Tag: WWE Crown Jewel

WWE Crown Jewel 2023 predictions: What will go down in Saudi Arabia?

Will LA Knight dethrone the Tribal Chief? Can John Cena actually … win one? We pick all the WWE Crown Jewel winners.

Paul “Triple H” Levesque being at the head of WWE’s creative process has created a lot of positive ripple effects for the company.

But one I did not expect to see was an increase in anticipation for WWE’s Saudi Arabia events. 

We have come a long way from the early days of WWE’s arrangement with Saudi Arabia in 2018, when the shows felt shoehorned into the promotion’s already packed premium live event schedule and Vince McMahon relied too heavily on acts of yesteryear to generate interest.

Remember when Shawn Michaels came out of retirement just to participate in arguably the worst match of his illustrious career? I’m willing to bet Michaels prefers everyone forgot it ever happened.

But I have to give credit where credit is due, because the latest WWE event in Saudi Arabia, Crown Jewel, actually has a card that I am looking forward to watching and one that actually feels connected to the product viewers consume on a regular basis, which was not the case back in 2018.

Who will walk away a winner on Saturday? Let’s get to the predictions …

WWE Crown Jewel 2023 start time: What time does Crown Jewel start?

Here’s when you’ll need to tune in for WWE Crown Jewel 2023 when it airs from Saudi Arabia on Nov. 4.

While it’s a tradition that not everyone is crazy about, WWE has made its annual trips to Saudi Arabia a pretty big deal. Certainly, WWE Crown Jewel has become an anticipated part of the premium live event schedule for fans in the area, as the company has made a habit out of inserting some pretty big talent and important matches onto the card.

It looks like this year will be no exception, as Roman Reigns will defend his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship for the first time in months against one of the hottest superstars on the roster. We’re talking about LA Knight, who will get his first shot at major WWE gold on a big stage in Riyadh.

The other world title will also be defended on the show. Seth Rollins has been a fighting champ willing to put his World Heavyweight Championship on the line against anyone, but it’s possible he’ll find he’s bitten off more than he can chew in the Scottish Warrior, Drew McIntyre.

Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley will have even more challengers after her belt: four in all, as she tries to emerge from a Fatal 5-Way with her spot as the dominant force in the women’s division intact. And while they don’t have matches scheduled yet at the time of this post, both John Cena and Bianca Belair are featured prominently in advertising for Crown Jewel.

For fans in the U.S. who want to tune in and catch Crown Jewel live, the important thing to remember is the time difference with Saudi Arabia. That makes it an afternoon affair in the east and potential brunch fare on the west coast.

WWE Crown Jewel 2023 will kick off at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT on Saturday, Nov. 4. Like all premium live events, it will be available to U.S. viewers on Peacock. Hit the link below for the latest updated match card.

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WWE Crown Jewel 2023 betting odds: LA Knight a massive underdog against Roman Reigns

Aside from Rey Mysterio, the WWE Crown Jewel betting odds favor the other champions in action in Riyadh.

It might be LA Knight‘s game, but after WWE Crown Jewel this weekend, it’s still expected to be Roman Reigns‘ Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.

That’s the biggest takeaway from the most recent betting lines for Crown Jewel, which have the Tribal Chief as a massive favorite over the Megastar. In fact, Betfair has Reigns as the biggest favorite on the card, even ahead of Rhea Ripley, who is also a huge favorite despite facing four challengers at once in Saudi Arabia.

Want more of a toss-up? Betfair sees IYO SKY as holding just a slim edge to retain her WWE Women’s Championship over Bianca Belair, who has returned in recent weeks on a mission to not just reclaim the title but run through all of Damage CTRL in the process.

As always, we don’t actually endorse wagering on pro wrestling events, since, well, the whole scripted outcome thing. That said, examining the betting odds is often a fascinating way to get a read on what many people think will happen at an upcoming event, and Crown Jewel is no exception in that regard.

We’ll update the lines as more matches are added or the existing lines shift, but here’s what we’re looking at right now, with all lines expressed in American-style odds.

