The World Cup tournament concludes this Friday at WWE’s controversial Crown Jewel event in Saudi Arabia. However, it was originally slated to play out slightly differently compared to the brackets that were recently revealed.
According to Mike Johnson of PWInsiderElite.com, the “original plan was to kind of have the talents mixed up.”
He went to to say, “[…] at one point we were told that John Cena was going to wrestle Rey Mysterio in the first round and then the decision was made to keep the Raw and SmackDown talents segregated until the final.”
This was done in order to “[…] serve as sort of a preview of next month’s Survivor Series which will have a Raw vs SmackDown theme.”
Blue Brand Ultimatum
Shane McMahon made a staggering declaration last night during SmackDown Live regarding the World Cup..
He said that if the blue brand’s finalist is not successful against their Raw opponent, they would “no longer have a home on SmackDown Live.”
He prefaced this ultimatum by stressing that “[…] one of the worst things in the world that could happen to me personally, is that my sister can call a Raw superstar the ‘best in the world.'”
WWE is gearing up for their next pay-per-view event, Crown Jewel, as the production staff is already preparing for the show. The construction on the stage and set is almost done. Video footage of the set up as has surfaced online, which you can see here:
WWE presents the Crown Jewel pay-per-view event on November 2nd, 2018 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at the King Saud University Stadium and will air on the WWE Network.
The company has yet to officially announce the main event of this event, but it will most likely be Triple H & Shawn Michaels vs. Kane & The Undertaker in a tag team match. Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman for the vacant Universal Title is also another big match on the show. WWE will be announcing more matches for this show in the coming days. Here is the updated card:
Updated WWE Crown Jewel Card
Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman – Vacant WWE Universal Title Match
WWE Champion AJ Styles vs. Daniel Bryan
Triple H & Shawn Michaels vs. Kane & The Undertaker
World Cup Tournament – Seth Rollins vs. Bobby Lashley & Kurt Angle vs. Dolph Ziggler (RAW Side) Jeff Hardy vs. The Miz & Rey Mysterio vs. Randy Orton (SmackDown Side)
WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Bar vs. The New Day
Daniel Bryan has been removed from the scheduled Crown Jewel event in Saudi Arabia on Friday. The news was first reported by Robbie Fox of Barstool Sports. His absence from the show will be addressed on tonight’s Smackdown. The outlet has been reporting that both John Cena and Bryan were doubtful for the show for the last week.
Cena was officially removed from the event last night on Raw. Constable Corbin replaced him in the World Cup with Bobby Lashley, who just lost via DQ to Finn Balor.
Daniel Bryan vs AJ Styles at the WWE Performance Center?
WWE has been aware of Daniel Bryan’s unwillingness to participate in Crown Jewel since last week. According to a report at PWInsider, there were discussions for Daniel Bryan to wrestle WWE Champion AJ Styles at the Performance Center in Orlando and for that match to air during the crown Jewel broadcast. That plan never came to fruition.
Another scenario being discussed is for Bryan vs. Styles to take place at tonight’s SmackDown tapings. Rusev’s name has apparently been mentioned as a possible challenger for Styles at Crown Jewel.
Tonight’s episode of Smackdown takes place inside the Philips Arena in Atlanta, GA. In addition to the Bryan and Styles segment, Shinsuke Nakamura will face Tye Dillinger with the United States title on the line.
The brackets for the WWE World Cup Tournament at Crown Jewel has been revealed by the WWE.
On the RAW side, Seth Rollins vs. Bobby Lashley and Kurt Angle vs. Dolph Ziggler will take place while on the SmackDown side, Jeff Hardy vs. The Miz and Rey Mysterio vs. Randy Orton. As noted, although originally announced for this tournament, John Cena has been pulled and replaced by Lashley.
