WWE Crown Jewel

WWE Crown Jewel
Promotional poster featuring Braun Strowman, Brock Lesnar, and Roman Reigns
Promotion WWE
Brand(s) Raw
SmackDown
Date November 2, 2018
City Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Venue King Saud University Stadium
Sponsor(s) Saudi General Sports Authority[1]
WWE Network event chronology
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WWE Crown Jewel[2] is an upcoming professional wrestling pay-per-view event and WWE Network event promoted by WWE for their Raw and SmackDown brands that will take place on November 2, 2018, at King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.[1] The event will host the first-ever WWE World Cup tournament.[2] It will also mark the in-ring return of Shawn Michaels, who retired in 2010.

Production

Background

On March 5, 2018, WWE and the Saudi General Sports Authority announced the Greatest Royal Rumble, a live event to be held on April 27, 2018 at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.[3][4] On September 17, 2018, WWE and the Saudi General Sports Authority announced the follow up to the Greatest Royal Rumble, Crown Jewel, a live event to be held on November 2, 2018 at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh. The event is a part of a 10-year strategic multiplatform partnership between WWE and the Saudi General Sports Authority in support of Saudi Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia’s social and economic reform program.[5][6] On October 6, 2018, it was announced that the venue for Crown Jewel was changed from the King Fahd International Stadium to the King Saud University Stadium.[1][7]

Storylines

The card will consist of matches resulting from scripted storylines, with results predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw and SmackDown brands,[8][9][10] with storylines produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live.[11]

At SummerSlam, Brock Lesnar defended the Universal Championship against Roman Reigns. Before the match began, Braun Strowman came out and announced that he would be cashing in his Money in the Bank contract on the winner. During the match, however, Strowman was incapacitated by Lesnar, preventing him from cashing in. The distraction allowed Reigns to defeat Lesnar and win the championship, ending Lesnar's 504-day reign.[12] The following night on Raw, General Manager Kurt Angle told Lesnar's advocate Paul Heyman that although Lesnar had a contractual rematch, it would not occur for an indefinite period of time. That same episode, Strowman announced that he would be cashing in against Reigns at Hell in a Cell inside the namesake structure.[13] At the event, Lesnar interfered in the match by kicking in the cell door and attacking both men, rendering them unable to continue, thus ruling the match a no contest and Reigns retained the championship.[14] The following night on Raw, both Reigns and Strowman called out Lesnar, resulting in Acting General Manager Baron Corbin scheduling a triple threat match between Reigns, Strowman, and Lesnar for the Universal Championship at Crown Jewel.[15]

On September 17, 2018, WWE also scheduled the WWE World Cup, an eight-man tournament to "determine the best in the world."[2] The tournament will consist of four wrestlers from Raw and four wrestlers from SmackDown. On the October 8 episode of Raw, free agent John Cena was announced as the first entrant, representing Raw. That same episode, a 10-man battle royal commenced where the winner would be added to the tournament. Acting General Manager Baron Corbin took part with nine local competitors, but was lastly eliminated by a returning Kurt Angle, disguised as The Conquistador, thus Angle won the battle royal to qualify for the tournament.[16] Two more qualifiers were decided on the October 9 episode of SmackDown, where Jeff Hardy and Randy Orton qualify for the tournament by defeating Big Show and Samoa Joe, respectfully.[17]

At Super Show-Down, AJ Styles defeated Samoa Joe by submission in a no countout, no disqualification match to retain the WWE Championship, while Daniel Bryan defeated The Miz to earn a WWE Championship match. Following Bryan's win, it was announced by SmackDown General Manager Paige that he would receive his WWE Championship match against Styles at Crown Jewel.[18]

At Super Show-Down, Triple H defeated The Undertaker in a No Disqualification match. After the match, Undertaker and Kane attacked Triple H and Shawn Michaels.[18] On the following Raw, Triple H and Michaels would formally rechristen themselves as D-Generation X, challenging The Brothers of Destruction to a tag team match at Crown Jewel, marking Michaels' first match since being retired by The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVI in 2010.[16]

Controversy

WWE has faced calls to cancel the event, with prominent politicians criticizing the company's endeavors in Saudi Arabia, in wake of the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi.[19][20] Knox County Mayor and professional wrestler Glenn "Kane" Jacobs announced he will work at the event.[21]

As with Greatest Royal Rumble, the event will only feature male wrestlers due to the limited women's rights policies of Saudi Arabia. Critics noted that WWE had scheduled Evolution—its first-ever all-women's PPV event—just over a week before Crown Jewel, and speculated that this event was intended to divert attention away from the exclusion of women from Crown Jewel.[22][23][24]

Matches

No. Matches* Stipulations
1 Roman Reigns (c) vs. Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman Triple threat match for the WWE Universal Championship[25]
2 AJ Styles (c) vs. Daniel Bryan Singles match for the WWE Championship[26]
3 D-Generation X (Triple H and Shawn Michaels) vs. The Brothers of Destruction (The Undertaker and Kane) Tag team match[27]
  • (c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match
    *Card subject to change

