Crown Jewel (2024)

Crown Jewel
Promotional poster featuring Cody Rhodes, Gunther, Nia Jax, and Liv Morgan
PromotionWWE
Brand(s)Raw
SmackDown
DateNovember 2, 2024
CityRiyadh, Saudi Arabia
VenueMohammed Abdo Arena
Tagline(s)First Ever Crown Jewel Champion: Champion vs. Champion
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The 2024 Crown Jewel is an upcoming professional wrestling event produced by the American company WWE. It will be the sixth Crown Jewel and will take place on Saturday, November 2, 2024, at the Mohammed Abdo Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The event will air via pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming and will be held primarily for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions, with one match involving wrestlers from WWE's developmental brand NXT. This will be the 12th event that WWE will hold in Saudi Arabia under a 10-year partnership in support of Saudi Vision 2030.

Production

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Background

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In early 2018, the American professional wrestling promotion WWE began a 10-year strategic multiplatform partnership with the Ministry of Sport (formerly General Sports Authority) in support of Saudi Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia's social and economic reform program.[1][2] Crown Jewel was then established later that same year, subsequently becoming the main recurring event in this partnership, held in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, in late October–early November. The sixth Crown Jewel, and 12th overall event in the Saudi Arabian partnership, was announced on May 25, 2024, during King and Queen of the Ring and was scheduled to be held on Saturday, November 2, 2024, at the Mohammed Abdo Arena.[3] The event will air on pay-per-view worldwide and will be available to livestream on Peacock in the United States and the WWE Network in most international markets, and it will feature wrestlers from the Raw and SmackDown brand divisions.[4] This will be the final Crown Jewel to air live on the standalone WWE Network, as it will cease operations in its available markets when Netflix gains the rights in January 2025.[5] The official theme song of the event will be "Arabi" by Future, Mohamed Ramadan, and Massari.

Storylines

[edit]

The event will include matches that result from scripted storylines. Results are predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw and SmackDown brands,[6][7] while storylines are produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown.[8]

During Bad Blood, WWE Chief Content Officer (CCO) Paul "Triple H" Levesque announced that at Crown Jewel, the reigning men's and women's world champions of Raw and SmackDown would face each other; however, their respective titles would not be defended and instead, the respective winners would be crowned the Crown Jewel Champion and Women's Crown Jewel Champion. He also announced that this would be an annual match for Crown Jewel.[9] Liv Morgan and Nia Jax would retain their respective titles at Bad Blood—Raw's Women's World Championship and SmackDown's WWE Women's Championship—thus setting up the Women's Crown Jewel Championship match.[10] As SmackDown's Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes did not have a title defense at Bad Blood, he was automatically entered into the men's match. His opponent was determined by Raw's World Heavyweight Championship match on the October 7 episode of Raw where Gunther retained, thus setting up the men's Crown Jewel Championship match.[11]

On the August 5 episode of Raw, Bronson Reed brutally attacked Seth "Freakin" Rollins with six Tsunamis. Rollins sustained internal bruising and cracked ribs (kayfabe) and was ruled to be out of action for an undetermined amount of time.[12] Rollins made a surprise return on the September 30 episode of Raw, costing Reed a Last Monster Standing match against Braun Strowman.[13] After several subsequent altercations between Rollins and Reed, a match between the two was scheduled for Crown Jewel.[14]

After Bad Blood went off the air, fans captured video footage of Kevin Owens attacking Cody Rhodes as he was entering his bus, presumably for teaming with Roman Reigns at Bad Blood, both of whom had a long heated rivalry with Reigns and his original Bloodline faction over the last few years, turning Owens heel for the first time since 2022.[15] Randy Orton, a mutual friend of both Owens and Rhodes (who is also Orton's Legacy teammate), attempted to keep the peace, but Owens attacked Orton in the parking lot during the October 11 episode of SmackDown, believing Orton chose Rhodes over him. Orton requested a match with Owens, but was denied by SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis, who said the decision to not allow the match came from higher ups.[16] Orton subsequently confronted WWE CCO Triple H during the October 25 episode, who in turn scheduled a match between Orton and Owens at Crown Jewel.[17]

Since July, Andrade and Carmelo Hayes had been feuding with each other, with both men securing three victories each in a Best of Seven Series. Also during this time, LA Knight successfully defended the United States Championship against Andrade and Hayes on the September 20 and October 11 episodes of SmackDown, respectively.[18][16] A seventh match (which was dubbed game seven) between Andrade and Hayes was scheduled for the October 25 episode, where the winner would also earn a future title match against Knight, who served as the special guest referee for the match, but it ended in a no-contest after Knight attacked both men. As a result of his actions, SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis scheduled Knight to defend the title against both Andrade and Hayes in a triple threat match at Crown Jewel.[17]

