WWE Crown Jewel Review 11/02/2018

Hello Misfits! It’s the Wrestling Classic here with my review for WWE Crown Jewel review. Today the WWE host their second event in Saudi Arabia as part of their lucrative ten-year deal with the country. On this night, we see the “Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels come out of retirement to team with his DX co-founder Triple H to face off against the Brothers of Destruction, a new Universal Champion will be crowned and one superstar will win this World Cup tournament to win the right to call themselves the best in the world. Hulk Hogan is also set to appear at this event as the special guest host. There is a ton of controversy surrounding the event taking place considering current events in the news but the show must go on. Lets see how it played out.

Image via WWE.com

This show is coming to us from the King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

– The show opened up with great hype video for the event.

– Michael Cole, Corey Graves and Renee Young are the commentators for all the matches tonight. I couldn’t be happier for Renee Young.

Hulk Hogan
Hulk Hogan gets introduced and he comes out to an excited Saudi crowd. There was a ton of pyro. Hogan hits the ring as the fireworks go off around the outside of the stadium. Hogan hypes the crowd up and talks about how he flew over to Saudi Arabia and found that the power of Hulkamaniacs is just as strong ever, right here at Crown Jewel. Hogan says it’s good to see everyone and he’s happy to be back in WWE. Hogan says the show starts right now… so what ya gonna do when the power of Hulkamania and Crown Jewel run wild on you, brother? Hogan’s music starts back up as he plays to the crowd with his signature poses. We get more fireworks outside of the stadium.

– WWE introduces his Excellency Mr. Turki Al-Sheikh of the Sports Federation of Islamic Solidarity at ringside in his seat. He looks miserable.

First Round World Cup Match
Rey Mysterio def. Randy Orton
in 05:30 by pin fall
I want to point out a couple of things that seem like they’re going to be a trend throughout the show during these matches. One theres going to be a ton of pyro for everyone throughout this show which makes it feel more epic and Greg Hamilton is really going through a lot of the accolades of the World Cup tournament participants to really sell their credibility as the “best in the world.” They showed a pre-recorded interview from Rey Mysterio as he made his way to the ring. This was a good match between two vets. It was back and fourth with both guys getting the best of each other by knowing each other so well. Mysterio catches Orton attempting a RKO with a roll up for the surprise three count. Randy Orton hits an RKO on Mysterio and continues to beat him up after the match. It almost appears as if Orton next victim might be Mysterio. This also means Randal is safe from being fired from Smackdown Live considering her won’t be responsible for potentially losing this tournament for the Smackdown side.

– The Miz is interviewed backstage by Byron Saxton. Miz says he’s going to win the tournament.

First Round World Cup Match
The Miz def. Jeff Hardy
in 07:05 by pin fall
The pyro returns once again for both guys. They showed a pre-recorded Jeff Hardy promo as he made his way to the ring. This again was a surprising match with the amount of offence The Miz had. They are really playing up the story that Jeff Hardy has lost a part of him since the Hell in the Cell match with Randy Orton and that he isn’t the same. The Miz really kept countering and finding his way back every time Jeff Hardy started to get some offence. In finished when Miz countered the Twist of Fate for the second time and hitting a skull causing finale for the win. Jeff Hardy is now also safe from getting fired from Smackdown Live and The Miz advances in the tournament.

First Round World Cup Match
Seth Rollins def. Bobby Lashley
in 05:30 by pin fall
This was another good match but I’m starting to feel like this first round matches are just flying by with surprising finishes that come out of nowhere. I think we have been so accustomed to false finishes and what not, that these quick finishes feel weird to me. Seth Rollins comes out only wearing his Intercontinental Championship which leaves the announce team, as well as us at home on the state of the tag team titles. There was a pre-recorded Seth Rollins promo that they showed as he made his way to the ring. Lio Rush did appear with Bobby Lashley tonight. Lio Rush wasn’t as active on the mic tonight as he usually is on Raw and what not. It felt like Bobby Lashley dominated the entire match. They were playing off the story that Seth Rollins was fighting with a lot of things on his mind especially with how Dean turned on him. It would be a curb stomp out of nowhere that would allow Rollins to advance in the tournament. This doesn’t do much for Bobby Lashley but I’m starting to think they dont care about him being a major player.

