Crown Jewel (2021)
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The 2021 Crown Jewel was a
professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...
event produced by the American
company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...
WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...
. It was the third Crown Jewel and took place on October 21, 2021, at Mohammed Abdu Arena on The Boulevard in
Riyadh Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in th ...
,
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
as part of Riyadh Season. The event aired via
pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program ...
(PPV) and
livestreaming Livestreaming, live-streaming, or live streaming is the streaming of video or audio in real time or near real time. While often referred to simply as ''streaming'', the real-time nature of livestreaming differentiates it from other non- liv ...
, marking the first Crown Jewel to air on
Peacock Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred t ...
in the United States, and featured wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. It was the sixth event that WWE held in Saudi Arabia under a 10-year partnership in support of
Saudi Vision 2030 Saudi Vision 2030 (, sometimes called Project 2030) is a government program launched by Saudi Arabia which aims to achieve the goal of increased diversification economically, socially, and culturally, in line with the vision of Saudi crown pri ...
. It was also WWE's first PPV and livestreaming event to be held outside the United States since the last Saudi Arabian event, Super ShowDown in February 2020, due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. The event also saw the finals of both the 22nd King of the Ring tournament and the inaugural Queen's Crown tournament (renamed Queen of the Ring in
2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...
). Ten matches were contested at the event, including one on the Kickoff pre-show. In the main event,
Roman Reigns Leati Joseph Anoaʻi ( ; born May 25, 1985), better known by his ring name Roman Reigns, is an American professional wrestler and former gridiron football, football player. As a wrestler, he has been signed to WWE , where he performs on the Sm ...
defeated
Brock Lesnar Brock Edward Lesnar ( ; born July 12, 1977) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and former Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist, Amateur wrestling, amateur wrestler and professional American football player. As a ...
to retain SmackDown's Universal Championship. In other prominent matches,
Becky Lynch Rebecca Quin (born 30 January 1987), better known by the ring name Becky Lynch, is an Irish professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand and is the current WWE Women’s Intercontinental Champion in her ...
defeated
Sasha Banks Sacha, Sasha, or Sascha may refer to: People * Sasha (name), includes list of people with the name and the variants Sascha or Sacha Musicians * Sacha (singer), born Sacha Visagie, Canadian singer and songwriter * Sasha (DJ) (born 1969), born Alex ...
and
Bianca Belair Bianca Nicole Crawford (née Blair; born April 9, 1989) is an American professional wrestler and fitness and figure competitor. she is signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown WWE brand extension, brand under t ...
in a triple threat match to retain the SmackDown Women's Championship, Big E defeated
Drew McIntyre Andrew McLean Galloway IV (born 6 June, 1985) is a Scottish Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown brand under the ring name Drew McIntyre. Galloway began ...
to retain Raw's
WWE Championship The WWE Championship, also referred to as the Undisputed WWE Championship since April 2024, is a men's professional wrestling world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, defended on the SmackDown bran ...
, Xavier Woods won the King of the Ring tournament while
Zelina Vega Thea Megan Trinidad Büdgen (born December 27, 1990) is an American professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Zelina Vega and is the current Women's United States Champion in he ...
won the inaugural Queen's Crown tournament, Goldberg defeated
Bobby Lashley Franklin Roberto Lashley (born July 16, 1976) is an American professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of The Hurt Syndicate and is one-half of the AEW World Tag Team C ...
in a
No Holds Barred No holds barred or No Holds Barred may refer to: * ''No Holds Barred'' (1952 film), a film starring The Bowery Boys * ''No Holds Barred'' (1989 film), a film starring Hulk Hogan * ''No Holds Barred'' (Biohazard album) (1997) * ''No Holds Barred ...
Falls Count Anywhere match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called " gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a storyline. ...
, and in the opening bout,
Edge Edge or EDGE may refer to: Technology Computing * Edge computing, a network load-balancing system * Edge device, an entry point to a computer network * Adobe Edge, a graphical development application * Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed by ...
defeated
Seth Rollins Colby Daniel Lopez (born May 28, 1986), better known by the ring name Seth Rollins, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw WWE brand extension, brand and ...
in a Hell in a Cell match. In contrast to WWE's earlier events held in Saudi Arabia, the 2021 Crown Jewel was met with positive reviews from critics, with much praise being directed to the Hell in a Cell match between Edge and Seth Rollins.