(Latest update: Nov. 2, 2023, 2:05 p.m. ET)

WWE Crown Jewel 2023 betting odds:

WWE World Heavyweight Championship match:
  • Seth Rollins (c): -275
  • Drew McIntyre: +165
  • Damian Priest (via MITB cash-in during the match only): +700
Undisputed WWE Universal Championship match:
  • Roman Reigns (c): -1667
  • LA Knight: +450
WWE United States Championship match:
  • Logan Paul: -175
  • Rey Mysterio (c): +120
WWE Women’s World Championship match:
  • Rhea Ripley (c): -1000
  • Nia Jax: +333
  • Shayna Baszler: +550
  • Raquel Rodriguez: +700
  • Zoey Stark: +900
Singles match:
  • Cody Rhodes: -715
  • Damian Priest: +300
Singles match:
  • John Cena: -275
  • Solo Sikoa: +140

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How to watch WWE Crown Jewel 2023: Live stream US, international

Here’s what you need to know to tune in for WWE Crown Jewel this weekend.

For the second time in 2023, WWE will make a trip to Saudi Arabia for a premium live event. This one, Crown Jewel, features a stacked match card, including a championship that has not been defended in three months, a Fatal 5-Way tile match, and rivalries that will culminate in the ring.

Roman Reigns will put his modern-day title reign record on the line when he defends against LA Knight, whose meteoric rise has resulted in a championship match in the main event of a premium live event. Despite his momentum, Knight defeating Reigns would mark a historic upset — the end of an era of WWE. Don’t expect it to happen, but crazier things have occurred.

Elsewhere in The Bloodline, Solo Sikoa will face John Cena as tensions have been brewing between the two throughout the fall. Jimmy Uso has been making his presence known in Bloodline-related matches, however, so perhaps he will show up here to spoil the night for Cena.

Drew McIntyre poses a formidable challenge to Seth Rollins as he looks to take the World Heavyweight Championship at Crown Jewel. This could prove to be Rollins’ toughest competitor yet and potentially signal a turning point in his reign, or possibly bring it to an end.

Raquel Rodriguez, Nia Jax, Zoey Stark and Shayna Baszler are the four challengers that stand in the way of Rhea Ripley retaining the Women’s World Championship. The incumbent has defended the title relatively few times, but given that WrestleMania season is approaching, it would be surprising if she were to lose the title before 2024.

These matches, and more, will grace Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia. Here’s everything you need to know to watch the action this weekend.

WWE Crown Jewel 2023

  • Date: Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023
  • Location: Mohammed Abdu Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
  • Start time: 1:00 p.m. ET/10:00 a.m. PT
  • How to watch: On Peacock in the U.S., and on WWE Network in the rest of the world

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WWE Crown Jewel 2023 card: John Cena to take on Solo Sikoa

See what WWE is promoting for Crown Jewel, its penultimate premium live event for 2023.

WWE Fastlane ended on Saturday night, and within 48 hours, the road to Crown Jewel began. This premium live event will take place in Riyadh, Saudia Arabia on Saturday, Nov. 4. It’s the second-to-last premium live event of 2023 before Survivor Series closes out the year.

Drew McIntyre opened the aftermath episode of Raw by challenging Seth Rollins to a World Heavyweight Championship match at Crown Jewel. However, the Scottish Warrior quickly thwarted Damian Priest’s attempt to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase on Rollins, nearly calling off the potential main event.

Rollins has held the World Heavyweight Championship since winning the tournament for the revived belt in May. After defeating Shinsuke Nakamura at back-to-back premium live events to retain the title, the Visionary will try to extend his reign into the holiday season.

McIntyre’s recent success could spell the end of Rollins’ lengthy championship reign in Saudia Arabia. Will it happen?

On Oct. 13, Roman Reigns returned to SmackDown, making his first appearance on WWE programming since the aftermath of SummerSlam in early August. He confronted John Cena in his return, but instead of asking for a match, Cena introduced LA Knight as the next challenger to Reigns’ Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.

At the end of the night, Reigns attacked Knight in the ring after his match with Solo Sikoa, leaving him lying. This made it clear that Reigns and Knight would be having a match, but it wasn’t officially confirmed until the morning of the Oct. 20 episode of SmackDown that these two will square off at Crown Jewel.