– Byron Saxton interviews Kurt Angle. Angle said most people doubted him most of his career and tonight he is going to prove to everyone including Dolph Ziggler that he is still the best in the world.

First Round World Cup Match
Dolph Ziggler w/ Drew McIntyre def. Kurt Angle
in 08:20 by pin fall
This is Kurt Angles first single match in the WWE since facing Sabu at a ECW taping on August 8th 2006. The long list of accolades being announced by Hamilton continues before every mans entrance. Talk about doing your Wikipedia research. I’m curious if we’ll have to hear them again before their entrances in the second round matches. Kurt Angle comes out embracing the “You Suck” chants. There was a pre-recorded Dolph Ziggler promo as he made his way out to the ring. This was a competitive match between the two amateur wrestlers. Drew McIntyre was out there with Ziggler but didn’t play a role at all during the match surprisingly. This match actually played on false finishes with both guys getting near falls after signature moves. In the end Ziggler countered the ankle lock and hit the zig zag to advance. It looks like we’re getting Seth Rollins vs Dolph Ziggler in the next round. I hope they give us a banger. The two semi-final matches arent appealing to me as I feel like we’ve seen them already in recent history.

– Pre-Recorded segments of the women talking about what Evolution means to them. Molly Holly,  Alica Fox and Nia Jax are featured here.

Smackdown Live Tag Team Championship
The Bar (C) w/ The Big Show def. The New Day
in 10:30 by pin fall
The New Day make their entrance on a magic carpet float as they toss pancakes in the crowd. Renee Young is not the only female featured on this show because Francesca is here. Kofi Kingston and Big E are the two members of The New Day participating in this match. This ended up being a a pretty solid match. It might even be the best match of the night so far. It’s crazy because every match has been good but nothing feels special. There was something off about all the first round matches of the “World Cup.” This match  felt like the quality of match we’d get on Smackdown Live or regular PPV. Big E seemed to have the win in his hands waiting to hit the Big Ending on Sheamus. Big Show hopped on the apron causing the distraction but Sheamus missed the brogue kick only to get rolled up for a two count. Big E goes back to waiting to hit the Big Ending only for Big Show to cause a distraction again leading to Big Show hitting the KO punch on Big E followed by a connecting Brogue Kick by Sheamus for The Bar to retain the tag team titles. This was solid tag team match.

– Byron Saxton interviews The Miz again backstage and it sounds like he lost his voice but he is still going to win this tournament.

– Byron Saxton interviews Rey Mysterio and he said being the best you can’t make excuses. Mysterio said he’s been underestimated by bigger and better.

Semi-Final World Cup Match
The Miz def. Rey Mysterio
in 11:20 by pin fall
The introductions and entrances seemed to have been toned down for the semi-finals. This is the first of two semi-final matches. I’m starting to wonder why they didn’t just call this the best in the world tournament opposed tot World Cup tournament. The semi-final matches feel like they’re getting more time than the first round matches. I feel like this match told more of a story. This was a really good back and fourth match. There were some more false finishes in this match compared to the first round matches. Miz countered a 619 and worked in a Skull Crushing Finale only to get a two count. Rey Mysterio tried the same roll up he used to be Orton and it didn’t look great or work the same. Mysterio hit the 619 and goes from the frog splash but Miz got his knees up hitting Mysterio’s ribs which were earlier attacked by Orton allowing Miz to pick up the win. This might has to be the best match of the night thus far. Maybe they’re just working their way up from decent matches to better ones. The Miz advances and risks the chance of getting fired from Smackdown Live just so he can have the glory of calling himself the best in the world.

– Byron Saxton is backstage with Seth Rollins. Rollins says they wouldn’t call the winner of this tournament the best in the world if it was easy. Seth says he does his best work when the odds are against him and tonight his back is against the wall.

