WWE Crown Jewel is a professional wrestling event produced by WWE, an American-based promotion. It is broadcast live and available only through pay-per-view (PPV) and WWE's livestreaming platforms. Established in 2018, the event has been held every year since except in 2020, which was due to the COVID-19 pandemic that year, and it is held in late October—early November. It is WWE's main recurring event that takes place in Saudi Arabia as part of a 10-year partnership in support of Saudi Vision 2030; the inaugural Crown Jewel was the second event in this partnership. The event's name is a reference to it taking place in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, and it is held as part of the Riyadh Season festival.
| WWE Crown Jewel | |
|---|---|
 WWE Crown Jewel logo | |
| Promotions | WWE |
| Brands | Raw (2018–2019, 2021–present) SmackDown (2018–2019, 2021–present) 205 Live (2019) |
| First event | 2018 |
History
editIn early 2018, the American professional wrestling promotion WWE began a 10-year strategic multiplatform partnership with the Ministry of Sport (formerly the General Sports Authority; renamed in 2020) in support of Saudi Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia's social and economic reform program.[1][2] The first pay-per-view (PPV) and WWE Network event under this partnership, the Greatest Royal Rumble, was held at the King Abdullah Sports City's King Abdullah International Stadium in Jeddah on April 27, 2018.[3][4] A follow-up was held on November 2 titled Crown Jewel, which was held at the King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia; the show was headlined by the first (and so far only) "WWE World Cup" tournament, and a tag team match between D-Generation X (Shawn Michaels and Triple H) and The Brothers of Destruction (Kane and The Undertaker).[5]
A second Crown Jewel event was then held the following year on October 31, 2019, at Riyadh's King Fahd International Stadium, thus establishing Crown Jewel as a recurring event for the Saudi Arabian partnership and held in Riyadh. Simultaneously, Riyadh launched the annual Riyadh Season festival earlier that same month, with Crown Jewel becoming a part of the festivities.[6] Because of COVID-19 pandemic-related regulations, a Crown Jewel was not held in 2020; however, the event returned in 2021 and took place on October 21 at the Mohammed Abdu Arena on the Boulevard in Riyadh.[7] The 2021 event was also the first Crown Jewel to livestream on Peacock's WWE Network channel, following the merger of the American version of the WWE Network under Peacock in March that year.[8]
On May 23, 2022, WWE announced that the 2022 Crown Jewel would be held on Saturday, November 5.[9] The event was held at Mrsool Park, marking the second Crown Jewel to be held at this venue after the inaugural 2018 event, which was held there when it was previously referred to as King Saud University Stadium (renamed in 2020).[10] The 2023 event was confirmed to be held at the Mohammed Abdu Arena, marking the second Crown Jewel held at this venue after the 2021 event.[11]
The 2024 event introduced the Crown Jewel Championships for men and women. This was announced to be an annual match for Crown Jewel, contested between the reigning men's and women's world champions of Raw and SmackDown.[12] The inaugural winners were SmackDown's Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes and Raw's Women's World Champion Liv Morgan.[13]
Events
editAll Crown Jewel events are held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Championships and accomplishments
editThese are accomplishments that have occurred as special attractions at Crown Jewel events, not including regular championship matches.
The colors and symbols indicate the home brand of the champions.
| † | Raw | ‡ | SmackDown | § | NXT | ∞ | Unbranded |
Crown Jewel Championships
editFor the 2024 Crown Jewel event, WWE introduced the Crown Jewel Championships for both the men and women. The respective championships are awarded to the winner of an annual match between the reigning men's and women's world champions of Raw and SmackDown. Their respective Raw and SmackDown world titles, however, are not defended and instead, the winners are crowned the men's and women's Crown Jewel Champions to determine who is the "best of the best". While the championships are represented by championship belts, the respective winners are instead presented with a Crown Jewel ring (similar to a Super Bowl ring) as the belts remain on display at the WWE Experience attraction in Riyadh.[12] The inaugural 2024 winners were SmackDown's Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes and Raw's Women's World Champion Liv Morgan.[13]
| Open | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Championship | Winner | Reign | Year | Notes | Ref. | ||||
| WWE Crown Jewel Championship | _(3)_(cropped).jpg)
|
Cody Rhodes ‡ | 1 | 2024 | Defeated Raw's World Heavyweight Champion Gunther to become the inaugural champion. | [13] | |||
| WWE Women's Crown Jewel Championship | .jpg)
|
Liv Morgan † | Defeated SmackDown's WWE Women's Champion Nia Jax to become the inaugural champion. | ||||||
Former accomplishments
edit| Open | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accomplishment | Winner | Year | Notes | Ref | ||||||
| WWE World Cup | Singles | Shane McMahon ‡ | 2018 | Defeated Raw's Dolph Ziggler in the tournament final to win the WWE World Cup trophy. | [18] | |||||
| Tag Team | The O.C. (Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson) † |
2019 | Last eliminated Raw's The Viking Raiders (Erik and Ivar) in an interbrand nine-team tag team turmoil match to win the WWE Tag Team World Cup trophy. | [19] | ||||||
| King of the Ring tournament | Xavier Woods † | 2021 | Defeated SmackDown's Finn Bálor to become the 22nd King of the Ring tournament winner. In 2024, the tournament final was held at King and Queen of the Ring. | [20] | ||||||
| Queen's Crown tournament | Zelina Vega ‡ | Defeated Raw's Doudrop in the tournament final to become the inaugural Queen's Crown tournament winner. In 2024, the tournament name was changed to Queen of the Ring and held at King and Queen of the Ring. | ||||||||
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ 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.
