Crown Jewel (2019)
Crown Jewel was a professional wrestling pay-per-view and WWE Network event produced by WWE for their Raw and SmackDown brands. It took place on October 31, 2019 at King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It was the second WWE event promoted under the Crown Jewel chronology and the fourth held under WWE's 10-year partnership in support of Saudi Vision 2030.
Nine matches were contested at the event, including one on the Kickoff pre-show. In the main event, "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt defeated Seth Rollins in a Falls Count Anywhere match that could not be stopped for any reason to win the Universal Championship. In other prominent matches, Brock Lesnar defeated Cain Velasquez by submission to retain the WWE Championship, professional boxer Tyson Fury defeated Braun Strowman by countout, and Natalya defeated Lacey Evans by submission in what was the first professional wrestling women's match to take place in Saudi Arabia.
The event was met with mixed to positive reception from critics; although the tag team turmoil match, United States Championship match, 5-on-5 tag team match, and in particular the singles match between Mansoor and Cesaro were largely praised, Lesnar vs. Velasquez and Fury vs. Strowman were near-universally panned, with the Universal Championship match receiving a polarized reception. The women's match received polarized reactions for its booking and significance, while being considered average in quality.
Production
Background
In early 2018, WWE began a 10-year strategic multiplatform partnership with the General Sports Authority in support of Saudi Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia's social and economic reform program. The first event under this new partnership, the Greatest Royal Rumble, was held at the King Abdullah Sports City's King Abdullah International Stadium in Jeddah on April 27. In September, a followup titled Crown Jewel was announced to be held on November 2, 2018. WWE's Arabic website announced on September 27, 2019 that a second Crown Jewel event would be held at King Fahd International Stadium on October 31. WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan and The Undertaker were announced to be making appearances at the event; however, it was later revealed that The Undertaker would not be appearing, but was seen representing WWE in the Riyadh Season Grand Parade Opening.Storylines
The show comprised nine matches, including one on the Kickoff pre-show. The matches resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw and SmackDown brands, while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown.On the September 30 episode of Raw, Hulk Hogan and fellow WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair were guests on "Miz TV" where Hogan and Flair teased a match against each other. The Miz then announced that at Crown Jewel, there would be a 5-on-5 tag team match between Team Hogan and Team Flair, with Hogan and Flair as the respective coaches. Universal Champion Seth Rollins and Randy Orton were selected as the captains of Team Hogan and Team Flair, respectively. Later that night, Rusev joined Team Hogan while King Corbin joined Team Flair. On the October 14 episode of Raw, Ricochet was added to Team Hogan, while Bobby Lashley and Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura were added to Team Flair. That same episode, Rollins was scheduled to defend the Universal Championship at the event and was subsequently removed from the tag team match. On the following SmackDown, Hogan revealed that Ali and Shorty G were added to his team. Later, Roman Reigns was announced as Rollins' replacement as Team Hogan's captain. Drew McIntyre was revealed as the final member of Team Flair on the following Raw.
On the September 30 episode of Raw, Brock Lesnar and his advocate Paul Heyman interrupted an in-ring promo by Rey Mysterio. Lesnar proceeded to brutally attack Mysterio as well as Mysterio's son, Dominic, who was seated in the front row. After Lesnar defeated Kofi Kingston to win the WWE Championship during SmackDown's 20th Anniversary that Friday, Mysterio appeared along with former Ultimate Fighting Championship mixed martial artist Cain Velasquez, making his WWE debut. Velasquez, the man who defeated Lesnar for the UFC Heavyweight Championship by technical knockout at UFC 121 in 2010, entered the ring and attacked Lesnar, who managed to escape and retreated. In a backstage interview, Velasquez stated he came to exact revenge from Lesnar for what he did to Mysterio and Dominic, who was later revealed to be Velasquez's godson. At the Crown Jewel press conference in Las Vegas on October 11, it was announced that Lesnar would defend the WWE Championship against Velasquez at Crown Jewel.
Amid Braun Strowman's match during SmackDown's 20th Anniversary on October 4, Strowman taunted professional boxer Tyson Fury, who was seated in the front row. Later during that match, Strowman brutally slung Dolph Ziggler into the barricade, which knocked Fury back into his seat. Following the match, Fury jumped the barricade only to be restrained by security. On the following Raw, Fury appeared, wanting an apology from Strowman. After exchanging verbal insults, a massive brawl broke out between the two that had to be separated by security and other wrestlers. At the Crown Jewel press conference in Las Vegas on October 11, it was announced that Strowman would face Fury at Crown Jewel.
