The following editorial was written by Tyler Treese and does not reflect the views of WrestleZone as a whole. Feel free to chime in on our WWE Crown Jewel in the comments below.
The build to WWE Crown Jewel was a dramatic one. Not in terms of storylines, but due to the real life drama connected to doing an event in Saudi Arabia. WWE Stock prices dropped, the company came under fire from national television shows for working with a government that just killed a journalist, the merits of bringing back Hulk Hogan were debated, high-profile stars opted out of doing the event, and WWE even felt obligated to throw a women’s only pay-per-view as a make good since they can’t legally compete in Saudi Arabia.
In the end, all of that drama was far more interesting than the end result as WWE Crown Jewel was a largely boring show that felt like a house show with a few meaningful results thrown in. Besides the final three matches, it felt like a largely by-the-numbers offering. Even an overcompensating amount of fireworks that occurred after Hogan flexed his old-man bod couldn’t hide the fact that fans weren’t presented with a great product. The event dully went through the motions over four hours, and the WWE World Cup tournament featured some of the most baffling booking to date.
There’s really not much to say about the first two-thirds of the card. Most of the matches didn’t further any storylines, and merely felt like they were keeping the feuds in a moving pattern as WWE gears of for Survivor Series later this month. It did feel like a bit of a waste for Kurt Angle to get knocked out in the very first round, especially when Ziggler wasn’t exactly used to tell a greater story during the tournament, but other than that every match wasn’t bad or good. They merely existed, and the Saudi Arabian crowd clapped when they were supposed to. Everyone was playing their part in the least interesting way possible.
Incredibly Baffling Booking
The damage was done early by @BaronCorbinWWE to @BraunStrowman, and now @BrockLesnar is once again YOUR #UniversalChampion! #WWECrownJewel pic.twitter.com/auCfYG8vQC
— WWE (@WWE) November 2, 2018
However, a novel could be written about the final three matches. The encapsulated many of WWE’s biggest problems and featured some baffling booking decisions. The WWE Universal Championship match was part screw-job, part burial of Braun Strowman. Baron Corbin began the match by hitting Strowman with the belt itself, and then Lesnar took advantage by hitting the giant with three straight F-5s. Strowman kicked out of all three, showing his monstrous abilities, and it looked as if they were going to show the brute overcoming the odds.
Nope. The match was over a minute later when Lesnar hit a fifth and final F-5. WWE had a chance to right what many thought was a wrong as they had previously had Strowman get pinned by Lesnar, but this wasn’t a coronation. Instead, WWE had a potential top star get dominated from start to finish by someone that will soon be gone to compete in UFC. It’s disappointing, but at least it was a dirty win due to Corbin’s interference. Oh, and we’ll get another Styles/Lesnar match, which should be awesome. So, there is an upside if they use this to make Styles look out to be the incredible champion that he really is.
The past month of RAW and SmackDown television has been spent building up to the WWE World Cup tournament, and the finals included The Miz and Dolph Ziggler. It was a strange heel vs. heel dynamic, but it wound up never happening. After getting attacked before the match, Miz suffered a knee injury and was unable to compete. SmackDown GM Shane McMahon then decided that he’d compete in his stead. He won the match in slightly over two minutes.
A Few Bright Spots
SHANE. O. MAC. = BEST. IN. THE. WORLD.#WWEWorldCup #WWECrownJewel @shanemcmahon pic.twitter.com/P0QDMs9aeB
— WWE (@WWE) November 2, 2018
For as stupid as a McMahon winning the title of “Best in the World” is, it made for one hell of a heel turn. I had thought it was awfully strange for Shane to threaten his roster with a firing if SmackDown lost the tournament, but it all made sense after he showed his egotistical side. McMahon’s turn is brilliant since it showcases his ego, which has always been there, even as a face, without turning him into an over-the-top comic book villain. The sight of him over celebrating like he had won the tournament was hilarious, and so was getting to see him hold the trophy in the air.
The return of Shawn Michaels was slightly disappointing when it started, as seeing him bald will never not be weird, but once the match started going it became a pretty fun affair. The match wasn’t great, but it had enough star power to still be a fun time throughout its extended runtime. There were a few hilarious moments, like Kane’s mask falling off, but it was better than the bulk of the card. D-X winning felt fine, as it wouldn’t make much sense for Michaels to return and immediately lose. For his credit, Michaels looked good in the ring. Not quite like an all-time great, but good enough that people could remember what was special about him a decade ago.
As Michaels and Triple H laid in the corner trying to catch their breath after the match, I like to think they whispered to each other that they were getting “too old for this sh*t.” It was a more than valiant effort by all involved, and it was a fun match, but it was also hard to watch knowing that everyone were past their best days.
An UNBELIEVABLE performance in the main event of #WWECrownJewel…and #DX reigns supreme! @TripleH @ShawnMichaels pic.twitter.com/pO4nHkzDZj
— WWE (@WWE) November 2, 2018
Feel free to give your own WWE Crown Jewel review in the comments below!