Production


Background

In early 2018, the American
professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...
promotion
WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...
began a 10-year strategic multiplatform partnership with the
Ministry of Sport A ministry of sports or ministry of youth and sports is a kind of government ministry found in certain countries with responsibility for the regulation of sports, particularly those participated in by young people. It is led by the minister of s ...
(formerly General Sports Authority) in support of
Saudi Vision 2030 Saudi Vision 2030 (, sometimes called Project 2030) is a government program launched by Saudi Arabia which aims to achieve the goal of increased diversification economically, socially, and culturally, in line with the vision of Saudi crown pri ...
,
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
's social and economic reform program. Crown Jewel was then established later that same year, subsequently becoming the main recurring event in this partnership, held in
Riyadh Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in th ...
, the capital of Saudi Arabia, in late October–early November as part of Riyadh Season that launched in 2019. The third Crown Jewel, and sixth overall event in the Saudi Arabian partnership, was announced on August 16, 2021, and was scheduled to take place on October 21, 2021, at Mohammed Abdu Arena and featured wrestlers from the Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. This was subsequently WWE's first
pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program ...
(PPV) and
livestreaming Livestreaming, live-streaming, or live streaming is the streaming of video or audio in real time or near real time. While often referred to simply as ''streaming'', the real-time nature of livestreaming differentiates it from other non- liv ...
event to be held outside the United States since Super ShowDown in February 2020 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. In addition to airing on PPV worldwide and the
WWE Network WWE Network is a subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and digital television network owned by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, a division of TKO Group Holdings. The service relied on technology develo ...
in international markets, it was the first Crown Jewel to livestream on
Peacock Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred t ...
after the American version of the WWE Network merged under Peacock in March. The official theme song for the event was " Take My Breath" by
The Weeknd Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (; born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is best known for adding Pop music, pop, electronic music, electronic and hip-hop stylings ...
.