At Hell in a Cell, the Universal Championship Hell in a Cell match between defending champion Seth Rollins and "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt ended by referee stoppage, thus Rollins retained. The Fiend, thought to be injured, proceeded to further attack Rollins after the match. On the October 11 episode of SmackDown, a match between Rollins and Roman Reigns was scheduled to determine which brand would earn the first draft pick of the night. Rollins won by disqualification due to The Fiend's interference, earning Raw the first draft pick; The Fiend was later drafted to SmackDown. Although Rollins was drafted to Raw on the second night of the draft, a championship rematch between Rollins and The Fiend was scheduled for Crown Jewel as a Falls Count Anywhere match. That same night, Wyatt as his normal self hosted a segment of Firefly Fun House, but it was interrupted by Rollins, who appeared inside the fun house, attacked Wyatt, and set the fun house ablaze. On the following SmackDown, a further stipulation was added in that the referee could not stop the match for any reason.
At Super ShowDown, NXT's Mansoor, a Saudi native, won WWE's largest standard battle royal. On October 14, a match between Mansoor and Cesaro was announced for Crown Jewel.
On the October 14 episode of Raw, the largest tag team turmoil match in WWE history was scheduled for Crown Jewel, with the winners receiving the WWE Tag Team World Cup and being called "the best tag team in the world". Nine teams were announced for the match: The New Day, Heavy Machinery, Lucha House Party, Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder, The O.C., Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode, The B-Team, SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Revival, and Raw Tag Team Champions The Viking Raiders.
On October 23 on WWE The Bump, a 20-man battle royal was scheduled for the Crown Jewel Kickoff pre-show, with the winner receiving a title match against United States Champion AJ Styles later that night.
Due to the limited rights women have in Saudi Arabia, all WWE female wrestlers had been banned from wrestling in WWE events in the country. However, during the Crown Jewel media press conference on October 30, it was announced that a match between Natalya and Lacey Evans had been approved for Crown Jewel, marking the first-ever women's match in Saudi Arabia. In respecting the country's culture, WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon said that both would be wearing full body suits instead of their normal ring attire, although Natalya's normal ring attire is mostly a bodysuit. Both women also wore shirts from the souvenir shops normally sold at the venue and from the WWE store featuring their branding.
Event
Pre-show
During the Crown Jewel Kickoff pre-show, the 20-man over the top rope battle royal was contested to determine AJ Styles' challenger for the United States Championship. Midway through the match, after both R-Truth and Sunil Singh had been eliminated, Truth pinned Sunil with a roll up on the entrance ramp to win the 24/7 Championship. At the end of the battle royal, Humberto Carrillo eliminated Erick Rowan to win the match and earn a United States Championship match.Preliminary matches
The actual pay-per-view opened with Brock Lesnar defending the WWE Championship against Cain Velasquez. Lesnar forced Velasquez to submit to the "Kimura Lock" to retain the title. After the match, Lesnar applied the Kimura Lock until Mysterio struck Lesnar with a chair. Lesnar threw Mysterio out of the ring and struck Velasquez with the chair. Lesnar performed an "F-5" onto the chair on Velasquez. Mysterio struck Lesnar with a chair, forcing Lesnar to retreat.Next was the tag team turmoil match for the Best in the World WWE Tag Team World Cup. The teams of Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode and Lucha House Party started the match. Roode performed a "Glorious DDT" on Dorado to eliminate Lucha House Party. The next team to enter was Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder, who were eliminated quickly by Ziggler and Roode following a "Spinebuster/Zig-Zag" combination on Ryder. Next was Heavy Machinery. Otis and Tucker performed a "Compactor" on Ziggler to eliminate him and Roode. The New Day then entered and eliminated Heavy Machinery after the “Midnight Hour" on Tucker. The seventh team to enter were SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Revival, who attacked The New Day after being eliminated by them. The penultimate team to enter was The O.C., who eliminated The New Day after performing the "Magic Killer" on Kingston. The final team to enter were Raw Tag Team Champions The Viking Raiders. Gallows and Anderson performed "Magic Killer" on Erik to win the match and the Tag Team World Cup trophy.
After that, Mansoor faced Cesaro. Mansoor performed a "Moonsault" on Cesaro to win. Following the match, Mansoor delivered an emotional heartfelt speech to his home country.
In a backstage segment, Samir Singh pinned R-Truth to win the 24/7 Championship after Truth ran into a door.
In the fourth match, Braun Strowman faced Tyson Fury. Fury struck Strowman, who was counted out. Thus, Fury won. Afterwards, Strowman performed a "Running Powerslam" on Fury.
Next, AJ Styles defended the United States Championship against battle royal winner Humberto Carrillo. Styles performed a "Phenomenal Forearm" on Carillo to retain the title.