WWE presents the Crown Jewel pay-per-view event on November 2nd, 2018 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at the King Saud University Stadium and will air on the WWE Network. WWE will be announcing more matches for this show in the coming days. Here is the updated card:
Updated WWE Crown Jewel Card
Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman – Vacant WWE Universal Title Match
WWE Champion AJ Styles vs. Daniel Bryan
Triple H & Shawn Michaels vs. Kane & The Undertaker
World Cup Tournament – Seth Rollins vs. Bobby Lashley & Kurt Angle vs. Dolph Ziggler (RAW Side) Jeff Hardy vs. The Miz & Rey Mysterio vs. Randy Orton (SmackDown Side)
WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Bar vs. The New Day
What are your thoughts on this bracket and matches announced for this next WWE PPV event? Sound off in the comment section.
WWE’s controversial Crown Jewel event in Saudi Arabia is now less than a week away. We reported previously that John Cena may not be appearing at the event and we may well have an update.
Nothing has changed regarding Cena’s status for Crown Jewel according to Wrestling Observer Radio’s Dave Meltzer. Meltzer stated that WWE may confirm Cena’s status on tonight’s RAW show. WOR are claiming that WWE creative and staff elsewhere in the company are not even aware of what is happening with Cena in regards to Crown Jewel, but that we should have an answer after tonight’s RAW. Cena was scheduled to take part in the ‘World Cup’ tournament on the Crown Jewel card.
A potential rumored replacement for Cena’s World Cup spot is Bobby Lashley. Lashley is currently dealing with a shoulder injury that he is working through as long as possible.
Meltzer also commented on the rumors of Daniel Bryan not appearing at Crown Jewel. According to WOR no announcement will be made by WWE about Bryan not appearing at the event. It is likely that an angle will be shown on the day of the event or at this week’s Smackdown taping to explain Bryan’s absence. Bryan’s status for the show is very much “up in the air” but will not be addressed until closer to the event either way.
WWE officials could make a change to one top match at the Crown Jewel pay-per-view event. With Roman Reigns relinquishing the Universal Title due to his battle with leukemia, he will not able to face Brock Lesnar and Braun Strowman in a triple threat match at this show as originally advertised. Thus, Strowman and Lesnar will battle for the vacant title at this show.
According to a report by Pwinsider.com, there was a pitch made last week to add Drew McIntyre to the match, which would make it a triple threat. WWE has yet to make this change official but it could come as soon as Monday’s episode of RAW. WWE presents the Crown Jewel pay-per-view event on November 2nd, 2018 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at the King Saud University Stadium and will air on the WWE Network. WWE will be announcing more matches for this show in the coming days. Here is the updated card:
Updated WWE Crown Jewel Card
Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman – Vacant WWE Universal Title Match
WWE Champion AJ Styles vs. Daniel Bryan
Triple H & Shawn Michaels vs. Kane & The Undertaker
World Cup Tournament: John Cena, Kurt Angle, Seth Rollins & Dolph Ziggler will represent RAW while Rey Mysterio, The Miz, Randy Orton & Jeff Hardy will represent SmackDown
WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Bar vs. The New Day
WWE made the surprising decision to promote the Crown Jewel PPV during last night’s Evolution event and as you can expect, the idea didn’t go over with the fans in attendance.
WWE debuted a new video package promoting the upcoming Crown Jewel event set to be held in Saudi Arabia later this week during the All Women’s PPV.
However, as soon as the Crown Jewel logo appeared on the jumbotron, the crowd started booing. Below you can see a video of people booing as Michael Cole promotes the upcoming show:
Though the Officials were quick to respond to the situation. According to fans in attendance, the company took the graphics of the upcoming show off from the jumbotron within seconds.
This incident proves that the fans who are unhappy with the company moving forward with the event are going to raise their voice against it.
Now it’d be interesting to see how WWE handles the situation at the upcoming shows and whether or not they promote the event during the go home episodes of Raw and SmackDown this week.
WWE Crown Jewel takes place from Riyadh Saudi Arabia on Friday, November 2nd. You can check out an updated card for the event here.
Tickets to WWE’s upcoming Crown Jewel show in Saudi Arabia sold out in 3 hours. The Chairman of the Saudi Sports Authority, Turk Al Alshikh, announced the news through his social media channels today.
Tickets to the event were originally supposed to go on-sale last Saturday but were delayed.
