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The endless controversy surrounding the WWE Crown Jewel may continue, but at least after Friday afternoon, the show is now officially over. At King Saud Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which lasted four hours, a new universal champion was crowned, a superstar named "World's Best" at the end of the World Cup tournament and a great nostalgic event between DeGeneration X and the Brothers of Destruction.
WWE has correctly decided not to mention "Saudi Arabia" nor broadcast any propaganda videos that still tarnished an already debatable issue of Greatest Royal Rumble in April. Nevertheless, Crown Jewel has something wrong if we consider that many of the best superstars in society are not present – and certainly not at the World Cup tournament. The booking will definitely leave WWE fans questioning the company's plans, but it's hard to know if it's worth it.
Overall, there have been some notable moments, and all the game reviews below are ranked along a curve that takes into account the expectations for an event like this. Admittedly, if they were to be sold at a standard pay-per-view rate by the WWE, the ratings would be a bit lower. The same goes for the show itself, which failed as a normal event but which at least had enough to talk about it afterwards. Grade: C-
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WWE Crown Jewel Results, grades
United States Championship – Shinsuke Nakamura (c) def. Rusev via pinfall to keep the title (Kickoff Show): In a match that was filled with consistent action, it seemed that Rusev was about to win the American title after locking Nakamura in the middle of the ring. But as Nakamura began to crawl to the ropes, Rusev released the hold to try to lock him closer. Nakamura took the opportunity to screw up Rusev's groin and followed up with Kinshasa to pick up the 1-2-3. Best match than expected for a show of coup de send, but nothing special. Grade: C-
World Cup quarter-final – Rey Mysterio def. Randy Orton via pinfall to advance: In a short match, as most of these World Cup games will be, Mysterio eliminated Orton by combining it. Immediately after, Orton hit Mysterio with an RKO, threw Mysterio out of the ring and threw it over the announcements table. It will be interesting to see if this extra punishment will hurt Mysterio later on. Grade: C
World Cup quarter-final – The Miz def. Jeff Hardy via pinfall to advance: Hardy dominated most of the match and seemed ready to put Miz away with a Twist of Fate, but Miz quickly fought back in the Skull-Crushing Finale for a rare clear victory for the heel. Grade: C
World Cup quarter-final – Seth Rollins def. Bobby Lashley via pinfall to advance: Lio Rush came in with Lashley and put him on the mic, moving away from the usual lines that he uses every week on WWE television. Lashley dominated the debut with his strength, but a pair of rollins suicides dives took him out of the ring. Rollins sold his injuries following the attack of Dean Ambrose throughout the fight. In a quick finish, Rollins absorbed a big shot, skipped a load of Lashley and surprised with the Stomp for the fallen. Grade: C +
World Cup quarter-final – Dolph Ziggler def. Kurt Angle via pinfall to advance: Ziggler gained momentum early in the game and it seemed that angle had had a clear victory midway through the mbad when he had hit the Angle Slam in the middle of the ring. Ziggler kicked at two o'clock, which is exactly what Angle did a few moments later when Ziggler hit him with the Famouser. Angle ducked an attempt at Zig-Zag and slid Ziggler into his lock at the ankle, and he did not seem that he would be able to get out. Ziggler eventually rolled, pushed the angle through the turnbuckles to the ring amount and hit the Zig-Zag for the win. Grade: C +
SmackDown Tag Team Championship – The bar (c) def. The New Day via pinfall to keep the titles: Upon entering the ring area on a "magic carpet" hovering next to the entrance ramp on an elevated platform, New Day received a huge ovation. With Sheamus on the shoulders of Big E in the corner, Kofi Kingston got a double shot in the back, followed by a Big E powerslam, but New Day had only two hits. Shortly after, the referee distracted, Big E found himself stuck in the corner. Big Show climbed to the top rope and hit the coup de grace, and Sheamus followed with a Kick Brogue for 1-2-3. Category B-
Semifinal of the World Cup – The Miz def. Rey Mysterio via pinfall to advance: Apart from some early rest periods, this match quickly took the pace. A Mysterio huricanrana started what seemed to be the closing process, but after Mysterio was thrown face to face in the corner, he kicked off the final of Miz's Skull- Crushing. Mysterio was gaining momentum and putting Miz in the shelter, but his frog splash attempt was thwarted by knees raised by Miz, who took advantage of the wounded ribs of Mysterio with a combination for the victory. Category B-
