Zelina Vega vs. Doudrop
The finals of the Queen of the Ring -- or what is all of a sudden on this show being called the Queens Crown tournament -- is up next.
Randy Orton and Riddle retains tag titles
RK-Bro successfully defended their Raw Tag Team Championships against AJ Styles and Omos in an OK match.
In what will surely be the best moment of the night, or maybe even the year, Riddle ran to the back in the middle of his entrance with Orton, only to return riding a camel to the ring. Amazing.
This match had a slow start, feeling like a standard TV bout for the first while. This was especially true when Omos was in the ring, as Omos really slows things down -- and he was in the match more than average. But it really picked up when Riddle and AJ were in the ring together. They had a hot sequence of trading blows and countering moves, but it was shortlived.
Riddle tagged in Orton, who was able to knock Omos off the apron and then counter a Phenomenal Forearm with an RKO. Riddle then landed a Floating Bro for the pin.
Rating: 2.5 stars. This felt like filler. A match with three wrestlers as great as AJ, Orton and Riddle shouldn't, but we've already seen these guys wrestle so much -- and this was shorter and less impressive than previous bouts. Riddle's entrance did rule, though.
Mansoor beats Mustafa Ali
This match was all about highlighting Mansoor, WWE's first wrestler from Saudi Arabia. It was a good match, better than most Raw matches and even most midcard pay-per-view bouts, but that's mostly thanks to Mustafa Ali.
It was hard to get into this match, because it felt thrown together for the simple purpose of getting a hometown hero on the show. That's completely fine, except it's doubtful that WWE will do much with Mansoor between now and the next Saudi Arabia show.
After the match, Ali attacked Mansoor. A man in a gi and a Keffiyeh very slowly made his way to the ring. He took over the Keffiyeh to reveal himself as Saudi Arabian silver medal Karate player Tareg Hamedi. He Karate kicked Ali, then posed with Mansoor for the crowd.
Rating: 2.75 stars. A fine match, but it was more about pleasing the local crowd (and the Saudi sports comission that pays for the event) than anything else, as made clear by the post-match showdown.
Edge pins Seth Rollins
Crown Jewel opened with a match that will be very hard to top. Edge defeated Seth Rollins after a lengthy Hell in a Cell match, one that saw both talented performers pull out a bag of tricks -- as well as many weapons. Edge won the match by Curb Stomping Rollins onto a chair.
The match started hot. Rollins moments in attempted a Suicide Dive on Edge on the outside, but missed Edge and caught the red Hell in a Cell cage instead. Edge then brought chairs into the ring, so weapons were integrated almost immediately. Edge broke the chair apart and tried to use a chair part to lock Rollins in a crossface, as he's done in the past, but Rollins scurried out.
Eventually, Edge did manage to get Rollins a crossface, but Rollins got out by grabbing part of the chair and jabbing it in Edge's eye. He then hit a Frogsplash for a 2 count -- the first of many nearfalls.
Rollins setup a table on the outside and tried to powerbomb Edge over the toprope through the table, but Edge wriggled out. Rollins planted Edge with the Unprettier, Christian's finishing move, for another nearfall. Rollins scaled the top rope, but Edge pushed him off the turnbuckle and Rollins crashed through the table.
With Rollins down, Edge set up the steel steps in the middle of the ring. Edge planted Rollins with an Edge-o-Matic, and then, with Rollins splayed across the steps, did a flying elbow drop with the steel chair from the top rope. Two count.
Edge then went for a spear, but Rollins countered with a Superkick and a Pedigree for a two count. Rollins then attempted a Curbstomp, but Edge caught him and reversed it into a Buckle Bomb, and then hit Rollins with a Spear for a great two count. The crowd showers them with a "This is Awesome!" chant. It really is.
Edge introduced more weapons into the match, bringing out a ladder and another table. They'd be used in spectacular fashion, when Rollins hit a Sunset Flip Powerbomb over the ladder, through the table. Another two count. Rollins brought out a bag of tools into the ring, and pulled out a thick chain. He wraps it around his boot and superkicked Edge with the chained-up boot.
Rollins tried to Curb Stomp Edge with the chained-up foot, but Edge moved out of the way and shoved a chair up Rollin's crotch. Edge barraged Rollins with superkicks and locked him in a crossface using a wrench from the aforementioned toolbag. Pretty gnarly. Before Rollins can tap out, Edge broke up the hold. He planted a chair underneath Rollins, hit him with the Curb Stomp and pinned him, 1-2-3.
Rating: 4.25 stars. I feel bad for whoever has to follow this. Some of this certainly bordered on preposterous, with each man kicking out of things that should have left them dead. Still, to used an overused phrase, it felt epic in a way that few WWE matches have over the last year.
Kickoff Show results
The Kickoff Show saw The Usos face the newly reformed Hurt Business. This short match ended when Jey Uso pinned Cedric Alexander following a top-rope splash.
WWE Crown Jewel 2021: Results, live updates and match ratings - CNET
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