WWE World Cup participants

Four participants will come from Raw and four participants will come from SmackDown. Four of the eight participants have been confirmed.[28]

Wrestler Date Qualified Brand representing Notes
John CenaOctober 8, 2018RawAnnounced as a participant.
Kurt AngleQualified by winning a battle royal as The Conquistador.
Jeff HardyOctober 9, 2018SmackDownQualified by defeating Samoa Joe via referee stoppage.
Randy OrtonQualified by defeating Big Show.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "WWE® CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH SET FOR CROWN JEWEL". WWE Corporate. October 6, 2018. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 "WWE Crown Jewel set for November 2 in Saudi Arabia". WWE. Archived from the original on September 17, 2018. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
  3. ↑ Adam Silverstein (March 5, 2018). "WWE news, rumors: 'Greatest Royal Rumble,' NXT injury, Jericho-NJPW done?". CBS Sports. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
  4. ↑ Jefferson Lake (March 5, 2018). "WWE: Saudi Arabia to host 50-man Royal Rumble". Sky Sports. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
  5. ↑ "Saudi Arabia to host the Greatest Royal Rumble". WWE. March 5, 2018. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
  6. ↑ "National Transformation Program 2020" (PDF).
  7. ↑ Lee, Joseph (October 6, 2018). "WWE News: Crown Jewel Moved To Smaller Venue, John Cena Thanks JBL For Hair Tips, Shawn Michaels and Triple H Comment On Super Show-Down". 411Mania. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
  8. ↑ Grabianowski, Ed. "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 18, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
  9. ↑ "Live & Televised Entertainment". WWE. Archived from the original on February 26, 2009. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
  10. ↑ McMahon, Vince (November 30, 2016). "Vince McMahon on Twitter". Twitter. Archived from the original on January 21, 2017. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  11. ↑ Steinberg, Brian (May 25, 2016). "WWE's 'Smackdown' Will Move To Live Broadcast On USA (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on May 26, 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  12. ↑ Powell, Jason. "Powell's WWE SummerSlam 2018 live review: Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns for the WWE Universal Championship, AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe for the WWE Championship, Alexa Bliss vs. Ronda Rousey for the Raw Women's Championship, Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
  13. ↑ Powell, Jason (August 20, 2018). "8/20 Powell's WWE Raw Live TV Review: The night after WWE SummerSlam, new champions Roman Reigns and Ronda Rousey, Triple H appearance, Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  14. ↑ Powell, Jason. "Powell's WWE Hell in a Cell 2018 live review: Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman in an HIAC for the WWE Universal Championship with Mick Foley as referee, AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe for the WWE Title, Jeff Hardy vs. Randy Orton in an HIAC match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved September 16, 2018.
  15. ↑ Powell, Jason. "9/17 Powell's WWE Raw Live TV Review: Undertaker responds to Triple H, fallout from WWE Hell in a Cell including Brock Lesnar interfering in the main event". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
  16. 1 2 Powell, Jason. "10/08 Powell's WWE Raw Live TV Review: Shawn Michaels and Triple H respond to being attacked by Undertaker and Kane at WWE Super Show-Down, Trish Stratus appearance, two WWE Super Show-Down rematches". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
  17. ↑ Keller, Wade (October 9, 2018). "10/9 WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT: Keller's report on fallout from Super Show-down, Becky vs. Charlotte rematch, World Cup matches including return of Big Show". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
  18. 1 2 Powell, Jason. "Powell's WWE Super Show-Down live review: Undertaker vs. Triple H for the final time, AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe in a no DQ, no count-out match for the WWE Title, The Shield vs. Braun Strowman, Drew McIntyre, and Dolph Ziggler, Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte for the Smackdown Women's Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
  19. ↑ Reed, Adam (October 12, 2018). "Multimillion-dollar WWE pay-per-view deal in jeopardy due to Saudi Arabia tensions". CNBC. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
  20. ↑ "Multiple Senators question WWE's Saudi Arabia dealings". Retrieved October 12, 2018.
  21. ↑ https://www.pwinsider.com/article/120929/spokesperson-kane-still-planning-to-wrestle-in-saudi-arabia.html?p=1
  22. ↑ "Instead of PR cover, WWE Evolution could end up as true crown jewel". Cageside Seats. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
  23. ↑ Bixenspan, David. "WWE Taking Tens Of Millions In Saudi Money Sure Looks Awful". Deadspin. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
  24. ↑ Thurston, Brandon Howard (October 13, 2018). "Trump's World Wrestling Entertainment Buddies and Donors Are Deeply In Bed With Allegedly Murderous Saudi Regime". The Daily Beast. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
  25. ↑ Bristout, Ralph (September 28, 2018). "WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman (Triple Threat Match)". WWE. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
  26. ↑ Burdick, Michael. "WWE Champion AJ Styles vs. Daniel Bryan". WWE. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
  27. ↑ Bristout, Ralph. "Triple H & Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker & Kane". WWE. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
  28. ↑ Burdick, Michael. "Eight-Man World Cup Tournament to take place at WWE Crown Jewel". WWE. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
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