Storylines

The event comprised ten matches, including one on the Kickoff pre-show, that resulted from scripted storylines. 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 ''WWE Raw'', also known as ''Monday Night Raw'' or simply ''Raw'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It currently airs live every Monday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on Netflix. The show features character ...
'' and ''
Friday Night SmackDown ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on USA Network in the United ...
''. After
Roman Reigns Leati Joseph Anoaʻi ( ; born May 25, 1985), better known by his ring name Roman Reigns, is an American professional wrestler and former gridiron football, football player. As a wrestler, he has been signed to WWE , where he performs on the Sm ...
retained the Universal Championship at
SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by the world's largest professional wrestling promotion, WWE. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's second biggest event of the year behind th ...
, he was confronted by a returning
Brock Lesnar Brock Edward Lesnar ( ; born July 12, 1977) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and former Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist, Amateur wrestling, amateur wrestler and professional American football player. As a ...
in his first appearance since
WrestleMania 36 WrestleMania 36 was a 2020 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was the 36th annual WrestleMania and was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw, SmackDown, and NXT brand divisions, the ...
in April 2020. On the September 10 episode of ''SmackDown'', Lesnar again appeared to confront Reigns and claimed that his former advocate,
Paul Heyman Paul Heyman (born September 11, 1965) is an American professional wrestling manager, former executive, promoter, and commentator. He is signed to WWE as the on-screen manager of Seth Rollins, Bron Breakker, and Bronson Reed, and is widely regard ...
, who had been serving as Reigns' special counsel since August 2020, knew Lesnar would be present at SummerSlam in an attempt to cause dissension between Reigns and Heyman. Lesnar then challenged Heyman to accept a match against Reigns for the Universal Championship. Later that night, an irate Reigns accepted the challenge. On September 16, WWE announced that the match would occur at Crown Jewel, though not necessarily for the Universal Championship, as before Crown Jewel, Reigns had a scheduled title defense against "The Demon" Finn Bálor at Extreme Rules. Reigns retained at that event, thus officially making his match against Lesnar at Crown Jewel for the Universal Championship. At SummerSlam,
Bianca Belair Bianca Nicole Crawford (née Blair; born April 9, 1989) is an American professional wrestler and fitness and figure competitor. she is signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown WWE brand extension, brand under t ...
was scheduled to defend the SmackDown Women's Championship against
Sasha Banks Sacha, Sasha, or Sascha may refer to: People * Sasha (name), includes list of people with the name and the variants Sascha or Sacha Musicians * Sacha (singer), born Sacha Visagie, Canadian singer and songwriter * Sasha (DJ) (born 1969), born Alex ...
, however, before the match began, it was announced that Banks could not appear for unknown reasons.
Becky Lynch Rebecca Quin (born 30 January 1987), better known by the ring name Becky Lynch, is an Irish professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand and is the current WWE Women’s Intercontinental Champion in her ...
then made a surprise return in her first appearance since the ''Raw'' after Money in the Bank in May 2020. Lynch challenged Belair, who accepted, and Lynch defeated her in 26 seconds to win the title. At Extreme Rules, Lynch defended the title against Belair, however, Banks ambushed both Belair and Lynch causing the match to end in a no contest. On October 1, a triple threat match between the three women for the SmackDown Women's Championship was scheduled for Crown Jewel. On that night's ''SmackDown'', Banks and Belair had their one-on-one match, where Banks won after interference from Lynch. At SummerSlam,
Bobby Lashley Franklin Roberto Lashley (born July 16, 1976) is an American professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of The Hurt Syndicate and is one-half of the AEW World Tag Team C ...
defended the
WWE Championship The WWE Championship, also referred to as the Undisputed WWE Championship since April 2024, is a men's professional wrestling world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, defended on the SmackDown bran ...
against
WWE Hall of Fame The WWE Hall of Fame is a List of halls and walks of fame, hall of fame which honors professional wrestlers and professional wrestling personalities maintained by WWE. Originally known as the "WWF Hall of Fame", it was created in 1993 when An ...
r Goldberg. Lashley was declared the winner after the referee called off the match due to Goldberg injuring his knee and rendering him unable to continue. Following the match, as Lashley continued to attack Goldberg, his 15-year-old son Gage came out and jumped on Lashley's back. Lashley then applied the Hurt Lock on Gage only to release him and flee due to Goldberg aiding his son. Goldberg was then off television due to his (