Crown Jewel will not be held in the same venue as the Greatest Royal Rumble, however. The Greatest Royal Rumble was held in King Fahd International Stadium which has a capacity listed at 70,000. That building is being renovated so instead the event was moved to King Saud University Stadium. The University Stadium’s capacity is 25,000.
Crown Jewel – November 2nd, 2018
Universal Championship (Vacant)
Brock Lesnar vs Braun Strowman
WWE Championship
AJ Styles (c) vs Daniel Bryan
WWE World Cup Tournament
John Cena
Kurt Angle
Jeff Hardy
Randy Orton
Seth Rollins
Dolph Ziggler
The Miz
Rey Mysterio
Smackdown Tag Team Championships
The Bar (c) vs New Day
Will John Cena and Daniel Bryan Be At Crown Jewel?
There are some rumors and speculation that John Cena and/or Daniel Bryan will not be at the show. There is nothing concrete available on this, however. WWE responded to the rumors by referring to their previous statement on the matter, “As always, we maintain an open line of communication with our performers, as we continue to monitor the situation.”
After a long wait, WWE finally released a decisive statement on their upcoming Crown Jewel PPV yesterday morning announcing that they are moving forward with the Saudi Arabian event as planned.
Though as you can expect this statement has only fuelled the discussion about the show with people now debating whether or not WWE made the right call.
Since this topic was expected to be brought up in the 2019 third quarter earnings conference call that took place yesterday, Vince McMahon made it clear at the beginning that they are not going to talk about it:
“We’re not going to talk a lot about that it’s a very sensitive subject. I think our statement says all we’re going to say about that today.”
When brought back up later in the call, the topic was again dodged and this time it was CFO George Barrios who repeated the same words saying that all their thoughts are included in the statement:
Jason @ Citi #wweq3 Q: "Respecting you don't want to talk about Saudi Arbia, Can you frame what risks that relate to Saudi Arabia outside your control? Economic Sanctions risk?"
Barrios: "The complexity of the situation as Vince said. All our thoughts are in our statement."
With this call, it’s pretty clear that WWE won’t be talking much about the event in near future and it wouldn’t be a surprise if they don’t even mention it after November 2.
Though the upcoming go home episode of Raw and SmackDown are still expected to build the event and it’d be interesting to see how they reference the show on WWE programming in the upcoming week.
Skybet has released the early betting odds for the upcoming vacant Universal Title match between Braun Strowman and Brock Lesnar at WWE Crown Jewel.
It was revealed on Monday during RAW that Roman Reigns had to relinquish the Universal Title due to his battle with leukemia. Thus, he will not able to face Brock Lesnar and Strowman in a triple threat match at this show as originally advertised.
The odds for this new match are out as Strowman is a 2/5 favorite to win the title while Lesnar is a 7/4 favorite. For those who plan on betting on this contest, a $100 bet on Braun Strowman would return around $116. On the flip side, the same bet on Lesnar would return about $170.
WWE presents the Crown Jewel pay-per-view event on November 2nd, 2018 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at the King Saud University Stadium and will air on the WWE Network. WWE will be announcing more matches for this show in the coming days.
Updated WWE Crown Jewel Card
Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman – Vacant WWE Universal Title Match
WWE Champion AJ Styles vs. Daniel Bryan
Triple H & Shawn Michaels vs. Kane & The Undertaker
World Cup Tournament: John Cena, Kurt Angle, Seth Rollins & Dolph Ziggler will represent RAW while Rey Mysterio, The Miz, Randy Orton & Jeff Hardy will represent SmackDown
WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Bar vs. The New Day
WWE will be going to Saudi Arabia on November 2nd for Crown Jewel. The company released their 3rd Quarter Earnings report today and confirmed they will be following through with their contractual commitment to the event.
The company addressed the situation on the 1st page of the report:
“WWE has operated in the Middle East for nearly 20 years and has developed a sizable and dedicated fan base. Considering the heinous crime committed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, the Company faced a very difficult decision as it relates to its event scheduled for November 2 in Riyadh. Similar to other U.S.-based companies who plan to continue operations in Saudi Arabia, the Company has decided to uphold its contractual obligations to the General Sports Authority and stage the event. Full year 2018 guidance is predicated on the staging of the Riyadh event as scheduled.”
