This Thursday WWE returns to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for its annual spectacle, Crown Jewel. There are several great matches announced for the event such as the WWE Champion Brock Lesnar defending his title against his long-time rival Cain Valesquez, and “The Monster Among Men” Braun Strowman goes one-on-one with the undefeated Lineal Heavyweight Champion Tyson Fury. We have eight matches total so let’s dive right in.
2019 Crown Jewel Match Card
- (WWE Championship Match): Brock Lesnar vs. Cain Velasquez
- (Universal Championship) Match: Seth Rollins vs. “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt (Falls Count Anywhere Match that can’t be stopped for any reason)
- Braun Strowman vs. Tyson Fury
- Team Hogan vs. Team Flair (5-on-5 Tag Team Match)
- Mansoor vs. Cesaro
- The Largest Tag Team Turmoil Match in history to determine World Cup winner and crown the Best Tag Team in the World
- 20-Man Battle Royal (Winner Faces AJ Styles for the United States Championship)
(WWE Championship Match): Brock Lesnar vs. Cain Velasquez
On the debut episode of Friday Night SmackDown “The Beast Incarnate” Brock Lesnar obliterated Kofi Kingston with one F5 to win the WWE Championship. Two seconds later though his nightmares came true, as the man who humiliated him in MMA Cain Valesquez came down to the ring and began pummeling him. Lesnar retreated as if he had seen a ghost escaping with his title.
Shortly after their confrontation, WWE announced that Valesquez had signed a three-year full-time contract. A few weeks later the match was made official during a live press conference. I’ve never seen the fear in the eyes of “The Beast Incarnate” as we saw on October 4th. Typically, I would bet on Lesnar based off his track record but this year things have been way different. He’s lost clean back-to-back to Seth Rollins and I wouldn’t be shocked to see Lesnar lose to his long-time rival here as well. Reminiscent to how Lesnar put Goldberg over back in 2016.
Winner and New WWE Champion Cain Valesquez
(Universal Championship) Match: Seth Rollins vs. “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt (Falls Count Anywhere Match that can’t be stopped for any reason)
I really want to know why we’re getting this match again as if the ending to Hell in a Cell wasn’t bad enough. It’s sad to think not three months ago, “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt was the hottest thing going in WWE it was new and different and amazing. Wyatt had truly taken this new character and breathed life into it making it his own. At SummerSlam, The Fiend decapitated Finn Balor and we all thought nothing could ruin his momentum until Hell in a Cell.
I’ll start off by saying I enjoyed the match after listening to some podcasts explain the aura behind the red lighting it made sense. The Fiend is a horror character and the environment of hell in a cell tailored to his alter-ego perfectly. With that being said, if WWE had no intention of putting the Universal Championship on Wyatt why the hell put him in the match, to begin with? They literally burned everything that Wyatt had created and worked so hard building down to ash in one night.
The Fiend was drafted to Friday Night SmackDown but something feels off here because he’s still advertised for Raws all the way into November yet he’s supposed to be on SmackDown. If Wyatt doesn’t win the Universal title at Crown Jewel I honestly don’t have a clue how he’ll be able to survive. The Fiend is dead in the water as we speak and I don’t know how WWE gets themselves out of this deep hole.
Winner and Still Universal Champion Seth Rollins
Braun Strowman vs. Tyson Fury
This feud began on the debut episode of Friday Night SmackDown when “The Monster Among Men” Braun Strowman was in action and decided to throw Dolph Ziggler into Tyson Fury who was seated at ringside. The two have had a few confrontations since then but haven’t gotten physical with one another. Rumors have it that Fury is heading back to the boxing ring after Crown Jewel if that’s the case then there should be no question on who should win.
Unfortunately, due to WWE’s track record with Strowman, it’s not that easy of a decision. I remember thinking the same thing last year when Strowman and Lesnar faced each other for the vacated Universal Championship and who walked out with the title then? Strowman definitely should win this match but my money is on Fury just so WWE can make headlines again.