kayfabe In professional wrestling, kayfabe (pronounced ) is the portrayal of staged events within the industry as "real" or "true", specifically competition, rivalries, and relationships between participants. The term has evolved to become a code word ...
) injury while Lashley lost his championship to Big E. Goldberg returned on the October 4 episode of ''Raw'' and proclaimed that he would kill Lashley for what he did to his son. Lashley came out and stated that his attack on Gage was a misunderstanding, which Goldberg refused to believe. Lashley then stated he would face Goldberg at Crown Jewel on the condition that the match was a No Holds Barred match, which Goldberg gladly accepted. The day of the event, it was announced that the match would have an added stipulation of Falls Count Anywhere. On the September 27 episode of ''Raw'', after Big E retained the WWE Championship in a
Steel Cage match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Gimmick, gimmick matches" in the Glossary of professional wrestling terms, jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick m ...
, he was attacked by
Drew McIntyre Andrew McLean Galloway IV (born 6 June, 1985) is a Scottish Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown brand under the ring name Drew McIntyre. Galloway began ...
, who wanted a shot at the WWE Championship. The following week, after McIntyre and Big E's match, Big E accepted the challenge and the match was scheduled for Crown Jewel. On the October 1 episode of ''SmackDown'', WWE announced the return of the King of the Ring tournament, as well as the establishment of a female counterpart called the Queen's Crown tournament. Both the 2021 King of the Ring and inaugural Queen's Crown tournaments, each consisting of eight wrestlers evenly divided between the Raw and SmackDown brands, began on the October 8 episode of ''SmackDown'', with the finals of each being held at Crown Jewel. At Money in the Bank,
Seth Rollins Colby Daniel Lopez (born May 28, 1986), better known by the ring name Seth Rollins, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw WWE brand extension, brand and ...
cost
Edge Edge or EDGE may refer to: Technology Computing * Edge computing, a network load-balancing system * Edge device, an entry point to a computer network * Adobe Edge, a graphical development application * Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed by ...
his match for the Universal Championship as Rollins felt he deserved to be in the title match, and that Edge cut in line ahead of him. This led to a match at SummerSlam that Edge won. Unsatisfied, Rollins challenged Edge to a rematch that occurred on the September 10 episode of ''SmackDown'' that Rollins won. Rollins was still unsatisfied, however, as he continued to taunt Edge over the next few weeks due to Edge not announcing his retirement. Rollins challenged Edge to appear on ''SmackDown'' and accept another rematch. On the October 1 episode, Edge appeared to confront Rollins, however, as Rollins thought that Edge would not appear, he instead went directly to Edge's house and proceeded to make himself at home. The following week on ''SmackDown'', Edge attacked Rollins and challenged him to a Hell in a Cell match, which was scheduled for Crown Jewel. At SummerSlam, RK-Bro (
Randy Orton Randal Keith Orton (born April 1, 1980) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He has been signed to WWE since 2000, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown brand. Orton is widely regarded as one of t ...
and
Riddle A riddle is a :wikt:statement, statement, question, or phrase having a double or veiled meaning, put forth as a puzzle to be solved. Riddles are of two types: ''enigmas'', which are problems generally expressed in metaphorical or Allegory, alleg ...
) defeated
AJ Styles Allen Neal Jones (born June 2, 1977), better known by his ring name AJ Styles (or A.J. Styles), is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw WWE brand extension, ...
and
Omos Tolulope "Jordan" Omogbehin (born May 16, 1992) is a Nigerian professional wrestler and former college basketball player. He is currently signed to WWE as a free agent, where he performs under the ring name Omos. He is a former one-time Raw T ...
to win the Raw Tag Team Championship. On October 4, a championship rematch between the two teams was scheduled for Crown Jewel. On the October 11 episode of ''Raw'', after
Mustafa Ali Adeel Alam (born March 28, 1986) better known by his ring name Mustafa Ali ( ), is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he is a former TNA X Division Champion. He also makes appearances ...
and
Mansoor Mansour (, Manṣūr); also spelled Mounsor, Monsur (Bengali), Mansoor, Manser, Mansur, Mansyur (Indonesian) or Mensur (Turkish), is a male Arabic name that means "He who is victorious", from the Arabic root '' naṣr'' (نصر), meaning "victory ...
won their match, Ali shoved Mansoor and said that he was sick of losing. A match between the two was subsequently scheduled for Crown Jewel.