A new match has been announced for the upcoming WWE Crown Jewel PPV. The Bar (Sheamus and Cesaro) will defend the SmackDown Tag Team Titles against The New Day. If you recall, Sheamus and Cesaro won the titles last week on SmackDown Live after The Big Show turned heel to help them.
WWE presents the Crown Jewel pay-per-view event on November 2nd, 2018 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at the King Saud University Stadium and will air on the WWE Network. WWE will be announcing more matches for this show in the coming days. Here is the updated card:
Updated WWE Crown Jewel Card
Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman – Vacant WWE Universal Title Match
WWE Champion AJ Styles vs. Daniel Bryan
Triple H & Shawn Michaels vs. Kane & The Undertaker
World Cup Tournament: John Cena, Kurt Angle, Seth Rollins & Dolph Ziggler will represent RAW while Rey Mysterio, The Miz, Randy Orton & Jeff Hardy will represent SmackDown
WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Bar vs. The New Day
What are your thoughts on this match being added to the card? Sound off in the comment section.
It looks as though WWE’s Crown Jewel event in November could well be in jeopardy. The show is scheduled to be taking place on November 2nd from King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
One of the Superstars that may not be appearing on the show is 16-time World Champion John Cena. According to Wrestling Observer Radio WWE’s creative team were told on Monday afternoon that Cena wouldn’t be available for the show. Cena was scheduled to take part in the ‘World Cup’ tournament on the card. Interestingly Cena was still advertised for the event on RAW this past Monday night. Whether Cena changed his mind late on Monday or if he may be more inclined to appear on the show if it is moved to a different venue is unconfirmed at this time.
It was mentioned by Dave Meltzer on the WOR show that the Crown Jewel event itself is in “jeopardy.” Reportedly it is a lot less likely to go ahead in Saudi Arabia than it was last week. Tickets were expected to go on sale for the show last Friday but this did not come to fruition.
There are also rumors that Daniel Bryan has also refused to appear at the Crown Jewel event on November 2nd. This however has not been verified and he is still scheduled to face AJ Styles for the WWE Championship.
WWE has made some changes to a top match at the upcoming WWE Crown Jewel PPV. With Roman Reigns relinquishing the Universal Title due to his battle with leukemia, he will not able to face Brock Lesnar and Braun Strowman in a triple threat match at this show as originally advertised. Now, Strowman and Lesnar will battle for the vacant title at this show.
WWE presents the Crown Jewel pay-per-view event on November 2nd, 2018 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at the King Saud University Stadium and will air on the WWE Network. WWE will be announcing more matches for this show in the coming days. Triple H & Shawn Michaels vs. Kane & The Undertaker in a tag team match is expected to serve as the headliner. Here is the updated card:
Updated WWE Crown Jewel Card
Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman – Vacant WWE Universal Title Match
WWE Champion AJ Styles vs. Daniel Bryan
Triple H & Shawn Michaels vs. Kane & The Undertaker
World Cup Tournament: John Cena, Kurt Angle, Seth Rollins & Dolph Ziggler will represent RAW while Rey Mysterio, The Miz, Randy Orton & Jeff Hardy will represent SmackDown
What are your thoughts on this match? Did WWE make the right call? Sound off in the comment section.
Tonight’s episode of Monday Night RAW will serve as the go-home episode before this weekend’s Evolution pay-per-view (PPV). However, the men’s storylines for WWE Crown Jewel will also continue to be developed. One of the top matches on the Crown Jewel card is a Tag Team bout between Triple H and Shawn Michaels, taking on Kane and The Undertaker.
The match was developed from the conclusion of The Undertaker and Triple H’s match at the WWE Super Show-Down. “The Game” defeated The Undertaker while Shawn Michaels and Kane were at ringside. After the match, all four men celebrated in the ring together before Kane and The Undertaker attacked Michaels and Triple H. Now, D-Generation X will reunite in Saudi Arabia to face The Brothers of Destruction.
