WWE Crown Jewel 2023 Highlights: Roman Reigns Continues His Rule As The Undisputed WWE Universal Championship, Logan Paul Wins The US Championship While John Cena Takes A Major Beating(Photo Credit –Instagram/Youtube/wikipedia)
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It was an action-packed Saturday for WWE PPV (pay-per-view) and live-streaming fans worldwide as the WWE Crown Jewel 2023 event was held at the Mohammed Abdu Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This much hyped-up event – which was the promotion’s 10th event held in the country under their 10-year partnership in support of Saudi Vision 2030, saw several top wrestlers enter the ring, like John Cena, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Rey Mysterio, Logan Paul, Sami Zayn and more.
While Reigns was able to defend his ‘Undisputed WWE Universal Championship’ title, Paul – who gained fame initially as a YouTuber and businessman, was crowned the new U.S. Champion. The action-packed night also saw Cena take a massive beating.
Want to know more about what happened last night at WWE Crown Jewel 2023? We have you covered. Scroll down to know the results of yesterday’s big WWE event in Saudi Arabia, as well as the highlights of all the matches.
Before we tell you the highlights of the night, take a look at the card for WWE Crown Jewel 2023
Undisputed WWE Universal Championship – Roman Reigns vs. LA Knight
World Heavyweight Championship – Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre
WWE Women’s Championship – Iyo Sky vs. Bianca Belair
Women’s World Championship – Rhea Ripley vs. Nia Jax vs. Raquel Rodriguez vs. Shayna Baszler vs. Zoey Stark
US Championship – Rey Mysterio vs. Logan Paul
Cody Rhodes vs. Damian Priest
John Cena vs. Solo Sikoa
Sami Zayn vs. JD McDonagh
With the card details revealed, scroll on to know who won what match at the WWE Crown Jewel 2023 event in Riyadh, Saudi, and some highlights from each of those bouts.
Sami Zayn vs JD McDonagh
After facing off each other on two occasions earlier – with each winning one, their third confrontation in the squared ring saw Zayn reign supreme on McDonagh. Zayn – who came out to a massive ovation as the live audience cheered for him before the action began, controlled the pace for the most part. The highlight of this match – despite a slow middle portion, was McDonagh suffering a nasty bump into the bottom rope before regaining his composure and picking right back up, and ‘The Underdog From the Underground’ pinning JD with a huge Blue Thunder Bomb.
John Cena vs. Solo Sikoa
16-time world champion John Cena suffered a huge defeat at the hands of Solo Sikoa at WWE Crown Jewel 2023. Undoubtedly the biggest match in Sikoa’s career, the bout began with Cena getting the most cheers from the live audience. While it was fun at the beginning, the match suffered a bit owing to its slower pace and lengthy run. As The Street Champ began to systematically take his rival apart and gain the upper hand, Cena was occasionally able to get in a few moves; however, his attempts weren’t that impressive and failed to get the crowd worked up. Despite the slow pace, the last few minutes of the match were thrilling as we saw John Cena start stringing together more moves. The final moments of the match also saw Sikoa drill him with four Samoan Spikes and then pick Cena’s head up and hit him with several more Spikes before covering him for the win.
Cody Rhodes vs. Damian Priest
As Sami Zayn had the MITB (Money in the Bank) briefcase, Damian Priest was in a bad mood and showed up for his match with Cody Rhodes carrying only his tag title belts. This foul mood led to The Archer of Infamy attacking The American Nightmare before the bell; however, Rhodes was able to recover from the unexpected attack and soon take control of the match. The entertaining match saw Priest hit Rhodes on top of the announce table before getting back between the ropes and Cody hitting him with a Cross Rhodes (aka the Rolling cutter) to even the score. The match saw Finn Bálor make an appearance and distract the referee so McDonagh could help Priest. It also saw Jey Uso step in to drive away The Judgment Day with a chair. The match ended with Cody taking the ‘W’ after hitting Damian with three consecutive Cross Rhodes.
Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre – World Heavyweight Championship
While Seth Rollins entered WWE Crown Jewel 2023’s World Heavyweight Championship match amidst a chorus of fans singing along to his music, his opponent, Drew McIntyre, stepped in determined to right what he perceived as wrongs in his career – and he didn’t hold back, leading to the match kicking into high gear from the get-go. As The Scottish Warrior used his superior strength to control Rollins, he also had to deal with short bursts of offense from the champion every few minutes. Despite Rollins being unable to give in his all – owing to his established back injury, both men put up a decent, if not good, fight. It took The Visionary a superkick, a Pedigree, and a Stomp to keep the Scot down for the three-count.
Rey Mysterio vs. Logan Paul – U.S. Championship
For this WWE Crown Jewel 2023, the YouTuber made a special entry on a dune buggy but later looked a little nervous as Mysterio made his entrance. The match began with a few simple exchanges of holds and counters. While both wrestlers looked good in the squared ring, the match came short of reaching the level of excitement Rey’s matches are known for. Logan, whose game has seen improvements over time, made up for his lack of experience with the willingness to perform spots nobody expected from him – making the bout an enjoyable watch. Paul delivered his Knockout Punch with a set of brass knuckles as Santos Escobar failed at stopping it. Another highlight of the U.S. Championship match was The Miz trying to host an episode of Miz TV with Saudi actor Ibrahim Al Hajjaj before Grayson Waller attempted to hijack the segment and make it into his show.
Rhea Ripley vs. Nia Jax vs. Raquel Rodriguez vs. Shayna Baszler vs. Zoey Stark – Women’s World Championship
The reigning champion, Rhea Ripley, was given a special entrance for this Fatal 5-Way match for the Women’s World Championship title at WWE Crown Jewel 2023. Once the bell rang, Jax rolled out of the ring and let everyone else have a go at Ripley. The match saw all the ladies work together against her when they had the chance, but once she was out of the ring again, they all started fighting amongst themselves. Even though there were five women in the squared ring, the match felt more like a Ripley vs Jax bout. Rhea was able to retain her title by slamming Stark onto Rodriguez and Baszler with the Riptide from the middle rope.
Iyo Sky vs. Bianca Belair – WWE Women’s Championship
The second women’s match of WWE Crown Jewel 2023 saw Iyo Sky defend her WWE Women’s Championship against Bianca Belair. The EST of WWE attempted to win early in the match and scored two counts a minute after the bell rang. As the bout progressed, both women were seen pulling out moves that we rarely see from them. Bayley showed up at ringside, and Sky ended up taking her out – by mistake. However, The Role Model still tried to help her by going after The EST. Kairi Sane showed up out of nowhere and took out Belair. The second half of this match was a big step up from the first, but the return of Sane is going to be what everyone is talking about despite Iyo defeating Bianca.
Roman Reigns vs. LA Knight – Undisputed WWE Universal Championship
The match between Roman Reigns and LA Knight was the main event of the PPV WWE Crown Jewel 2023. It saw The Tribal Chief emerge victorious as he defended his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship title against Knight. Despite Reigns getting the upper hand early on, Knight turned things around and started controlling the pace soon. The highlights of this match included Solo Sikoa and Jimmy Uso getting involved in providing distraction and Roman spearing The Megastar through the barricade before bringing him back into the ring and spearing him once more to get the win.
Did you expect these wrestlers to win their respective matches at WWE Crown Jewel 2023?
What did you think of the entertainment at the WWE Crown Jewel 2023 event? Do let us know.
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