After that, Natalya faced Lacey Evans in the first-ever women's match in Saudi Arabia. Natalya forced Evans to submit to the "Sharpshooter” to win. Following the match, Natalya and Evans shared an emotional embrace in the ring, and then had an embrace with several audience members before departing backstage.
The penultimate match was the 5-on-5 tag team match between Team Hogan and Team Flair. Reigns performed a "Spear" on Orton to win for Team Hogan.
Main event
In the main event, Seth Rollins was defeated for the Universal Championship against "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt in a Falls Count Anywhere match that could not be stopped for any reason. Before the match, Michael Cole explained that if The Fiend won, the title would be taken with him to the SmackDown brand. The Fiend attempted a Running Senton through an announce table but Rollins avoided, causing The Fiend to break an announce table. The Fiend pushed Rollins, who fell through tables that were stacked on the floor. On a platform, The Fiend performed “Sister Abigail” on Rollins for a two count. On the entrance ramp, Rollins executed several "Curb Stomps" on The Fiend. Rollins performed a superkick on The Fiend, who fell onto electrical equipment; this caused the equipment to briefly catch fire. A spark incapacitated Rollins and The Fiend then appeared. The Fiend performed the “Sister Abigail" on Rollins to win the title.Reception
The event received mixed to positive reviews. While the event as a whole was praised as a step-up from their previous shows in Saudi Arabia, Lesnar vs. Velasquez and Fury vs. Strowman were generally panned. The Universal Championship match polarized reviewers, while approving of the decision to have Wyatt win, they also unanimously lamented that the title change didn't take place at Hell in a Cell earlier the same month. The Daily Express noted that fan reaction to Fury vs. Strowman was notably negative.Adam Silverstein and Jack Crosby of CBS Sports gave a mixed review, giving particular praise to Mansoor vs. Cesaro and stating "While it is obvious WWE is pushing and putting over Mansoor due to the Saudi Arabia relationship, you cannot take away his effort. Mansoor looked like a real-deal future superstar for WWE, and Cesaro did a tremendous job calling the entire match and putting the youngster over." They gave a C rating to both Lesnar vs. Velasquez and Fury vs. Strowman, stating that the first was "failing to let Velasquez get somewhat over was confusing" and that Fury vs. Strowman "was never going to be a good match, but Fury did well enough."
Heavy.com called the event "A mixed bag. On one hand, you had quality bouts such as Mansoor vs. Cesaro, Team Hogan vs. Team Flair, the tag team gauntlet contest and AJ Styles vs. Humberto Carrillo. But then you have to consider the other half of this show, which was filled with terrible matches that garnered the most hype going into them." John Powell of Canoe.com gave a positive review of the event, rating it 8 out of 10. Most praise went to the tag team turmoil match, Mansoor vs. Cesaro and Styles vs. Carrillo, all of which he gave a score of 8 out of 10, but gave bad ratings to both Lesnar vs. Velasquez and Fury vs. Strowman, calling them " that nobody except the WWE cared about".
Jason Powell of Pro Wrestling Dot Net stated that while 2019's Crown Jewel was the best WWE PPV held in Saudi Arabia so far, "unfortunately, that's not saying much". Velasquez and Fury being new to professional wrestling made their matches "more interesting" than previous WWE matches in Saudi Arabia, however they "just didn't click going into the show". Fury-Strowman was "weak and forgettable", while WWE played it "safe" with Velasquez. For the tag team turmoil match, Powell liked The O.C. win and the segment involving The Revival and The New Day, but felt that the rest of the match was "pretty random", with the victory seemingly due to "luck of the draw than a major achievement". Powell approved of The Fiend becoming champion, but disliked everything else about the main event, describing it as "horror movie campiness" which was "getting worse the more its repeated".
Tim Fiorvanti, Matt Wilansky and Marc Raimondi for ESPN wrote that The Fiend becoming champion overshadowed the "unsustainability" of his invincible character, Rollins being left "in no-man's land in terms of crowd reaction and momentum", and the main event having poor lighting and being too long. The 10-man match was "must-see" due to their team leaders Hogan and Flair, and was ultimately about "elevating Reigns, who has not had a significant storyline for months". Fury "didn't look terrible" in his match, but Strowman failed to gain a "mainstream rub" and "didn't come across as a monster" at all. Styles-Carrillo was "entertaining", but the live audience was not interested.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter rated the matches of the event. Cesaro-Mansoor and Team Hogan-Team Flair were the highest rated at 3.75 stars. The next highest was the US title match at 2.75 stars. The Universal title match was rated 2 stars. The lowest rated matches were Fury-Strowman at 0 stars, and Lesnar-Velasquez at -1 stars.
