Two WWE Champions will play residual hardware until the end of WWE Crown Jewel. The promotion returns to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday to begin an unused annual custom: the Crown Jewel championship matches.
The Uncooked and SmackDown World Champions compete to become the inaugural Crown Jewel Champions. International Heavyweight Champion Gunther takes on WWE Undisputed Champion Cody Rhodes, and Women’s World Champion Liv Morgan takes on WWE Women’s Champion Nia Jax. The Crown Jewel titles were sold through famed WWE content officer Paul Levesque at Malicious Blood. The clashes between champion and champion will be held every year in Saudi Arabia.
The most updated price on Crown Jewel is probably The Usos reunion. Roman Reigns, Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso reunite at Solo Sikoa’s The Bloodline. Five alternative settings are also programmed.
Let’s see who the CBS Sports experts pick to win each and every game on Saturday’s card, starting at 1 pm ET.
WWE Crown Jewel 2024 predictions
Roman Reigns and The Usos vs. The Bloodline: The practical end here is for The Bloodline to win and retain as things heat up as Survivor Line approaches. Then again, there’s one thing about The Usos reuniting and the way I think the fallout is being skewed makes me assume WWE might want to give the lovers a babyface win on this one. There are ways to allow The Bloodline to recover from Reigns, Jimmy and Jey between Saturday and Survivor Line to keep things moving in the right direction. I hope I’m wrong because a Bloodline victory is actually the cheapest way from a wrestling storytelling standpoint, but there are also ways to turn Sikoa’s growing frustration into important narrative beats. Select: Roman Reigns and The Usos win –Brent Brookhouse
Unlike Brent, I guess WWE does what’s cheap. Bloodline needs momentum heading into Survivor Line, and yet they have a one-person lead in the royal faction. Reigns and Jey are bigger draws than any member of the rival team. WWE runs the risk of making The Bloodline 2.0 look like an affordable rip-off should they lose to Reigns’ group on back-to-back PPVs. The most important variable is how long WWE plans to continue this storyline. If Survivor Line is to be believed, the creative team will have to make conscious decisions about how things will play out come November. If there is an additional package in the package, it will not depend on who wins in Crown Jewel. Select: The Bloodline wins –Shakiel Mahjouri
Men’s Crown Jewel Championship – Gunther vs. Cody Rhodes: The problem I have with both champion vs. champion attacks is that it feels like they’ll both end with interference or some other kind of unsatisfying outcome to prevent a leading champion from ending up losing because Crown Jewel just feels less notable than something like Survivor Line. By battening down the hatches to avoid a blank defeat, Rhodes simply has more antagonists who can stick their noses in the game and allow Gunther to borrow an affordable victory. Whether it’s Kevin Owens or anyone from The Bloodline, anyone will meddle and Rhodes will lose without it having any real impact on anyone else. Select: Gunther wins the title — Brookhouse (also Mahjouri)
Women’s Crown Jewel Championship: Liv Morgan vs. Nia Jax: WWE’s unused regime turns out to be great for Jax. His original career within the company is by far his most powerful. Now it is not the best, but it is a development illuminated by time. Jax won Will’s Queen of the Ring match in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It preceded her WWE Women’s Title win and I’m prepping the sound for this weekend. Morgan has more upside, but she’s an intriguing villain who doesn’t need a one-time ceremonial title win. Jax is a body pressure. Seeking additional awards for your trophy case is responsible booking. Select: Nia Jax wins the title — Mahjouri (also Brookhouse)
Randy Orton vs. Kevin Owens: Owens is too central to Rhodes’ story right now to lose to Orton, who is having a quality run as a veteran who can easily fit in with anyone. Owens wants to stay hot and ready for a rematch with Rhodes, this speed and his deteriorating lead. I have a slight confusion that this might cause it to borrow the screen on Saturday, but the result no longer feels confusing. Select: Kevin Owens wins — Brookhouse (also Mahjouri)
Seth Rollins vs. Bronson Reed: It’s nice to see Reed in a big fight, but there’s something about this story that feels like a tall order. I can’t take into account the top speed that Rollins used to have as the miniature type of player in Uncooked. Such are the ebbs and flows of professional wrestling. Reed may present himself as an unstoppable force, but Rollins certainly figures out a way to defeat this monster. Select: Seth Rollins wins — Mahjouri (also Brookhouse)
United States Championship – LA Knight (c) vs. Andrade vs. Carmelo Hayes: Knight would be a major match champion if SmackDown still had a lazy champion. Unfortunately for him, Rhodes is a workhorse. The American champion has taken a backseat to the most central storylines of SmackDown’s two-hour cancellation. He even seems like a supporting role in Andrade and Hayes’ seven-game series. Knight remains one of the most frequent babyfaces on the roster and benefits more from having the name than his rivals. Select: LA Knight maintains identity — Mahjouri (also Brookhouse)
WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships: Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill (c) vs. Lesion CTRL vs. Meta-4 vs. Chelsea Green and Piper Niven: There’s a lot to this game, but choosing a winner in the end comes down to what’s sensible. Cargill and Belair are still pretty pristine in their second run as champions and the rejected group in the game stands out like anyone capable of running with the belts, even in a somewhat vulnerable women’s category. It appears that Cargill and Belair will continue to reserve the titles until WWE can find a clever path for one or both of them as singles. Select: Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill hold the titles — Brookhouse (also Mahjouri)