Semifinal of the World Cup – Dolph Ziggler def. Seth Rollins via pinfall to advance: Rollins once again cared for his injured neck and Drew McIntyre's early distraction gave Ziggler the advantage for the majority of the game. Both players repeated many of the same combinations of their previous matches, including the combination of DDT points and pins. Rollins' knee caught things up late in the fight and gave him a break. Rollins threw Ziggler out of the ring and followed with a suicide plunge to knock out Ziggler and McIntyre. Back in the ring, Ziggler dodged a flying Rollins and hit a famous character for a double charge. Ziggler then followed with the Zig-Zag, and Rollins was still launched late. The referee being distracted and Rollins on the top rope, McIntyre pushed him away. Rollins flew and fell flat on his face, and Ziggler took advantage of a superkick for the win. Rollins made a short promo after the match, declaring himself the best in the world and saying that everyone would know it later in the night. Category B
WWE Championship – AJ Styles (c) def. Samoa Joe via pinfall to keep the title: The match was relatively slow, with Joe taking early advantage using his brutal style. Styles did his best to treat Joe's injured leg and eventually defeated him with a calf crusher. Joe could barely stand before the end of the match and Styles hit a phenomenal forearm of the top rope to retain his title. Grade: C +
Universal Championship – Brock Lesnar def. Braun Strowman via the tomb to win the vacant title: Before the start of the game, Raw's chief executive, Baron Corbin, alongside the ring to oversee the fight for the vacant title, brought the universal title back to the ring and hit Strowman over the head. Lesnar then hit Strowman with three F5s, trying to pin him down after each. When Strowman continued to kick, Lesnar hit the F5 on Strowman over the top rope, throwing him out of the ring and onto the floor. Strowman broke the 10 count and once inside, Lesnar hit him with an extra F5 to regain the world title. Even if you may not like the result, it was a surprise, and WWE deserves credit for that. Nevertheless, without any offense from Strowman, this can not give a grade of quality. Grade: D +
Final World Cup – Shane McMahon The miz def. Dolph Ziggler via pinfall will be named "best in the world:" McIntyre was banned from the ring at the start of the match and Miz attacked Ziggler in order to get a quick advantage. When Miz jumped out of the ring to continue attacking Ziggler, he seemed to land horribly on his ankle and sold a serious injury. It sounded quite real, Miz appearing in extreme pain, but it soon became clear: SmackDown commissioner Shane McMahon – also at the edge of the ring – refused to let Ziggler carry him away. McMahon took off his jacket and entered the ring, hitting Ziggler. Corbin tried to interfere but was thrown away. Ziggler had the upper hand for a moment, but McMahon reversed the trend with a global DDT. Ziggler being prone in the corner after a sling, McMahon hit his version of the Van Terminator from one corner to the other to win the victory. It was a bit confusing but creative, but it did move the needle towards the Survivor series. Grade: C +
DeGeneration X vs. Brothers of Destruction: The crowd was hot after Shawn Michaels' scoring, but he was quickly decimated by Undertaker and Kane, who was standing tall as DX banded outside the ring. Michaels dodged Taker's knee, allowing DX to take over. Triple H worked a little for Kane but seemed justified in getting injured on the shoulder or rib, which led to a quick return to Michaels, who was knocked down and made a kip-up to the delight of the spectators. while the fans were chanting it. "Michaels followed with an elbow on his elbow, but while the fans were singing for Sweet Chin Music, Kane grabbed Michaels and hit a chokeslam.Taker identified him soon after, and Michaels hit him with Sweet Chin Music but failed to capitalize because everyone was exhausted.With the four men outside the ring, Kane has chokeslamé Triple H via a table of ads, and Taker's is concentrated Back in the ring, Taker and Kane named the Michaels, but he finally got the upper hand with a moon field that knocked the crowd out of the ring, and Michaels crawled to the top. corner of the street to find a special label with Triple H , who used his set of standard shots.
Triple H and Taker reversed signatures and finishers until Triple H appeared in Pedigree on Taker. While he was trying to capitalize, Taker sat down, grabbed Triple H's arm and locked him in Hell's Gate. Michaels thwarted Kane with Sweet Chin Music, and DX came out of an attempt to double stacked headstones with an inch in Kane's eyes. Michaels, now cold-blooded, then hits Sweet Chin Music on both Taker and Kane, and Triple H follows with a Pedigree to Kane for the 1-2-3. The four men were doing well enough given their age and athletic abilities, but it was clear that they were working at 50% of their previous capacity. As the game unfolded, things became more and more choreographed. The teams get an "A" for their efforts and nostalgia – because it was really present – but not much more. Consider this as a gift. Grade: C +
The highlights of WWE Crown Jewel
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