WWE’s business relationship with The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has always been a contentious issue with the fans. Whether it be due to more general issues such as how their government still views/treats women (even now the WWE women will have to cover all of their skin with their attire), to more specific incidents such as the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi further drawing ire from WWE hosting Crown Jewel just a month after his killing. And the recent bombings of Saudi Arabian airports throughout October made fans worry for the security of WWE superstars and left many wondering if the show would be cancelled or moved out of Saudi Arabia. And something has changed compared to the original plan, as now (still on November 7th) WWE will be hosting Crown Jewel from the smaller ANB Arena in Riyadh instead of the originally planned Riyadh Season Stadium due to assumedly security concerns but apart from that it is seemingly business as usual.
At the time of writing, following last night’s Monday Night Raw there are currently 4 matches confirmed on the card though I imagine at least one more match will be added during this Friday’s Smackdown. The first confirmed match I’ll mention will see the World Tag Team Championships (finally) be defended as Bron Breakker & Austin Theory of The Vision will be defending their titles against the team of Je’von Evans and ‘Señor Dinero en el Banco’ Penta. Apart from Theory, all three other competitors were involved in the Money in the Bank Ladder Match ultimately won by Penta. Ever since then, and even before that match Je’von & Penta both often found themselves targetted or in the firing line of The Vision. And another assault on both men by The Vision on last week’s episode of Raw ultimately led to Adam Pearce granting both men the opportunity for payback by booking a match for Crown Jewel where they could both not only get one back on The Vision but also end up becoming Tag Team Champions. Which with Penta & Je’von being two of the most universally liked superstars in current WWE (at the very least on Raw) would be a delightful outcome for most.
Next, we will once again see Cody Rhodes square off against Randy Orton, this time in a Last Man Standing match. As I’ve alluded to in previous articles, Rhodes & Orton’s history together goes back a very long time, and both men have consistently been at eachother’s throats for a majority of 2026. And this will be their third PLE match this year following Cody’s defeat of Orton at Wrestlemania 42, before Orton got his win back in September during their rematch at Sunday Night’s Main Event. With both men having one win a piece & with the Last Man Standing stipulation tied to the contest, this seems perfectly set to be the final chapter of these two’s rivalry with a more ruthless Cody having been unleashed who’ll seemingly be ready & willing to hit a Punt Kick on Orton if given an opportunity unlike Sunday Night’s Main Event where hesitance to deliver a final blow to Orton ultimately cost him the match. And it’s been loosly implied that the victor of this match will be the next in line for a shot at the Undisputed WWE Championship which gives further motivation to Rhodes & Orton to come out the winner (if any further motivation is needed).
The rest of the card will consist of the matches for the Crown Jewel Championship, which see’s both the Mens/Women’s champions of Raw & Smackdown square off against each other to be crowned the ultimate Champion & win the Crown Jewel Championship (which we’ll promptly never see again following Crown Jewel until next year). First, on the Women’s side of things, we’ll see Women’s World Heavyweight Champion Liv Morgan take on Smackdown’s WWE Women’s Champion Chelsea Green. Both women have crossed paths on a few occasions over the last few weeks in the buildup to the match, more often than not Liv standing tall due to her backup from The Judgement Day. But a key goal from Chelsea Green ever since she won the Women’s Championship at SummerSlam has been to prove she is a deserving champion and defeating Liv in this match would go a long way in showing that. However, another thing to consider here is Tiffany Stratton, who is Miss Money in the Bank who has on two occasions in recent weeks attempted cashing in on Liv Morgan but been thwarted by The Judgement Day, so both her & Chelsea (despite her friendship with Stratton) should keep one eye over their shoulder during the match in case Stratton spots a perfect opportunity to cash in with both champions in the same match at the same time.
And on the Men’s side of things, we’ll see World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns competing against the Undisputed WWE Champion Sami Zayn. Anyone who’s watched WWE in/over the last few years will no doubt understand the history/significance behind this match. As Sami Zayn was once part of Roman’s Bloodline as the ‘Honorary Uce’ during their period of dominance with Sami in particular winning the hearts of fans and within The Bloodline itself. And when Sami eventually broke free and betrayed Roman, not only did he nearly dethrone Reigns at Elimination Chamber in 2023, but alongside Kevin Owens he put the first true crack in the Bloodline as he & KO dethroned The Usos to become the new Tag Team Champions. And Sami has been keen to bring this up in the leadup to the match as a comeback to anyone writing him off, citing his role in The Bloodline as a key factor to WWE’s hot period in the early 2020’s and a key component to securing the deal with Netflix. And swearing that he will do the one thing he wasn’t able to do 3 years ago in defeating Reigns to cement his place as the top guy in WWE. And with part of Roman’s attention being focused on 946’s active war with The Bloodline, one has to wonder if Roman is underestimating Sami Zayn or if his focus is too distracted and might ultimately cost him. Of course also, as you had to consider Stratton for the Women’s match, it’s worth noting Penta in theory could cash in also as he has on one occasion recently seemingly almost cashed in on Sami Zayn & it wasn’t too long ago he fell to Roman Reigns in a World Championship match in Mexico City. However, with Penta being in action earlier in the night, I feel this possibility is less likely than Stratton who is not scheduled to compete currently.
Given WWE’s standard PLE schedule, I expect a fifth match for Saturday will be added during Smackdown a few days from now. But even without a mystery fifth match, Crown Jewel despite the controversy surrounding refusing to move the event out of Saudi Arabia with the potential active security risks & serious problems for all involved if heaven forbid something goes wrong. On a purely “wrestling” standpoint, the card looks to be a solid affair when remembering at the end of November we’ll be back here again discussing the upcoming Survivor Series (and likely WarGames match between The Bloodline & 946) as well as the rapidly approaching John Cena Classic which will take place on December 14th live from Walt Disney World (as announced by Cena himself during this weeks episode of Raw.