- ^ "National Transformation Program 2020" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 28, 2017.
- ^ Silverstein, Adam (March 5, 2018). "WWE news, rumors: 'Greatest Royal Rumble,' NXT injury, Jericho-NJPW done?". CBSSports. Archived from the original on March 8, 2018. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
- ^ Lake, Jefferson (March 5, 2018). "WWE: Saudi Arabia to host 50-man Royal Rumble". Sky Sports. Archived from the original on March 8, 2018. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
- ^ a b Lee, Joseph (October 6, 2018). "WWE News: Crown Jewel Moved To Smaller Venue, John Cena Thanks JBL For Hair Tips, Shawn Michaels and Triple H Comment On Super Show-Down". 411Mania. Archived from the original on October 7, 2018. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
- ^ a b Johnson, Mike (August 5, 2019). "The next WWE event in Saudi Arabia will take place..." PWInsider. Archived from the original on August 5, 2019. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
- ^ a b Nason, Josh (July 26, 2021). "WWE returning to Saudi Arabia on October 21". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Archived from the original on July 27, 2021. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
- ^ Defelice, Robert (March 8, 2021). "Standalone WWE Network App Shutting Down In The US On 4/4, New Details On The Transition To Peacock". Fightful. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
- ^ a b Guzzo, Gisberto (May 23, 2022). "WWE Announces Crown Jewel Event In Saudi Arabia For November 2022". Fightful. Archived from the original on May 24, 2022. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
- ^ Beltran, William (September 17, 2022). "Official: Roman Reigns vs. Logan Paul at Crown Jewel 2022". Super Luchas. Archived from the original on September 17, 2022. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
- ^ a b WWE.com Staff (October 17, 2023). "WWE to return to Riyadh for WWE Crown Jewel at the Mohammed Abdo Arena on Saturday, Nov. 4". WWE. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
- ^ a b Lee, Joseph (October 5, 2024). "Triple H Announces Attendance for WWE Bad Blood, New Title for Crown Jewel". 411Mania. Retrieved October 5, 2024.
- ^ a b c Powell, Jason (November 2, 2024). "WWE Crown Jewel results: Powell's review of Gunther vs. Cody Rhodes for the Crown Jewel Championship, Nia Jax vs. Liv Morgan for the Women's Crown Jewel Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
- ^ Lambert, Jeremy (September 27, 2019). "WWE Crown Jewel 2019 Announced For October 31 In Saudi Arabia". Fightful. Archived from the original on June 27, 2022. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
- ^ Johnson, Mike (August 16, 2021). "WWE Returning to Saudi Arabia". PWInsider. Archived from the original on August 22, 2021. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
- ^ Guzzo, Gisberto (October 7, 2023). "WWE Crown Jewel Officially Announced For November 4, 2023". Fightful. Archived from the original on October 8, 2023. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
- ^ Currier, Joseph (May 25, 2024). "WWE reveals date for Crown Jewel 2024". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
- ^ Powell, Jason (November 2, 2018). "Powell's WWE Crown Jewel live review: Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman for the vacant WWE Universal Championship, AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe for the WWE Championship, Undertaker and Kane vs. DX, World Cup tournament". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on November 2, 2018. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
- ^ Powell, Jason (October 31, 2019). "WWE Crown Jewel results: Powell's live review of Brock Lesnar vs. Cain Velasquez for the WWE Championship, Seth Rollins vs. Bray Wyatt in a Falls Count Anywhere match for the WWE Universal Championship, Braun Strowman vs. Tyson Fury, Lacey Evans vs. Natalya". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on March 26, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
- ^ Powell, Jason (October 21, 2021). "WWE Crown Jewel results: Powell's live review of Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal Championship, Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks vs. Bianca Belair for the Smackdown Women's Championship, Big E vs. Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship, Edge vs. Seth Rollins in a Hell in a Cell match, Goldberg vs. Bobby Lashley in a No Holds Barred match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 21, 2021.