Event


Pre-show

During the Crown Jewel Kickoff pre-show, SmackDown Tag Team Champions
The Usos The Usos were a Samoan-American professional wrestling tag team which consisted of twin brothers Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso. They are signed to WWE, where Jey performs on the WWE Raw, Raw brand while Jimmy performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), Sma ...
( Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso) fought the newly reformed Hurt Business (
Cedric Alexander Cedric Alexander Johnson (born August 16, 1989) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is performing on the independent circuit. He is best known for his tenures in WWE and Ring of Honor (ROH). Alexander worked for ROH ...
and Shelton Benjamin) in a non-title tag team match. In the end, Jimmy performed an Uso Splash on Alexander to win the match.


Preliminary matches

The actual pay-per-view opened with Edge facing Seth Rollins in a Hell in a Cell match. At the start, Edge started to attack Rollins in corner with right hands, but Rollins reversed and then did it himself, but Edge reversed and did it a second time. Throughout the match, the two used various weapons, including a steel pipe, steel chair, a ladder, tables, and the steel steps. One notable moment included Rollins performing a sunset bomb from the top of the ladder on Edge through a table, but it resulted in a nearfall. Towards the end, Rollins placed Edge's head onto a chair and attempted a Stomp, however, Edge countered. Edge performed multiple superkicks of his own on Rollins. Edge untangled the chain around Rollins' foot and applied the Crossface on Rollins using a steel pipe. In the end, Edge performed a Stomp of his own on Rollins onto a chair to pin him and win the match. Next, Mansoor faced Mustafa Ali. During the match, Mansoor performed a
Moonsault A moonsault, moonsault press, or back flip splash is a Professional wrestling aerial techniques, professional wrestling aerial technique. It was innovated by Mando Guerrero. Much of its popularity in both Puroresu, Japanese and professional wrestl ...
on Ali, however, Ali countered into a submission on Mansoor, who reached the ropes to break the submission. In the end, Mansoor performed a
neckbreaker In professional wrestling, a neckbreaker is any throw or slam that focuses its attack on the opponent's neck. One type of neckbreaker involves the wrestler slamming an opponent's neck against a part of the wrestler's body, usually the knee, head or ...
on Ali to win the match. Following the match, as Ali attacked Mansoor, he was confronted by karateka Tareg Hamedi, who kicked Ali in the head. Hamedi and Mansoor then celebrated with the crowd. After that, RK-Bro (Randy Orton and Riddle) defended the Raw Tag Team Championship against AJ Styles and Omos. In the end, Orton countered a Phenomenal Forearm attempt into an RKO on Styles followed by Riddle performing the Floating Bro on Styles to retain the titles. In the fourth match, Raw's Doudrop faced SmackDown's
Zelina Vega Thea Megan Trinidad Büdgen (born December 27, 1990) is an American professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Zelina Vega and is the current Women's United States Champion in he ...
in the finals of the Queen's Crown tournament. In the end, Vega performed a Code Red on Doudrop to win the match and the tournament. Next, Goldberg faced Bobby Lashley in a No Holds Barred Falls Count Anywhere match. During the match, Lashley dominated Goldberg and targeted Goldberg's leg by placing it in a chair and stomping on it. As Lashley attempted a
spear A spear is a polearm consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with Fire hardening, fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable materia ...
on Goldberg, Goldberg moved out of the way and Lashley crashed through a table positioned in the corner of the ring. Goldberg performed a Jackhammer on Lashley, but instead of pinning Lashley, Goldberg decided he was not finished. Outside the ring, Goldberg performed a spear on Lashley into the timekeepers' area. Goldberg attempted to attack Lashley using the steel steps, however, Lashley moved out of the way. Goldberg followed Lashley to the entrance stage where Goldberg made quick work of Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin. In the end, Goldberg performed a spear on Lashley off the entrance stage and through tables positioned by the stage and pinned him to win the match. After that, Raw's Xavier Woods faced SmackDown's Finn Bálor in finals of the King of the Ring tournament. During the match, as Woods attempted a Tornado DDT in Bálor, Bálor countered into a Double Stomp to the chest of Woods. Woods performed a Superkick on Bálor for a nearfall. Woods performed a Superplex on Bálor for a nearfall. As Woods performed the Tightrope Walk Diving Elbow, Bálor raised his knees to counter. In the end, Woods performed a Diving Elbow Drop on Bálor to become the King of the Ring. Following this, Big E defended the WWE Championship against Drew McIntyre. McIntyre performed a Spinebuster on Big E for a nearfall. Big E performed three Belly-to-Belly Suplexes on McIntyre. Big E performed the Warrior Splash on McIntyre for a nearfall. As Big E attempted the Big Ending, McIntyre countered with a Michinoku Driver for a nearfall. McIntyre performed a Glasgow Kiss and a Future Shock DDT on Big E for a nearfall. Big E performed the Big Ending on McIntyre for a nearfall. McIntyre then performed the Claymore Kick on Big E for a nearfall. As McIntyre went for a second Claymore, Big E avoided and performed a second Big Ending on McIntyre to retain the title. In the penultimate match, Becky Lynch defended the SmackDown Women's Championship against Bianca Belair and Sasha Banks. During the match, Belair did a one-handed press slam on Banks. Later, Banks applied the Bank Statement and Lynch applied the Dis-arm-her on Belair at the same time. As Banks applied the Bank Statement on Lynch, Belair broke it up with a handspring splash. Lynch performed a Manhandle Slam on Banks, but Belair broke up the pin. Lynch applied the Dis-arm-her on Banks and Belair at the same time, but Belair lifted both Banks and Lynch up. In the closing moments, Belair performed the Kiss of Death on Lynch, but Banks threw Belair out of the ring. After Banks returned to the ring, Lynch caught Banks with an inside cradle while holding the ropes for leverage to retain the title.