And Cena and Sikoa will be involved in the show as well, with WWE announcing this week that they will battle each other as Cena looks for his first televised singles win in several years.

Crown Jewel goes down on Saturday, Nov. 4. As WWE announces more matches, they will be updated below.

Latest update: Oct. 31, 2023, 9:52 a.m. ET.

WWE Crown Jewel 2023 card:

  • Seth Rollins (c) vs. Drew McIntyre – World Heavyweight Championship match
  • Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Nia Jax vs. Raquel Rodriguez vs. Shayna Baszler vs. Zoey Stark – Women’s World Championship Fatal 5-Way match
  • Roman Reigns (c) vs. LA Knight – Undisputed WWE Universal Championship match
  • Rey Mysterio vs. Logan Paul – WWE United States Championship match
  • IYO SKY (c) vs. Bianca Belair – WWE Women’s Championship match
  • John Cena vs. Solo Sikoa
  • Cody Rhodes vs. Damian Priest
  • Sami Zayn vs. JD McDonagh (pre-show)

WWE Crown Jewel could feature the final Roman Reigns match of 2023

By the end of 2023, Roman Reigns likely won’t even wrestle 10 times on televised WWE events.

Being the Tribal Chief has its perks. Roman Reigns has to defend his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at Crown Jewel on Nov. 4 against LA Knight. But he probably won’t have to do it again until 2024.

In his latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter (subscription required), Dave Meltzer spells out what many fans were likely assuming would be the case: Reigns isn’t likely to step back in the ring on any televised show until January.

Reigns is not scheduled for Survivor Series, which is notable because it’s considered a big four event. He defends at Crown Jewel and his next scheduled PPV match won’t be until Royal Rumble

If this indeed turns out to be the case, Reigns will have wrestled only seven times on televised events (including Crown Jewel) in 2023, along with a handful of house shows. He hasn’t competed on a Raw or SmackDown all year, though that could still change before the year comes to a close.

As well, two of Reigns’ matches were tag team bouts: at Night of Champions and Money in the Bank, both times paired with Solo Sikoa. He also lost both of those matches and was pinned in the latter for the first time in several years.

Reigns hasn’t lost a singles match since a DQ defeat to Seth Rollins at the 2022 Royal Rumble and almost certainly will make it four-plus years since anyone beat him by pinfall or submission one-on-one. WWE is taking the idea of Reigns as a special attraction to its logical conclusion at this point, and considering the Bloodline storyline has been the hottest in pro wrestling for much of the last two years, it’s hard to argue it hasn’t been effective.

All of which to say is that the Crown Jewel matchup with Knight might be even more special than it first appears. It’s not every day, or even every month, that the Head of the Table steps between the ropes.

WWE Crown Jewel results: Full history of Crown Jewel year-by-year

Refresh your knowledge of WWE Crown Jewel with every match and every winner throughout the event’s history.

There aren’t too many WWE premium live events that stir up feelings as widely varied as WWE Crown Jewel.

Just its existence is somewhat controversial, the result of a big money, multi-year contract WWE signed with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Sport to bring annual big cards to that country. Some wrestlers boycotted the first few shows, and women’s wrestlers were not on the card the first year.

Stances toward Crown Jewel have seemed to soften somewhat over time, or at the very least, fans have accepted that it is part of WWE’s annual schedule. The company initially leaned heavily on nostalgia when assembling the cards — hence Kane and The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels and Triple H as the main event on the first show in 2018 — but now treats it more or less like any premium live event on its slate.

Need a refresher on how WWE Crown Jewel has gone down over the years? Scroll down for a complete year-by-history, complete with every match and every winner.

Yeah! LA Knight vs. Roman Reigns will headline WWE Crown Jewel

This will be the third straight year Roman Reigns will appear at Crown Jewel, and the first WWE title shot for LA Knight.

The Megastar is about to get his big shot against the Head of the Table.

Confirming the rumors surrounding WWE Crown Jewel and the hints laid out during the Oct. 13 episode of SmackDown, WWE confirmed that the upcoming show in Saudi Arabia will be headlined by an Undisputed WWE Universal Championship match between Roman Reigns and LA Knight.

