each match.
Roman Reigns vs. LA Knight for the undisputed WWE universal championship
The safe bet is that WWE will just do what it always does. There’s a reason Reigns is such a huge betting favorite. Everyone expects that Knight will be on the verge of winning only to be thwarted by interference from Jimmy Uso, Solo Sikoa and Paul Heyman. But I do think there’s a real chance that we get something unanticipated—whether that’s a disqualification, countout or no-contest. WWE is really invested in Knight at the moment. And the interference finish for Reigns’s matches has become so tired. It would be a mistake for WWE to do that same finish again. The best way to end Crown Jewel would be Knight winning by disqualification and then standing tall after fighting off Reigns.
Prediction: LA Knight wins by DQ (Reigns remains champion)
Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre for the world heavyweight championship
This could end up stealing the show Saturday. Seth Rollins is coming off an incredible performance in his last man standing match against Shinsuke Nakamura at Fastlane. Drew McIntyre is also doing great work in his tweener role right now. Everything that McIntyre says is justified. It does suck that he only got to be champion during a pandemic when there were no fans in attendance. After how he got screwed over by The Bloodline, McIntyre is right not to trust Jey Uso. But making excuses isn’t something that a babyface does. It looks like we’ll be getting McIntyre as a full-blown heel soon.
That heel turn can start with a loss to Rollins at Crown Jewel. Rollins will retain the world heavyweight championship, but there will be something that happens during the match that McIntyre can have a legitimate gripe over.
Prediction: Seth Rollins retains
Iyo Sky vs. Bianca Belair for the WWE women’s championship
Belair and Iyo Sky had a tremendous match against each other at Backlash earlier this year. There’s no reason to think that this will be any different. Both are such great wrestlers and always deliver when the spotlight is on them.
Sky deserves a longer run as champion, but it makes sense for Belair to beat her at Crown Jewel. Belair is out for revenge after how Sky took the WWE women’s championship from her at SummerSlam. Belair won the title that night, but her reign ended just as soon as it started. Sky cashed in her Money in the Bank briefcase and defeated Belair to win the belt. Belair went on hiatus shortly after SummerSlam until returning last month with her sights set on Sky and the rest of Damage CTRL.
Prediction: Bianca Belair wins
Rhea Ripley vs. Raquel Rodriguez vs. Nia Jax vs. Shayna Baszler vs. Zoey Stark for the women’s world championship
After not being part of the card for Fastlane, it’s good to see Rhea Ripley with a featured spot here. She’s basically become the main character of Raw. Every significant WWE event should include a Ripley match. It’s ridiculous that she hasn’t wrestled on three of the last four PPVs.
WWE has done a really good job of building up this fatal five-way. Multiperson matches like this can often feel unfocused, but WWE has managed to tell a compelling story. It’s a battle between five of the baddest women in the entire company. All five competitors are out to prove that they’re the most dominant woman on Raw.
Ripley is obviously going to retain. The bigger question is what’s next for her. A singles match against Nia Jax is a logical next step—yet a feud with the newly signed Jade Cargill would be a lot more exciting.
Prediction: Rhea Ripley retains
Rey Mysterio vs. Logan Paul for the United States championship
Immediately after defeating Dillon Danis in their boxing match, Logan Paul called out Rey Mysterio. Paul is attempting to win the first title of his pro wrestling career.
Imagine telling someone two years ago that Paul would one day be a champion in WWE. They would have assumed it was a cheap publicity stunt. Instead, Paul has become a legitimately respected wrestler. Nobody will be making David Arquette comparisons when Paul wins the United States title Saturday. He’s established himself as one of the top big-match performers in WWE. Paul vs. Mysterio will be one of the best matches of the night at Crown Jewel.
Prediction: Logan Paul wins
John Cena vs. Solo Sikoa
This is a difficult match to predict. In a vacuum, John Cena putting over Solo Sikoa would probably be the right call. Cena has been able to make an extended return to WWE this fall, but it’s unknown whether he’ll be working any more dates after Crown Jewel. The Hollywood strike will end at some point, meaning Cena won’t be able to appear for WWE on any kind of full-time basis. Sikoa is one of WWE’s most heavily featured young stars. He’s been in huge spots on WWE events before, but this is easily his biggest singles match ever. It would mean a lot if he’s able to defeat a legend like Cena.
Despite all of that, Cena can’t really afford a loss right now. Part of the story here is that Cena is looking for his first singles win since 2018. Even if Cena does leave after Crown Jewel, he’ll eventually be back in WWE. You don’t want to destroy Cena’s credibility by making him seem like someone who can never win.
Prediction: John Cena wins
Cody Rhodes vs. Damian Priest
Just when it seemed like we were getting some real story line progression, the Judgment Day cycle started all over again. Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso defeated Damian Priest and Finn Bálor at Fastlane to win the undisputed WWE tag team titles. JD McDonagh accidentally costing The Judgment Day the match felt like it would lead to an imminent breakup within the group. But just nine days later, Priest and Bálor defeated Rhodes and Uso to regain the belts.
There’s still plenty of dissension within The Judgment Day. Rhodes has gotten into Priest’s head by calling Rhea Ripley The Judgment Day’s real leader. But it’s hard to see that leading to anything truly significant until at least after Survivor Series.
Rhodes can’t afford to take any high-profile singles losses on the road to WrestleMania. He should be a lock to defeat Priest.
Prediction: Cody Rhodes wins
Preshow: Sami Zayn vs. JD McDonagh
Sami Zayn is on a mission to dismantle The Judgment Day. JD McDonagh may not be an official member of the faction, but he’s close enough. With Kevin Owens now on SmackDown, it’s time for Zayn to again shine as a singles competitor.