It will be WWE Hall Of Famer Shawn Michaels’ first match back in WWE since 2010 when he was defeated by The Undertaker at WrestleMania 26. WWE.com has now confirmed both Triple H and Shawn Michaels will be on tonight’s RAW from Providence, Rhode Island. The two legends will likely be continuing to hype their match with Kane and The Undertaker next week.
What do you expect from Triple H and Shawn Michaels tonight on RAW?
Tickets to WWE’s Crown Jewel event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia were supposed to go on sale on October 19th. It seems ticket sales have been indefinitely postponed to the event. Advertisements now state tickets will go on sale November 2nd, the same day the event is set to take place. It is not clear if an earlier on-sale date will be announced.
Many are speculating the reason tickets didn’t go on sale as planned could be related to recent events surrounding the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi of the Washington Post. The Saudi government admitted responsibility for the death of Khashoggi yesterday.
Crown Jewel Controversy
In the last week, the controversy surrounding the Saudi Arabia-WWE deal has been covered by the mainstream media. JBL and Randy Orton both made public statements recently in support of the event.
JBL was on Fox Business recently and explained his position on why WWE should follow through with the show.
“My personal opinion is that they should go (to Saudi Arabia),” stated JBL. “Look at what we did with Cuba. You isolate a country all you do is impoverish that country. You want to promote change? WWE went to Abu Dhabi, did the first women’s match that had ever happened in the Middle East. The crowd was chanting, in English, ‘This is Change’.”
Fans have different opinions on what WWE should do with their upcoming Crown Jewel event. Some believe that the company should switch places while others are raising their voice for the show to be canceled entirely.
During the latest edition of his Not Sam Wrestling Podcast, Sam Roberts discussed the issue and gave his thoughts on the whole situation surrounding the event.
Sam claimed that while Saudi Arabia has done a lot of questionable things, he is okay with WWE’s deal with the Kingdom in general.
However, continuing on the topic, Roberts said that since US is still figuring out whether or not they are going to have to retaliate against Saudi Arabia, Crown Jewel should not take place in the country.
Roberts also discussed how WWE has made a big investment in the show, and it will cost them money but he said that the company has to eat this one, mentioning how they were recently featured on the John Oliver show this week.
The last official word that came from WWE was after the reports of superstars being uncomfortable with the show came out. They said that they are maintaining an open line of communication with talents while also monitoring the situation.
At this point, WWE looks to be moving ahead with their plans for the Crown Jewel event. With the show being only 2 weeks away we should get a better idea on their final decision in the next few days.
It doesn’t sound like Chris Jericho had the best time in Saudi Arabia. Before all the current controversy surrounding the country, WWE actually held a very successful Greatest Royal Rumble event there this past April. The company brought in several current and former stars for the show. One of those talents was Chris Jericho.
Jericho was briefly set to face The Undertaker in a Casket match. After some scrambling, however, that spot went to Rusev, and Jericho participated in the Greatest Royal Rumble match. Speaking to “Inside The Ropes,” Jericho detailed a rather unfavorable experience in the middle east:
“Saudi Arabia is a very strange place,” said Jericho. “It was me Finlay, (Billy) Kidman, Jamie Noble, and Adam Pearce. Combined 200 years of experience. We just get dropped off at the terminal and we walk off like morons. We don’t have a handler or security.
“People there are very touchy-feely. ‘Selfie, selfie, selfie, selfie.’ I’m not kidding. Everybody wants a selfie. Times that by 100 and you start to get angry. And we’re surrounding by people. I start yelling, ‘get the f*ck out of my face.’
“And they’re all coming for me because the agents are all legends, but I’m the only guy they know. It’s like a zombie movie. I’m pushing through these people.”
Jericho finished off by saying, if WWE wants him to return for any future shows in Saudi Arabia, they’re going to have to triple his pay:
“That was Saudi Arabia for ya. Now that I know how much money they made, they’re gonna have to pay me triple to come back.”
What do you think about Jericho’s experience in Saudi Arabia?
The controversy surrounding WWE’s upcoming trip to Saudi Arabia doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. The company is under a lot of criticism for opting to go through with their Crown Jewel event next month after a Saudi journalist was captured and murdered. Several notable names such as JBL, Randy Orton, and now WWE Hall Of Famer Kevin Nash have come to WWE’s defense on the matter.