After weeks of women's tag teams interfering in each other's matches across Raw, SmackDown, and NXT to try and make a claim at challenging for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship, as the title is defended across all three brands, the general managers of Raw, SmackDown, and NXT—Adam Pearce, Nick Aldis, and Ava, respectively—met during the October 25 episode of SmackDown and agreed that Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill would defend the title at Crown Jewel in a fatal four-way match against Damage CTRL (Iyo Sky and Kairi Sane) from Raw, Chelsea Green and Piper Niven from SmackDown, and The Meta-Four (Lash Legend and Jakara Jackson) from NXT.[17]

After losing the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship to Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania XL in April, Roman Reigns took an indefinite hiatus while Solo Sikoa took over The Bloodline, claiming himself to be the Tribal Chief and kicking out Jimmy Uso and Paul Heyman from the group while adding The Tongans (Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa) and Jacob Fatu. At SummerSlam in August, Sikoa challenged Rhodes for the championship, during which, The Bloodline attempted to interfere, prompting Reigns to return and cost Sikoa the match.[19] Reigns and Rhodes then reluctantly agreed to team up to face Sikoa and Fatu at Bad Blood, which saw the return of Jimmy, who helped Reigns and Rhodes win.[10] On the following SmackDown, Jimmy told Reigns they needed help against Sikoa's Bloodline, insinuating to bring back Jimmy's brother Jey Uso, who had left the group on his own terms a year ago and was moved over to Raw, but Reigns was against the idea.[16] Jimmy then appeared on Raw to attempt to make amends himself, but Jey declined.[20] Sikoa and his Bloodline wanted to recruit Jey but they caused Jey to lose his Intercontinental Championship on the October 21 episode of Raw,[14] and Jey in turn caused The Tongans to lose their WWE Tag Team Championship on the October 25 episode of SmackDown. Later, Jey and Jimmy embraced, reuniting The Usos, while Reigns watched on.[17] On the October 28 episode of Raw, Jey agreed to appear on that week's SmackDown to make amends with Reigns,[21] and later, it was announced that Reigns and The Usos would face The Bloodline (Sikoa, Fatu, and Tama) in a six-man tag team match at Crown Jewel.[22]

Matches

[edit]
No.Matches*Stipulations
1Gunther (Raw's World Heavyweight Champion) vs. Cody Rhodes (SmackDown's Undisputed WWE Champion)Singles match for the inaugural WWE Crown Jewel Championship[23]
2Liv Morgan (Raw's Women's World Champion) vs. Nia Jax (SmackDown's WWE Women's Champion)Singles match for the inaugural WWE Women's Crown Jewel Championship[24]
3Seth "Freakin" Rollins vs. Bronson ReedSingles match[25]
4Randy Orton vs. Kevin OwensSingles match[26]
5LA Knight (c) vs. Andrade vs. Carmelo HayesTriple threat match for the WWE United States Championship[27]
6Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair (c) vs. Damage CTRL (Kairi Sane and Iyo Sky) vs. Meta-Four (Lash Legend and Jakara Jackson) vs. Chelsea Green and Piper NivenFatal four-way tag team match for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship[28]
7Roman Reigns and The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso) vs. The Bloodline (Solo Sikoa, Jacob Fatu, and Tama Tonga) (with Tonga Loa)Six-man tag team match[29]
(c) – the champion(s) heading into the match
*Card subject to change

