One of the primary highlights of WWE Bad Blood was the introduction of the Crown Jewel title belt. Triple H unveiled the massive belt and delivered a short speech about its significance before a Gunther-Goldberg segment hijacked the moment.
We could blame it on Gunther or the presentation, but I’m unclear on a few things. Some clarity must come in time; another piece could be cleared up on Raw and Smackdown.
What We Know About the WWE’s New Crown Jewel Championship
Was it me, or did it look like this belt was designed to be bigger and better than every championship in professional wrestling?
Every year at Crown Jewel, the WWE’s two world champions–men and women–will meet in singles matches to determine the Crown Jewel champion.
The Saudis have heavily invested in the WWE for years, and this title could have been created to add value and importance to the now-annual premium live event in Riyadh.
I think it’s a great idea overall. I love the heightened importance of premium live events. Elimination Chamber now has a SummerSlam stipulation. Crown Jewel is now one of the WWE’s big shows, along with The Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, Money in the Bank, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series.
I believe we’re now looking at Crown Jewel becoming a spot for celebrities to show up, and there could easily be some UFC crossover with both promotions under the TKO Holdings umbrella.
What We Don’t Know About the WWE’s New Crown Jewel Championship
How will WWE maintain the respect for the Superstars who lose at Crown Jewel? Will we ever see someone go over cleanly?
The WWE doesn’t ever want to make it clear that one of its shows, Raw or Smackdown, is superior or inferior. How will the promotion manage that without making one champion look weaker?
If Gunther and Cody Rhodes clash, it will be interesting to see who goes over.
Lastly, how will WWE escape spoiling the results of matches on episodes of Raw or Smackdown and PLEs that immediately precede Crown Jewel?
When Crown Jewel is on the way, it will be clear which matchup the promotion and the Saudis will want in place for the event. There will need to be some maneuvering on the WWE’s side to make sure they orchestrate things ahead of Crown Jewel so as not to bury a champion for the sake of the new championship.
Here are all of the results from Bad Blood on Saturday.
- Hell in a Cell: CM Punk defeated Drew McIntyre with GTS with his knee wrapped in a steel chain
- WWE Women’s Championship: (c) Nia Jax defeated Bayley with the Annihilator after Tiffany Stratton had another near cash-in
- Women’s World Championship: Rhea Ripley defeated (c) Liv Morgan via DQ after interference from the returning Raquel Rodriguez
- Damian Priest defeated Finn Bálor with South of Heaven
- Undisputed WWE champion Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns defeated Jacob Fatu and Solo Sikoa with a distraction from Jimmy Uso, who returned. After the match, The Rock showed up and cryptically counted to three before leaving.