The Los Angeles Times first broke the news.

Reigns, who is in the midst of a historic, multi-year run with the Universal Championship, has appeared sparingly on WWE television as of late, but returned last week thanks to turmoil within his group, The Bloodline. He last defended the title, and his role as Tribal Chief, against Jey Uso at SummerSlam in early August.

Knight has been one of the true success stories of the last year or so of WWE events, with fans increasingly attracted to his blend of charisma and in-ring showmanship. This will be his first singles match for a WWE title of any kind, and while it feels a bit unlikely that he’d knock off Reigns here, it does seem like it’s more a question of when than if he’ll eventually wear some gold.

WWE has shown a willingness to bring its biggest stars to Saudi Arabia for Crown Jewel, and this will be the third straight year that Reigns is appearing in a title match at the show. Last year, he defeated Logan Paul in the main event.

WWE Crown Jewel will take place on Saturday, Nov. 4 at Mohammed Abdu Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Only two other matches have been confirmed so far, but advertising has featured the likes of John Cena, Cody Rhodes and Bianca Belair, so more bouts with big names are expected to be announced soon.

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Bianca Belair’s WWE return may be right around the corner

By the time you read this, Bianca Belair may already be back on WWE programming.

Since August, Bianca Belair has taken time off from the WWE program for “self-care.” She had been a constant presence on Raw or SmackDown since her main roster debut, and it’s normal for anyone to take some time off, given the wear and tear of competing in the wrestling ring.

Belair’s WWE return seems to be imminent, however, as PWInsider Elite reports that she could potentially make her comeback on the Oct. 20 episode of SmackDown.

The poster for the upcoming Crown Jewel premium live event from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia is also a pretty blatant giveaway. Along with superstars like John Cena, Roman Reigns, Rhea Ripley and LA Knight, Belair’s image is front and center on the promotional material. That’s probably not coincidental.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cygq6NcxtHj/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Belair last wrestled on the Aug. 18 episode of SmackDown, where she and Charlotte Flair defeated Bayley and IYO SKY. She was written off television afterward in a backstage segment when Damage CTRL attacked her knee.

Belair could potentially challenge SKY for her WWE Women’s Championship in the next match, building off their backstage incident. With the World Heavyweight Championship match between Seth Rollins and McIntyre and a Fatal Five-way match for Ripley’s Women’s World Championship already on the card, this could join a show filled with top stars and other titles being defended.

So it seems fans won’t have to wait long for Belair’s return, even if it doesn’t happen on Oct. 20. As Survivor Series is only a few weeks after Crown Jewel, WWE may have one of its top stars present for a major month of shows.

WWE advertising John Cena for Crown Jewel premium live event in Saudi Arabia

Roman Reigns is also expected to appear at WWE Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia in November.

When WWE announced John Cena‘s return, it pinned him to episodes of SmackDown from Sept. 1 through Oct. 27, and as a late addition to the Payback premium live event as a host and special guest referee for LA Knight vs. The Miz. However, it seems the 16-time world champion might stay one more day.

According to Haus of Wrestling, advertising for the upcoming WWE Crown Jewel premium live event in Saudi Arabia included Cena. The show takes place on Saturday, Nov. 4.

It seems WWE will go all-out for its biannual Saudi Arabia live event, as it has also advertised Roman Reigns’ return match. This would put two of the biggest names in WWE over the last two decades on the same show, arguably giving it more fanfare as Survivor Series, one of WWE’s top shows of the year, approaches.

The Bloodline story has continued over the last few weeks with Cena interacting with Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa, which could evolve into a tag team match with AJ Styles. If the program between Cena and this faction continues, the old Dr. of Thuganomics could face Uso or Sikoa in a singles match at Crown Jewel, making it one of the top bouts of the night.

It can’t hurt for WWE to take advantage of Cena’s availability while it has him. The ongoing writer and actor strikes have made Hollywood quiet, and at 46 years old, it’s uncertain when or if having him around for lengthy periods of time like this could happen again.

Although no matches have been announced yet, it would not be surprising to see Cena there based on how loading previous Saudi Arabia shows have been over the years, and with several potential match opponents brewing, a few options make sense for him.