Main event

In the main event, Roman Reigns (accompanied by Paul Heyman) defended the Universal Championship against Brock Lesnar. During the early half of the match, Lesnar constantly tried to perform a Suplex on Reigns, however, Reigns held the top rope. Lesnar eventually performed multiple German Suplexes and an F-5 on Reigns for a nearfall. As Lesnar attempted a second F-5, Reigns countered into a Guillotine Choke who fought out with a Spinebuster. In the climax, Lesnar performed an F-5 on Reigns, who fell onto the referee, incapacitating him. Heyman then tossed the title in the middle of the ring, between both wrestlers, although it was unclear as towards whom Heyman intended to throw the title. This led to Reigns and Lesnar engaging into a tug-of-war with the title. Although Lesnar gained control of the title, The Usos came out and attacked Lesnar with a Double Superkick. Reigns then struck Lesnar over the head with the title. A second referee then came out and Reigns pinned Lesnar to retain the title.


Reception

The 2021 Crown Jewel received generally positive reviews from fans and critics alike. The Hell in a Cell match between Edge and Seth Rollins was widely praised, with Brent Brookhouse of ''
CBS Sports CBS Sports is the American sports programming division of Paramount Global that is responsible for sports broadcasts carried by its broadcast network CBS and streaming service Paramount+, as well as the operator of its cable channel CBS Sports N ...
'' saying it stole the show, John Canton from ''TJR Wrestling'' graded the match 5 stars out of 5. and Chris Mueller of ''
Bleacher Report ''Bleacher Report'' (often abbreviated as B/R) is a website that focuses on sports and sports culture. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, with offices in New York City and London. ''Bleacher Report'' was acquired by Time Warner's Turner B ...
'' calling it match of the night. Additionally, Mueller went on to praise the entire event, giving both the Hell in a Cell match and the triple threat match for the SmackDown Women's Championship a grade of A, while the only poorly received match was Doudrop vs. Zelina Vega, which they graded C+. WWE named the Hell in a Cell match the best match out of their top 25 matches in 2021, where it was ranked #1.