Semi-Final World Cup Match
Dolph Ziggler w/ Drew McIntyre def. Seth Rollins
in 13:10 by pin fall
Drew McIntyre is out here again with Dolph Ziggler again. Rollins tries focusing on Ziggler’s ankle while Ziggler focused on Rollins neck. I’m going to jump to conclusions here and say Rollins is going to win because nobody wants to see a heel vs heel finals for the World Cup Tournament. Drew McIntyre made his presence known more in this match with a brief staredown with Rollins where Seth urged the big Scot to hit him so it would cause a DQ. Ziggler was in charge for a large portion of this match while Rollins nursed his neck. Seth won’t stay down and it causes Ziggler to get frustrated. McIntyre gets more involved in this match compared to the first one. Rollins kicks out of a zig zag for a near fall. Rollins comes back with a super kick to Rollins and suicide dive onto McIntyre to even the odds and secure that Drew wouldn’t get involved. Seth went to the top only to be shoved off by McIntyre and met with a super kick by Dolph, who picks up the win. This was a surprising finish; I was thinking that Seth makes it the finals only to lose cause the interference of Dean Ambrose but instead he’s out here. This was another really good match but it just feels like we’ve seen it a lot this year.

– Byron interviews Dolph on the stage and calls his win an upset. Dolph says nobody ever believed in him and the next time people see him in the ring, he’ll be holding the trophy because he is the best in the world.

WWE Championship
AJ Styles (C) def. Samoa Joe
in 11:15 by pin fall
They air a video package before this match showcasing the history between the two. This could definitely be the match of the night. Its always great to see Styles make his entrance with the pyro we’d expect to be there at that specific point. Styles quickly goes after the knee as the match starts as we have to remember that Joe has a bad knee that goes all the way back to Super Show-Down. This was a back and fourth match between two guys who really know each other. They gave us moments where it looked like the match could go either way. Joe had Styles in a Coquina Clutch but Styles fought out. Styles continues to try to get the calf crusher on Joe and succeeds but Joe makes it to the ropes. Eventually Styles hits the Phenomenal Forearm and the match is over. This was a good match without a doubt but lacked that special feeling. Styles retains and continues his historic reign as WWE Champion. Samoa Joe who came in here as the last minute replacement for Daniel Bryan suffers another loss to the Phenomenal One. I wonder what happens next. This was solid but felt more like an appetizer rather than an entire meal.

– The acting General Manager of Raw Baron Corbin makes his way out to the ring.

Universal Championship
Brock Lesnar w/ Paul Heyman def. Braun Strowman
in 02:30 by pin fall
Its time to crown the new Universal Champion as we are guaranteed a new champion. The former champion Roman Reigns was initially involved in this match as it was supposed to be a triple threat  but had to vacate the championship due to battling leukaemia. Brock Lesnar comes out first which is odd to me as my traditional wrestling brain imagines the winner always entering second in big matches. I was waiting for the ring post pyro for Lesnar as he hopped on the apron but instead they went off on the larger scale on the stadium surface. The match started with Corbin nailing Strowman with the belt trying to screw Strowman out of the belt. Brock hits three F-5’s and Strowman kicks out. Lesnar tosses Strowman outside of the ring with a F-5, hopefully to win by count-out which would allow him to still win the belt. Strowman still came back and when it looked like Strowman was going to make his comeback it was cut short and Lesnar hit his fifth F-5 to become the Universal Champion. Wow! I was not expecting that. I was really looking forward to see Strowman as champion finally. He already has lost so much momentum in this feud with Roman Reigns and The Shield, I thought this would be his defining moment but that wasnt the case. I’m not mad at it but I am confused.

– Its announced that we’re getting a rematch between AJ Styles and Brock Lesnar from last year. Its also announced that we’re getting Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Seth Rollins.

– Shane McMahon is introduced and he makes his way down to the ring. Baron Corbin is still at ringside.

World Cup Tournament Finals
The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler
in a no contest
McIntyre was sent to the back before the match starts. The match kicks off with a spill to the outside where its seems like Miz landed wrong and hurt his ankle. They spend some time contemplating if the match can go on. The Miz yells that he can go and has never been injured before. Miz was unable to go as more officials come out. The official tells Greg Hamilton to ring the bell and announce Ziggler as the winner due to forfeit. Shane McMahon won’t allow it and says he’ll take Miz’s spot.

