WWE Crown Jewel 2026 Review

Well… here we go.

This is one of the most highly anticipated wrestling pay-per-views in a long, long time, albeit not necessarily for the best of reasons.

ANB Arena is the venue. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia is the location. There are four matches on the card, most likely due to WWE wanting to travel with as little “cast and crew” as possible, with only a total of ten wrestlers featured.

Let’s try to have as much fun as possible, shall we?

Cody Rhodes vs Randy Orton – Last Man Standing Match

Good choice for the show opener. These two are guaranteed to get the crowd going, and sure enough, the fans are singing along to both entrance themes very loudly.

It’s being reported that the commentary team of Michael Cole and Corey Graves is doing the call for the show remotely from WWE Headquarters. It will be interesting to see (hear?) if that becomes noticeable at any point. Other than not seeing them at ringside, that is.

Even though the crowd was happily singing along to both entrance themes, they are firmly behind Orton here. Cody’s getting some cheers, but he’s also getting all of the boos during the “boo/yay” exchanges and when he fights back against Randy’s offense.

The first few minutes are almost all Orton. He’ll take Cody down, wait for the ten count, take Cody down again, wait for the ten count again, and so on. As I said, whenever Cody does fight back, he’s getting booed for it.

A “Cody sucks” chant breaks out after Cody sends Randy over the top rope and to the floor.

If there’s one thing I hate about Last Man Standing bouts, it’s how dumb wrestlers get, making the pacing of the matches slower than they need to be. Cody just punched Randy a couple times, and then demanded Charles Robinson make the ten count for Randy. In what world would Cody think a couple punches would be enough to keep Randy down for that long? All of the counts for Orton that I mentioned earlier? They were all off of simple things. Again, in what world would Randy think that would be enough to keep Cody down for that long?

As I type that, Randy powerbombs Cody through a table on the stage, which is finally a somewhat believable thing to potentially end the match on. We’ve seen people get put through a table once and stay down for multiple minutes before. Did Orton get the ten count here? Of course not, but at least it’s a step in the right direction.

Cody Cutter, but as Cody goes for the Bionic Elbow to follow up, Randy hits him with an RKO. It isn’t enough for the ten count, though, but at least we’ve moved on to the phase of the match where it makes sense to try the counts.

Cody gets an “overrated” chant after he drops Randy with ring steps to the face. He is the clear “heel” in this match.

Cody puts Orton atop the Arabic announce table at ringside, then grabs a ladder from beneath the ring. He sets the ladder up next to the table, climbs to the top, and attempts a big splash, but Orton moves out of the way. The table collapses on impact, and Lil’ Naitch starts the count on both men, but they both make it back to their feet in time.

A “this is awesome” chant breaks out. Admittedly, it has been a lot of fun, if you can look beyond the pacing quirks that all LMS matches have.

Cody gets in position for a Punt from Orton, and the crowd breaks out in a “Yes!” chant. Ouch.

Super Cody Cutter from the top rope, followed by a Cross Rhodes, and the crowd gives Cody a “you suck” chant. Ouch, part deux.

Cody goes to hit Randy with a chair shot as Randy is on top of the ring steps, but Orton counters with a forearm to the little Codies, and the crowd erupts in cheers. Ouch, part ekolu.

Multiple Cross Rhodes to Orton, but Orton looks to have clipped the ring steps after the last one. He has a cut on the top of his head. Cody takes some of the blood and wipes it on his chest. Orton struggles to get up, but puts himself in position for a Punt. This time, Cody doesn’t hesitate, and he drops Randy with the move. It’s enough to get the ten count and the win for Cody.

After the match, Cody sits on the ring apron, almost looking disgusted with himself that he needed to deliver such a move to get the win.

That was fun, even though it was never really above a snail’s pace at any point in time. In some cases, that would be a problem, but there was never any reason to expect this to be anything else. It was entertaining for what it was, and as physical as you would expect out of the Last Man Standing stipulation. 3.5 Stars

Bron Breakker & Austin Theory vs Penta & Je’Von Evans – World Tag Team Title Match

It’s time for our only real title match of the night, as nobody takes the Crown Jewel Championship seriously at all.

Nothing in the world is whiter than Michael Cole saying “Señor Dinero en El Banco” whenever Penta is around. Cole makes raisins in potato salad sound black.

Maxxine Dupri accompanies the champions to the ring, making her the 11th performer on the show, which is still a comically low number.

This was a good choice as a follow up to the previous match. It’s already so much faster paced than Cody vs Randy was, and it’s giving the crowd something entirely different to cheer for.

The crowd is excited for this, but it’s nowhere on the level that they were for the first match. That’s to be expected, though. Cody and Randy are on a different level than anyone in this match, and that’s not a knock on Penta, Je’Von, Bron, or Theory at all.

Man, matches just reach a new level when Je’Von Evans is involved. It makes him a fantastic “hot tag” guy, especially at this stage of his career. Penta is great on his own, but when he tags Je’Von in, the entire vibe in the building changes.

“Fuck you, Austin” chants break out. The crowd has been on Theory’s ass since he gave them a crotch chop earlier in the match.

Maxxine distracts the ref, and Bronson Reed hops the barricade. He takes Penta out with a Jagged Edge at ringside, but it’s not enough for the win, as Penta kicks out. The lights in the arena go out, and Oba Femi is here! Talk about the vibe in the building changing. The crowd is going crazy for Oba. Oba and Big Bronson charge at each other on the ramp, and Oba drops Bronson with a huge running uppercut, then puts Bronson through a table. Now we’re getting a showdown at ringside between Oba and Bron.