Aftermath

The
2021 WWE Draft The 2021 WWE Draft was the 16th WWE Draft produced by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE between their Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The two-night event began with the October 1 episode of '' Friday Night SmackDown'' (in B ...
took place on the October 1 and 4 episodes of ''SmackDown'' and ''Raw'', respectively; however, the new rosters did not go into effect until the October 22 episode of ''SmackDown'', the night after Crown Jewel. This in turn meant that some rivalries, such as the one between WWE Champion Big E and Drew McIntyre, ended at Crown Jewel, as Big E remained on Raw while McIntyre went to SmackDown. The draft also impacted the King of the Ring and Queen's Crown tournaments as going into Crown Jewel, King of the Ring winner Xavier Woods had represented Raw but joined the SmackDown roster the following night, while Queen's Crown winner Zelina Vega had represented SmackDown, but moved to Raw. Also, Becky Lynch, who was drafted to Raw and had retained the SmackDown Women's Championship at Crown Jewel, exchanged championships with Raw Women's Champion
Charlotte Flair Ashley Elizabeth Fliehr (born April 5, 1986) is an American professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Charlotte Flair. Flair is a second-generation professional wrestler, being t ...
, who was drafted to SmackDown. This was done to keep the titles on their respective brands, meaning Charlotte became a record 13 time women's champion.


SmackDown

After Crown Jewel, it was reported that Brock Lesnar said he would be at the following night's ''SmackDown'' and would beat Roman Reigns senseless for what transpired at the event. Reigns opened ''SmackDown'', and questioned Paul Heyman's allegiance before calling out Lesnar. After several minutes of taunting Lesnar, he finally came out and brawled with Reigns. The Usos attempted to save Reigns only for Lesnar to take them out, who continued attacking Reigns. WWE official Adam Pearce called for several members of SmackDown's roster, as well as security, to restrain Lesnar, who took out the majority of them. Lesnar then taunted Reigns and posed in the ring with the Universal Championship as Reigns retreated backstage. Following this, Pearce announced that Lesnar was suspended indefinitely for his actions. Lesnar responded by performing two F-5s on Pearce. In addition to the suspension, Pearce fined Lesnar $1 million. Lesnar's suspension was lifted a month later after paying his fine, and he returned on the December 3 episode where he convinced Sami Zayn, who had become the number one contender the previous week, to face Reigns for the title that night. WWE official Sonya Deville made it official and that the winner would defend the Universal Championship against Lesnar at Day 1. Just before the match, Lesnar attacked Zayn, which allowed Reigns to quickly defeat Zayn and retain the title, officially scheduling Reigns to defend the championship against Lesnar at Day 1. Also on ''SmackDown'', The New Day (
Kofi Kingston Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah (born August 14, 1981) is a Ghanaian-born American professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Kofi ...
and Xavier Woods) had a coronation for Woods' King of the Ring victory. Kingston introduced the 2021 King of the Ring winner, now adopting the name of King Woods, who was adorned with the crown, cape, and king's scepter. The following week, King Woods knighted Kingston as Sir Kofi Kingston, the Hand of the King. Mansoor faced Mustafa Ali in a rematch which saw Mansoor defeat Ali once again.


Raw

On the following ''Raw'', Becky Lynch boasted about becoming Raw Women's Champion again as well as for her victory at Crown Jewel. Bianca Belair, who was also drafted to Raw, interrupted and pointed out the fact that Lynch did not beat her at Crown Jewel, as Lynch had pinned Sasha Banks in the triple threat match. Belair also made the point that she had defeated former Raw Women's Champion Charlotte Flair the previous week and deserved a title match. A brawl ensued between the two. Following the brawl, Lynch stated that Belair would get a title shot, but not that night. The match was scheduled for the following week, where Lynch retained. Also on ''Raw'', a coronation was held for Zelina Vega, who won the inaugural Queen's Crown tournament. Now adopting the name of Queen Zelina, she was adorned with the crown, cape, and queen's scepter. Zelina then defeated Doudrop in a rematch.


Results


References


External links

* {{WWEPPV, WWE in Saudi Arabia, Crown Jewel WWE Crown Jewel 2021 in Saudi Arabia 2021 WWE Network events 2021 WWE pay-per-view events Professional wrestling shows in Saudi Arabia October 2021 in Saudi Arabia