References

[edit]
  1. ^ WWE.com Staff (March 5, 2018). "Saudi Arabia to host the Greatest Royal Rumble". WWE. Archived from the original on March 5, 2018. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
  2. ^ "National Transformation Program 2020" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 28, 2017.
  3. ^ Lambert, Jeremy (May 25, 2024). "WWE Crown Jewel Announced For November 2 In Saudi Arabia". Fightful. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
  4. ^ Currier, Joseph (May 25, 2024). "WWE reveals date for Crown Jewel 2024". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  5. ^ Lowson, Thomas (January 25, 2024). "End of the WWE Network: Streaming Service to Be Absorbed By Netflix Next Year (Report)". SE Scoops. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  6. ^ Grabianowski, Ed (January 13, 2006). "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 29, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
  7. ^ "Live & Televised Entertainment". WWE. Archived from the original on February 18, 2009. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
  8. ^ Steinberg, Brian (May 25, 2016). "WWE's 'Smackdown' Will Move To Live Broadcast On USA (Exclusive)". Variety. Archived from the original on May 26, 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  9. ^ Lee, Joseph (October 5, 2024). "Triple H Announces Attendance for WWE Bad Blood, New Title for Crown Jewel". 411Mania. Retrieved October 5, 2024.
  10. ^ a b Powell, Jason (October 5, 2024). "WWE Bad Blood results: Powell's review of Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes vs. Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu, CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre in a Hell in a Cell match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 5, 2024.
  11. ^ Powell, Jason (October 7, 2024). "WWE Raw results (10/7): Powell's live review of Gunther vs. Sami Zayn for the World Heavyweight Championship, Jey Uso vs. Xavier Woods for the Intercontinental Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
  12. ^ Powell, Jason (August 5, 2024). "WWE Raw results (8/5): Powell's live review of Gunther's first appearance as World Heavyweight Champion, CM Punk and Drew McIntyre, Sheamus vs. Ludwig Kaiser". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on August 6, 2024. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
  13. ^ Powell, Jason (September 30, 2024). "WWE Raw results (9/30): Powell's live review of Bronson Reed vs. Braun Strowman in a Last Monster Standing match, CM Punk and Drew McIntyre appear before their HIAC match at Bad Blood, Kofi Kingston vs. Chad Gable". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
  14. ^ a b Powell, Jason (October 21, 2024). "WWE Raw results (10/21): Powell's live review of Jey Uso vs. Bron Breakker for the Intercontinental Title, New Day vs. AOP and The Creeds vs. Rey Mysterio and Dragon Lee in tourney matches for a shot at the WWE Tag Titles". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  15. ^ Mahjouri, Shakiel (October 6, 2024). "Watch as Kevin Owens attacks Cody Rhodes after WWE Bad Blood goes off the air". CBS Sports. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
  16. ^ a b c Powell, Jason (October 11, 2024). "WWE Smackdown results (10/11): Powell's review of Roman Reigns' return, Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill vs. Lash Legend and Jakara Jackson for the WWE Women's Tag Titles, LA Knight vs. Carmelo Hayes for the U.S. Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 26, 2024.
  17. ^ a b c d Powell, Jason (October 25, 2024). "WWE Smackdown results (10/25): Powell's review of Motor City Machine Guns vs. DIY for a shot at the WWE Tag Team Titles, Andrade vs. Carmelo Hayes "game seven" with LA Knight as special referee". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
  18. ^ Barnett, Jake (September 20, 2024). "WWE Smackdown results (9/20): Barnett's review of Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes, LA Knight vs. Andrade for the U.S. Title, Nia Jax and Tiffany Stratton vs. Bayley and Naomi in a tornado match with Bad Blood ramifications". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
  19. ^ Powell, Jason (August 3, 2024). "WWE SummerSlam results: Powell's review of Cody Rhodes vs. Solo Sikoa in a Bloodline Rules match for the WWE Championship, Damian Priest vs. Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
  20. ^ Powell, Jason (October 14, 2024). "WWE Raw results (10/14): Powell's live review of Gunther and Cody Rhodes meeting, Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill vs. Iyo Sky and Kairi Sane for the WWE Women's Tag Titles, Bron Breakker vs. Kofi Kingston". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
  21. ^ Powell, Jason (October 28, 2024). "WWE Raw results (10/28): Powell's live review of Rey Mysterio and Dragon Lee vs. New Day vs. War Raiders for a shot at the World Tag Titles, Dominik Mysterio faces a former world champion". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
  22. ^ Jeremy, Lambert (October 28, 2024). "Roman Reigns And Usos To Face Bloodline At WWE Crown Jewel". Fightful. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
  23. ^ WWE.com Staff (October 9, 2024). "Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes vs. World Heavyweight Champion Gunther". WWE. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
  24. ^ WWE.com Staff (October 9, 2024). "WWE Women's Champion Nia Jax vs. Women's World Champion Liv Morgan". WWE. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
  25. ^ WWE.com Staff (October 21, 2024). "Seth "Freakin" Rollins vs. "Big" Bronson Reed". WWE. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  26. ^ WWE.com Staff (October 25, 2024). "Randy Orton vs. Kevin Owens". WWE. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
  27. ^ WWE.com Staff (October 25, 2024). "United States Champion LA Knight vs. Andrade vs. Carmelo Hayes (Triple Threat Match)". WWE. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
  28. ^ WWE.com Staff (October 25, 2024). "WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Jade Cargill & Bianca Belair vs. Kairi Sane & IYO SKY vs. Lash Legend & Jakara Jackson vs. Chelsea Green & Piper Niven (Fatal 4-Way Tag Team Match)". WWE. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
  29. ^ WWE.com Staff (October 28, 2024). "Roman Reigns & The Usos vs. The Bloodline – Six-Man Tag Team Match". WWE. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
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