World Cup Tournament Finals
The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler
in 02:30 by pin fall
Shane McMahon gets in the ring against Corbin and Zigglers wishes. Shane McMahon attacks Ziggler right off the bat. Corbin trips Shane McMahon to slow him down but the referee kicks Corbin out from ringside sending him to the back. Dolph hits a zig-zag for a two count. Shane McMahon hits a coast to coast on Dolph Ziggler for the victory. The fans are loving it but everyone from the announcers to myself are confused. Shane did not compete in the tournament, he didn’t wrestle two other matches like Ziggler but he won the tournament and can now call himself the best in the world.  What on earth is happening here? I’m sure this will help with the Survivor Series build and I mean this tournament was pointless anyway LOL. What?!

D-Generation X def. The Brothers of Destruction
in 27:50 by pin fall
Its time for Shawn Michaels to come out of retirement here. For the first time in eight years Shawn Michaels is back in the ring for competition. Shawn Muchaels actually looked pretty badass with his bandit look then the bandana came off and he looked like a bald stripper. Its great to see DX together again but definitely feels weird. Kane comes out first followed by The Undertaker. Kane and Undertaker stood next to each other and stared down DX and it was in that moment, I felt a bit more excited about this match. I expect this to be less of a wrestling match and more of a story. They stalled to let a “this is awesome” chant dies down. They kick things off with Kane and Triple H. Shawn Michaels first move back was a double axe handle off the top rope onto Kane’s arm. Undertaker and Shawn Michaels face off. Take does his rest in peace taunt and Shawn Michaels reacts with a crotch chop. Taker and Shawn Michaels go back and fourth until this breaks down with everyone in the ring. Shawn Michaels is left in the ring with both Brothers of Destruction. Taker chose Michaels and tosses him out. All four guys go through their greatest hits. HBK hit his elbow drop but couldn’t follow up with sweet chin music as Kane caught him with a chokeslam. Triple H gets chokeslammed through a table at ringside. Kane and Undertaker target Shawn Michaels. The match slows down with Shawn Michaels trying to fight off both guys. Shawn Michaels hit Kane so hard at one point that his mask fell off along with his hair. Shawn Michaels hits a moonsault of Undertaker and Kane. Triple H hit the pedigree on Undertaker and tosses Kane back to the outside as he tries to come in, thus once again deeming Kane as useless in most situations. HBShizzle hits the super kick on Kane. All four guys are laid out. Kane and Taker sit up. Taker and Kane go for the double tombstone but Shawn Michaels pokes Kane in the eye. Super kicks to Undertaker and Kane, followed with a pedigree on Kane for the win. Shawn Michaels nose was bleeding a bit.
I appreciate seeing these four going at it and them putting their bodies on the line for our entertainment but man this was whatever. It was entertaining. I enjoyed it. Shawn Michaels still showed signs of why he is the fucking man but it just couldn’t save the match. There was also a part of me thinking the entire time that this is just hard to watch. I have nothing but respect for all four legends but damn.

Final Thoughts
This show was sure something. The first hour or two provided some good wrestling matches although everything felt rushed and as if they were trying to get to the end of the show as fast as possible. The last hour really just threw everything off. I didn’t expect Lesnar and Strowman to have a classic but I did expect a different story. I’m not angry that Lesnar is the champion again but can we please get back on the road to redemption for Strowman. He was the most must-see and the hottest act on Raw for over a year and still no ultimate payoff. Shane McMahon winning the tournament they’ve been hyping for weeks like it was a big deal and had everyone involved selling it as if it was the greatest achievement was beyond ridiculous. I laughed and I enjoyed it but seriously what? LOL I see how it may help build towards Survivor Series but we’ll have to wait and see. The main event pulled on my nostalgia strings and I enjoyed it but I could have lived without seeing it. I respect all four GOATs but it was slow and everyone looked exhausted 10 minutes in and I hate to see my heroes looking like shells of their past selves. There was pageantry, pyro, the return of legends, a larger than life feel yet this might be one of the worst shows of the year. If you enjoy a good car wreck, watch this show. If youre looking for some nostalgia watch the opening segment and main event of this show. I dont know. Whatever. It was sure something.
Final Rating – 5/10

What were your final thoughts on Crown Jewel? What final grade would you give the event? Where would you rate it on a scale of ten? Do you agree with my review? Leave your comments, opinions and thoughts below in the comments section.