Several United States Senators have urged WWE not to go through with the show. Reports have also surfaced indicating WWE talent and crew are uncomfortable making the trip. However, it seems the company will follow through with its plans. Nash took to Twitter recently to offer his thoughts on the matter:
“9-11 was conducted by 15 of the 19 attackers who were Saudi’s, our response was to attack Afghanistan and Iraq.
“Now a hit squad is responsible for the death of a Saudi Journalist. Should we hit Yemen and Iran. We’ll never know the truth. Let’s push Saudi Arabia to progress.”
9-11 was conducted by 15 of the 19 attackers who were Saudi's, our response was to attack Afghanistan and Iraq. Now a hit squad is responsible for the death of a Saudi Journalist. Should we hit Yemen and Iran. We'll never know the truth. Let's push Saudi Arabia to progress.
Nash then discussed the differences in culture and government between the United States and Saudi Arabia:
“Because democracy isn’t the answer in every country. Who the f*ck made our system the only system that functions in the world. The Muslim world see’s thing very differently. I perfer to live in a democracy. Yet I was born into it. I don’t feel I have the right to dictate others”
Because democracy isn't the answer in every country. Who the fuck made our system the only system that functions in the world. The Muslim world see's thing very differently. I perfer to live in a democracy. Yet I was born into it. I don't feel I have the right to dictate others
All of the WWE Superstars who will be competing in the World Cup tournament at the upcoming Crown Jewel pay-per-view event have been confirmed. The last two spots remaining coming into SmackDown 1000 that took place on Tuesday night in Washington, DC at the Capital One Arena on the USA Network have been filled.
As seen on the show, Rey Mysterio defeated Shinsuke Nakamura while The Miz beat Rusev. 8 superstars – 4 stars from Raw and 4 from SmackDown Live – are featured in this tournament. John Cena, WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle, WWE Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins, and RAW Tag Team Champion Dolph Ziggler will represent the red brand while Mysterio, Miz, Randy Orton, and Jeff Hardy will rep the blue brand.
WWE presents the Crown Jewel pay-per-view event on November 2nd, 2018 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at the King Saud University Stadium and will air on the WWE Network. WWE will be announcing more matches for this show in the coming weeks. Here is the updated card:
Updated WWE Crown Jewel Card
WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman – Triple Threat Match
WWE Champion AJ Styles vs. Daniel Bryan
Triple H & Shawn Michaels vs. Kane & The Undertaker
World Cup Tournament: John Cena, Kurt Angle, Seth Rollins & Dolph Ziggler will represent Raw while Rey Mysterio, The Miz, Randy Orton & Jeff Hardy will represent SmackDown
What are your thoughts on this match? Sound off in the comment section.
The controversy surrounding WWE’s trip to Saudi Arabia continues. WWE will host their “Crown Jewel” event from the country next month. The show is part of a mega-10-year deal with the country to host events there. However, with the story of a journalist being captured and killed in Saudi Arabia sweeping the nation, WWE is being urged to pull out.
As it stands, they will do no such thing. Multiple reports have surfaced indicating that several WWE stars are uncomfortable making the overseas trip. According to a report from Wrestling Observer Radio‘s Dave Meltzer, that feeling extends to the production staff as well.
Meltzer noted that most people in the company don’t want to go through with the show. However, those in management want to continue forward out of fear that reluctance to will affect the company’s stock price. One reason WWE’s stock is so high is due to the fact that they’re expecting $450 million over the next decade from Saudi Arabia.
As of this writing, WWE is planning to go forward with “Crown Jewel.”
What do you think about the WWE production staff reportedly being reluctant to go to Saudi Arabia?
WWE’s next big main roster pay-per-view event, Crown Jewel, has been a hot topic as of late. One of the topics regarding this event all comes down to the World Cup tournament and why the WWE is booking this.
Dave Meltzer noted on the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio the reason for it is all due to the request made by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as they have a conflict with Qatar.