Women's match
The women's match between Natalya and Lacey Evans was considered average in quality; although it was largely celebrated by WWE as groundbreaking, media outlets had polarized reactions.Dave Meltzer wrote that although WWE claimed that "the match was a major cultural breakthrough" in Saudi Arabia, it was really "not a Sputnik Monroe situation which changed local culture". This was because "many women performers have been invited to Saudi Arabia", with the city of Riyadh's current promotion of sports and entertainment. Regarding the match, Meltzer wrote that it was "very basic, by design", to avoid "anything that would be taken wrongly" - explaining why Evans did not play her usual character with "sexy" traits. With "no heel or face or heat, and both not having noticeable ring costumes, it came across more like two women in a gym going through wrestling practice sequences".
Heavy.com reacted very positively. While considering the match itself only "a halfway-decent match here that was a mild step above your usual house show bout", he added that "This bout was clearly put in place to break barriers and further WWE's 'Women’s Evolution' for the proud ladies in attendance and watching all over the world. And for that, I have to give it the utmost props". Canoe.com claimed that "nobody seemed to care about who won or lost. Not Evans, Natalya or the fans. The historic match was about and meant so much more."
Conversely, Newsweek called the match part of "Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's luring major sports event to position the ultra-conservative Islamic country as more liberal and diversify its economy away from depending on the oil industry as part of its Saudi Vision 2030 plan", with Saudi Arabian Amnesty International researcher Dana Ahmed calling the match "a prime example how the Saudi Arabian authorities are using elite sports to try to 'sportswash' their dire human rights record and image internationally".
CBS Sports criticized Michael Cole's commentary for "trying to put over the progressiveness of Saudi Arabia" during the match.
Travel delays controversy
After Crown Jewel ended, it was reported that a flight back to the United States, carrying almost 200 of WWE's wrestlers and other employees, had experienced a major delay on the tarmac. WWE attributed the delay to "aircraft problems including mechanical issues", while the plane's owner, Atlas Air, stated that repairs would be made.However, as reported in The Hindustan Times, former WWE commentator Hugo Savinovich stated he was told a different explanation for the delay by a WWE executive as well as a source in Saudi Arabia. Savinovich claimed that because Saudi Arabia had failed to pay WWE millions of dollars for previous shows, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon had stopped the television feed for Crown Jewel from being broadcast in Saudi Arabia, leading to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman retaliating by stopping WWE's chartered plane from leaving.
Wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer reported that WWE had not been paid for their shows in Saudi Arabia by September 30, 2019 while WWE was paid $60 million in around two hours before Crown Jewel. According to Meltzer, 20 WWE employees managed to leave Saudi Arabia on private jets without delay; this group included Vince McMahon, Kevin Dunn, Brock Lesnar, Paul Heyman, Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair and Tyson Fury. Meltzer quoted that the delayed WWE wrestlers were disbelieving of whether mechanical issues really occurred, because of the presence of military police and that it took around 24 hours before the WWE employees eventually left. Meltzer also stated that WWE wrestlers were angry at McMahon for leaving without them.
The claims of Meltzer, however, were refuted by independent journalist Stan Morris, whose own investigation failed to locate any credible sources that would confirm the claims that the WWE stars/employees were ever held against their will, called into question both the amount of money Savinovich claimed WWE was owed and the claims the broadcast was cut off, as well as challenging the claims that WWE should have easily been able to get everyone another flight if mechanical issues really were the primary problem. AJ Styles, who had been one the people stuck in Saudi Arabia, also refuted the claims saying "Were there guns? Were there people yelling 'EVERYBODY OFF THE PLANE!'? No, that never happened. My wife called me in a panic, she's scared to death. I go, 'Babe, listen, we're just not able to go anywhere. It is not a big issue, nobody has threatened to kill us.' There was none of that going on. Nobody was going to get murdered, it never happened. There was no threat of physical harm or anything like that." This was further backed up by fellow wrestler, Natalya.
As the affected personnel would not be able to make it back in time for the following night's episode of Friday Night SmackDown in Buffalo, New York, the show was retooled to rely primarily on talent who did not participate at Crown Jewel, including the women's roster, and NXT, while the WWE Championship match from Crown Jewel was replayed in its entirety. SmackDown contributor Renee Young, along with NXT UKs Tom Phillips, 205 Lives Aiden English, and Pat McAfee, filled in as guest commentators, as well as Kayla Braxton filled in as a ring announcer.
WWE announced on November 4, 2019 that it had "expanded" its partnership with the General Authority for Entertainment through 2027, under which it would hold two "large-scale events" in the country per-year.