Winner: Tyson Fury
Team Hogan vs. Team Flair (5-on-5 Tag Team Match)
Roman Reigns, Ricochet, Rusev, Ali, and Shorty G vs. Randy Orton, King Corbin, Bobby Lashley, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Drew McIntyre. I’m not too intrigued by this match as there’s not a whole lot on the line except bragging rights. I think this will be a decent match will all ten superstars getting a chance to showcase their talents for the Saudi crowd.
I’m expecting the two final soldiers for each team will be Randy Orton and Drew McIntyre and Roman Reigns and Ali. I can easily see Reigns getting eliminated and it becoming a two-on-one situation for Ali. After Orton and McIntrye inadvertently collide into each other then Ali can eliminate Orton. “The Scottish Psychopath” can then beat the holy hell out of Ali and score a huge win for Team Flair and get his back on track after a disastrous 2019.
Winner: Team Flair
Mansoor vs. Cesaro
At the Greatest Royal Rumble, Mansoor was one of a few brand-new hires from Saudi Arabia to join NXT. The Daiviri brothers then came down to trash the talent and got their asses kicked for a special moment for the hometown crowd. At this year’s Super ShowDown, Mansoor shocked the WWE Universe when he won the 50-Man Battle Royal. Since then, the Saudi favorite has battled Dominic Dijokovac and Damien Priest showcasing his talents for the NXT Universe.
On the other side of the ring will be one of the greatest in-ring performers in my opinion “The Swiss Cyborg” Cesaro. Cesaro is incapable of having a bad match he could go out and wrestle a mop and I’d still watch. I’m looking forward to this match because Cesaro will make Mansoor look like a real star in his hometown. The winner is simple here and the Saudi crowd will eat it up.
Winner: Mansoor
The Largest Tag Team Turmoil Match in history to determine World Cup winner and crown the Best Tag Team in the World
The New Day, The Viking Raiders, Heavy Machinery, Lucha House Party, Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins, The Revival, The O.C., Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode and The B-Team battle it out to become “The Best Tag Team in the World.” I enjoyed last year’s Best in the World Tournament there were several matches that I’ve highlighted as my favorites. I am hoping that the team brackets create some intriguing matchups to make this tournament feel important.
So, let’s break this down here. The Viking Raiders and The Revival are both Tag Team Champions for both respective brands so I can’t see them winning. I highly doubt WWE is going to book Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins or The B-Team to win the tournament. Lucha House Party might have a great showing but I expect them to be defeated in the semifinals.
I am even going to throw in a twist with AOP attacking one of the jobber teams and winning the whole damn thing. If that doesn’t happen then I’ll go with The O C., so they can have something to brag about alongside AJ Styles the current United States Champion.
Winner and Best Tag Team in the World AOP or The OC
20-Man Battle Royal (Winner Faces AJ Styles for the United States Championship)
Alright so AJ Styles will defend his United States Championship against the winner of this battle royal match on Thursday. WWE has not announced who will be competing in the match so I’m going to make a bold prediction. If there is one superstar in the flood of enhancement talent that could benefit from a huge opportunity it would be Eric Young.
Every week Young is consistently being wasted by being included in the 24/7 Championship antics. It’s sad to see honestly after the success of Sanity down in NXT. When they debuted about a year ago, I thought Young, Killian Dain, Alexander Wolfe, and Nikki Cross were about to light WWE on fire. What actually happened was WWE split them up and each member of the faction went their own direction and Young was left with nothing.
I’m not familiar with their Styles and Young’s career in TNA but since both stars were pillars of the company they must have crossed paths a few times. If Young has a great showing at Crown Jewel and comes close to defeating Styles perhaps WWE might give him something more meaningful to do on Raw going forward.
Winner of the Royal Rumble Eric Young; Winner and Still United States Champion AJ Styles