The Saudis attempted to win the bid for the rights to the 2022 FIFA World Cup of soccer. However, they lost the bid and are upset over Qatar getting the tournament.
Thus, they went to WWE officials and asked to have their own World Cup of wrestling at Crown Jewel. The issues between the two countries date back to the mid-1990s but have risen in years because they are fighting for power in the region. Most people refer to the conflict as the Second Arab Cold War.
WWE presents the Crown Jewel pay-per-view event on November 2nd, 2018 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at the King Saud University Stadium and will air on the WWE Network.
Updated WWE Crown Jewel Card
WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman – Triple Threat Match
WWE Champion AJ Styles vs. Daniel Bryan
Triple H & Shawn Michaels vs. Kane & The Undertaker
Yesterday, it was revealed that several WWE Superstars spoke to the media regarding Crown Jewel. These Superstars, speaking on the condition of anonymity, suggested to Sports Illustrated they are uncomfortable performing on the show. WWE has now reached out to the media to give a statement on the matter.
“As always, we maintain an open line of communication with our performers as we continue to monitor the situation,” WWE stated to the New York Post.
WWE Crown Jewel Controversy
The ongoing situation was covered by HBO’s “Last Week Tonight” on Sunday. Host John Oliver commented on both the upcoming event and WWE’s Greatest Royal Rumble event held back in April.
“Audiences around the world were treated to wall-to-wall propaganda about the new Saudi Arabia,” Oliver said. “Including a video showing women happily driving, men dancing, and tourist-destination beauty shops, as well as constant excited compliments throughout the broadcast.”
Sen. Richard Blumenthal made the following statements to media recently as well:
“I would hope that WWE will recognize on its own a conscience and conviction if there is proof that Saudi officials approved and ordered this kind of killing, and I would lean first on the United States government to do its duty so that it can lead private interests like WWE, and the first place to look is to the United States of America.”
John Oliver made some critical comments regarding WWE’s involvement with the Saudi Royal Family last night. Oliver hosts “Last Week Tonight” on HBO.
Before launching into his commentary regarding Crown Jewel, however, Oliver opted to make a joke about wrestling being “homoerotic”.
“It seems the WWE is as overtly pro-Saudi Arabia as it is lately homoerotic, which is to say, intensely.”
He was then critical of WWE for continuing with the Crown Jewel event.
“As for the WWE, while they say they are monitoring the situation, their gigantic Crown Jewel event is still scheduled for November, meaning John Cena could well be back there [praising Saudi Arabia again], which I guess in this context means you don’t see these human rights abuses right here,” Oliver then did the Cena “You Can’t See Me” gesture.
Watch John Oliver’s comments about WWE’s Saudi Arabia propaganda:
Last Week With John Oliver speaks on WWE's deal with Saudi Arabia in the latest episode. pic.twitter.com/fo1OLglY1i
It is assumed the company will make a great deal of money from the event. The exact details of their contract with the Saudi Royals are not known, however. While some are pointing to changes made to the WWE schedule on WWE.com, there is nothing firm which states WWE is planning to cancel or move the event.
As of this writing, WWE plans on having two World Cup Qualifying matches take place on tonight’s Raw.
The early betting odds for some of the matches that take place at the upcoming the WWE Crown Jewel PPV have been released.
According to Bet Wrestling, AJ Styles is a -295 favorite to retain the WWE Title over Daniel Bryan, who is placed at +200. Also, Triple H and Shawn Michaels are favored by -200 to beat Kane and The Undertaker, who is placed at +140
The company has yet to reveal which match will serve as the main event but it will most likely be D-Generation X vs. The Brothers of Destruction in a tag team match. WWE will be officially announcing more matches for this show in the coming weeks.
WWE presents the Crown Jewel pay-per-view event on November 2nd, 2018 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at the King Saud University Stadium and will air on the WWE Network.
The Odds
WWE Champion AJ Styles is the favorite (-295) to retain against Daniel Bryan (+200)
Universal Champion Roman Reigns is favored (-455) to retain against Braun Strowman (+375) and Brock Lesnar (+600) in the Triple Threat Match.
D-Generation X are favored (-200) to beat The Brothers of Destruction (+140)