Mexican Destroyer, followed by an O.G. Cutter, and we have new champions! That was an entertaining match, made even more entertaining by the additions of Bronson Reed and Oba Femi in the mix. All four competitors in the match got a chance to shine, and we got a crowd-pleasing title change to top it all off. 3.5 Stars

Chelsea Green vs Liv Morgan – Women’s Crown Jewel Title Match

Michael Cole apparently doesn’t listen to what Corey Graves says. During Liv’s entrance, Corey says that Liv texted him earlier today to point out that her Judgment Day stablemates aren’t there, because she can win this match on her own. Mere seconds later, Cole says that Liv texted him earlier today to tell him that she plans to win the match by herself and not with anyone from the Judgment Day helping her. Good job, guys.

There is one REALLY annoying Liv Morgan fan in the crowd. During Liv’s entrance, there was one fan that was SCREAMING like a banshee over and over again. During the match, one fan has been heard SCREAMING “I LOVE YOU, LIV MORGAN” on a few occasions. It would be one thing if the fan sounded like they were really happy to see Liv. Even with what they’re saying, it almost sounds like someone who is being forced to yell something while they have a gun to their head. You know what… maybe I shouldn’t say something like that, all things considered. I can’t tell if it’s a male or a female voice, but it’s the biggest Liv Morgan fan in all of Saudi Arabia, that’s for sure.

Outside of that one fan, this match is getting far less crowd reaction than the previous two matches. The fans are definitely supporting Chelsea, but they seem to be pacing themselves in preparation for the upcoming Roman Reigns vs Sami Zayn match.

These two have had a handful of awkward spots already in the match. There has been one or two poorly timed spots, and another couple of strikes that barely looked like they connected.

Liv’s texts meant nothing! Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez arrive at ringside to distract Chelsea, but Liv seems upset. She tells her sisters that she’s got this, and sends Raquel and Roxanne to the back. Okay then. If you’re counting, that now makes 15 wrestlers to appear on the show.

As soon as Raquel and Roxanne leave, Chelsea gets the roll-up on Liv to win the match. That was… disappointing. Bordering on boring. They had those awkward spots that I mentioned, and even though nothing was egregious or seen as a “botch” in any way, it really took away from the overall quality of the match. Throw in a lack of crowd reaction for large portions of the match, and you have a match that I’ll be nice enough and give 2.5 Stars to.

After the match, Chelsea is cutting a promo in the ring, but she is attacked from behind by Liv. Tiffany Stratton runs out to attack Liv, which brings Raquel and Roxanne back out. Chelsea fights Raquel and Roxanne off, but turns around and gets attacked by Tiffany. Tiffany cashes her Money In The Bank title shot in, hits the Prettiest Moonsault Ever, and becomes the new WWE Women’s Champion. For some reason, she also gets the Crown Jewel Title and the ring that comes along with it, but either way, that was a thing that happened. Okay then.

Roman Reigns vs Sami Zayn – Men’s Crown Jewel Title Match

Main event time.

Lots of history between these two men, of course, but the entire dynamic has changed for both men since they last squared off in 2023.

Michael Cole just referred to Sami’s fans as “ride to dies.” That’s unfortunate.

I dig the story that has been told in the build to this match. Sami has been working to get into Roman’s head, and it seems to be working. Roman can brush off almost every opponent he has, but Sami has a special place in the head and the heart of Roman, and the Undisputed WWE Champion is looking to take advantage of that.

The crowd is amped. There are definitely some Roman supporters in the building, but Sami is the clear and obvious favorite.

As usual, Roman is looking to bring the pace to a crawl. At the same time, Sami is looking to accelerate things. Those kinds of battles of will often make for fun matches.

Ref bump! Roman goes to hit a Superman Punch, but Sami gets out of the way, and Chad Patton gets punched square in the mush. Charles Robinson makes a dead sprint to the ring to count a pin for Sami, but Roman kicks out. In frustration, Sami hits Lil’ Naitch with a Helluva Kick in the corner, and we’re back to having no ref.

Chad Patton is stirring, and Roman hits a Spear… for a 2.999 count!

Roman with back-to-back Superman Punches, but when he goes for another run, it’s countered by a Superman Punch from Sami! Sami goes to hit a Helluva Kick, but that gets countered by a Spear from Roman, bringing out a “this is awesome” chant from the crowd.

Another Spear from Roman is enough to get the pin and the win for Roman, though, much to the disappointment of the fans in attendance.

It was a really good match. Not quite reaching “great” level, but a perfectly acceptable pay-per-view main event from two of the best in the business. I’ll go with 3.75 Stars. What may have “hurt” the match is the same thing that affects most of Roman’s matches… you have a pretty good idea of the outcome before the match even starts.

After the match, Sami interrupts Triple H from making his presentation to Roman. Sami demands that Roman shake his hand, but Roman swats Sami’s hand away, then hugs him. Both men put each other over for the crowd.

Roman gets on the mic and calls for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to acknowledge me, and we go off the air with Roman celebrating in the ring.

Well, there wasn’t a terrorist attack that took place during the show, so I guess we have to count that as a win. The show itself was good. Three matches that were very good, two titles changing hands, and a crowd that was hot for most of the show… it’s hard to complain too much after all that.

If you’re someone who doesn’t mind watching the WWE shows in Saudi Arabia, this one is worth checking out if you didn’t already do so.