WWECrown Jewel 2023 takes place in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on Saturday, November 4, 2023, at Mohammed Abdu Arena in Riyadh.
Over the last few years, Crown Jewel has become one of the company’s biggest events, featuring all of the top superstars and revolving around the main storylines. This year’s edition continues the trend with Roman Reigns defending the Undisputed Universal Championship against LA Knight in a hotly anticipated bout.
Seth Rollins defends the World Heavyweight Championship against Drew McIntyre in a history-making match as Rollins becomes the first Superstar to defend 4 different championships in Saudi Arabia.
Multiple others big stars such as Rhea Ripley, Logan Paul, Cody Rhodes and Bianca Belair are all confirmed for the event, setting up what promises to be a decent show.
The full card is as follows:
- Roman Reigns (c) vs. LA Knight – Undisputed Universal Championship
- Seth Rollins (c) vs. Drew McIntyre – World Heavyweight Championship
- Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Nia Jax vs. Raquel Rodriguez vs. Zoe Stark vs. Shayna Baszler – Women’s World Championship
- Iyo Sky (c) vs. Bianca Belair – Women’s Championship
- Rey Mysterio (c) vs. Logan Paul – United States Championship
- Cody Rhodes vs. Damian Priest
- Sami Zayn vs. JD McDonough – Kick Off Show
Let’s take a look at the matches, how they came about and how we think they will go down at WWE Crown Jewel 2023.
Sami Zayn vs. JD McDonough
Sami Zayn kicks off Crown Jewel in a match against Judgement Day wannabe JD McDonough.
Zayn has a long-running feud with the faction but things intensified after his tag team partner, Kevin Owens was traded to SmackDown. Although alone in facing the group Zayn hasn’t backed down and will continue his fight against them by taking out McDonough.
Prediction: Zayn has a great fanbase in Saudi Arabia and will start the show on a high with a strong victory over the Judgement Day lackey. Sami Zayn wins.
IYO SKY (c) vs. Bianca Belair – Women’s Championship
Iyo Sky defends her title against the woman she took it off in Saudi Arabia.
At SummerSlam, Sky cashed in her MITB briefcase on Bianca Belair to win the Women’s Championship for the first time. Since the loss, Belair disappeared from TV while Sky has successfully defended the title against Asuka and Charlotte Flair. Following the defence against Flair, Sky and Bayley attacked the fallen challenger, which brought out the returning Belair to make the save and throw down a challenge to the champion.
Prediction: After winning the title, Sky defeated Asuka and Flair with the help of Damage CTRL, which is very likely the outcome of this match too. Iyo Sky retains.
Cody Rhodes vs Damian Priest
The American Nightmare and the Archer of Infamy clash at Crown Jewel in a long-time-coming grudge match.
Cody Rhodes has had a Judgement Day problem for some months now. The rivalry escalated when the American Nightmare teamed with Jey Uso to defeat Finn Balor and Damaian Priest for the Unified Tag Team Championships at Fastlane. Their reign only lasted nine days before Balor and Priest won them back. This heightened the rivalry and they have both been determined to get the upper hand ever since.
Prediction: As WrestleMania season approaches Rhodes is looking to get past his Judgement Day troubles and concentrate on finishing his story. Damian Priest loses nothing in losing this match while Rhodes needs to get back on track. Cody Rhodes wins.
Seth Rollins (c) vs. Drew McIntyre – World Heavyweight Championship
Seth Rollins puts his World Heavyweight Championship on the line against the formidable Drew McIntyre in Riyadh. The match came about simply enough after the big Scot issued a challenge to Rollins for a title match. Rollins, never one to back down from a challenge, accepted without hesitation.
However, a surprise attack on Rollins at the hands of Damian Priest added some drama to the fold. McIntrye watched the attack take place without any motivation to get involved. But as Dominik Mysterio entered the fray to give Priest his Money in the Bank briefcase McIntyre stopped him in his tracks, leaving Rollins to deal with Priest on his own.
Prediction: Drew McIntyre has been on a slow-burning heel turn ever since his return at Money in the Bank. His personality has continued to change during his quest for the title and the loss here will be what sends him over the edge. Seth Rollins retains, but McIntyre attacks before being taken out by Judgement Day allowing Damian Priest to cash in and become the new World Heavyweight Champion.
John Cena vs. Solo Sikoa
John Cena faces Solo Sikoa one-on-one at the Saudi Arabia show in what will be his first appearance in the Kingdom since the debut show back in 2018.
Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Nia Jax vs. Raquel Rodriguez vs. Zoe Stark vs. Shayna Baszler – Women’s World Championship
Rhea Ripley has got four opponents to worry about when she defends her title in a Fatal Five-way.
The scene was set when Nia Jax made her surprise return and took out both Ripley and Raquel Rodriguez during a title match. Jax then repeated her actions against Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark, which resulted in all five women embroiled in several heated brawls. After one particular exchange, RAW General Manager Adam Pearce set up the five-way in order to get things settled.
Prediction: Despite the huge disadvantage of facing four competitors at once, Ripley has this in the bag. It seems like either Zoey Stark or Baszler will be the one taking the pin while the outcome of the match will set up a one-on-one match between Ripley and Jax at Survivor Series.
Rey Mysterio (c) vs. Logan Paul – United States Championship
Logan Paul makes his return to WWE and to Saudi Arabia to challenge Rey Mysterio for the United States Championship. The match came about after Paul called out Mysterio following his controversial boxing victory over Dillon Danis on October 14th.
Paul and Mysterio then exchanged words in the ring, in which the social media mogul reminded the champ he had beaten him in his first-ever WWE match. Mysterio then accepted Paul’s challenge and set up the title clash for Saudi Arabia.
Prediction: The exposure WWE will get by having a star on the level of Logan Paul carrying one of their titles is an opportunity they will not pass up. Logan Paul wins.
Roman Reigns (c) vs. LA Knight – Undisputed Universal Championship
The Tribal Chief will put his title on the line against LA Knight after the fast-rising star inserted himself into Bloodline business.
After Knight teamed with John Cena to defeat the duo of Solo Sikoa and Jimmy Uso at Fastlane, Reigns returned to confront Cena presuming that he wanted another shot at the title. However, Cena introduced Knight, who declared that he was next in line. Knight antagonised the history-setting champion over the following weeks, which resulted in a heated contract signing between the two megastars.
Predictions: This is Knight’s first shot at a top championship on the main roster and his biggest match to date, but the occasion has certainly not affected him. Knight has not only held his own during his interactions with Reigns but excelled in them. Yet despite him upping his status, the Head of the Table has little to worry about in the match itself and will soundly defeat him. Roman Reigns retains.
Don’t miss WWE Crown Jewel on Saturday, Nov. 4, streaming live from Riyadh, exclusively on Peacock in the United States and on WWE Network everywhere else.