WWE Crown Jewel main events: The stories behind the five most recent matches to headline the annual international premium live event

WWE

Following Money in the Bank, WWE’s next premium live event outing will be Crown Jewel, which will emanate from the Riyadh Season Stadium in Saudi Arabia on November 7.

A number of significant matches have taken place in the main event spot at Crown Jewel over the years, from top title matches to new annual traditions.

Here are the stories surrounding the five most recent Crown Jewel main events, as WWE prepares for the 2026 show.

2021: Roman Reigns vs Brock Lesnar – Universal Championship

The 2021 Crown Jewel event was headlined by a familiar face-off, with Roman Reigns facing Brock Lesnar for what at that point was their fifth singles clash in WWE.

This match was for the Universal Championship, which Reigns had just defended against Finn Balor at Extreme Rules one month prior (yes, in the turnbuckle-breaking match).

While Paul Heyman was in Roman Reigns’ corner for the match, there were several moments when the Wiseman’s allegiance was questioned, including when Heyman threw the title belt into the ring, with it not being clear who he was intending to help.

With Reigns and Lesnar going on to face one another at WrestleMania 38 and SummerSlam the following year, their Crown Jewel match served as another chapter in their storied rivalry.

2022: Roman Reigns vs Logan Paul – WWE Undisputed Universal Championship

With Reigns defeating Lesnar at WrestleMania 38 to unify the Universal and WWE championships, 2022 marked the year when the Tribal Chief began to defend the unified title, referred to as the “WWE Undisputed Universal Championship.”

Crown Jewel 2022 saw Reigns defend the gold against Logan Paul. This was Paul’s third ever match, following his debut alongside The Miz against Rey & Dominik Mysterio at WrestleMania 38, and a singles bout against The Miz at SummerSlam.

The closing moments felt like someone cranked “Interference” to its maximum setting on WWE 2K Universe mode, with The Usos and Solo Sikoa having physical interactions with Logan Paul’s friends Mike Majlak and George Janko, as well as the challenger’s brother, Jake Paul.

While Paul is still a very divisive individual, this match proved to many that he was capable of wrestling a main event match.

2023: Roman Reigns vs LA Knight – WWE Undisputed Universal Championship

Ahead of facing off with the World Heavyweight Championship on the line at Money in the Bank 2026, Roman Reigns and LA Knight actually first met in singles action at Crown Jewel 2023.

This match took place during the aforementioned Roman Reigns WWE Undisputed Universal Championship reign, with the Tribal Chief claiming victory 1161 days following his initial Universal Title victory.

The closing moments of this match saw Knight drop Reigns with his BFT finisher, with Jimmy Uso placing Reigns’ foot on the ropes to break the pin.

Knight then put Jimmy through an announcer’s table, allowing Roman Reigns to capitalize on the distraction, spearing his challenger through the barricade before returning him to the ring to end the match.

2024: Cody Rhodes vs GUNTHER – Men’s Crown Jewel Championship

Roman Reigns’ Crown Jewel main event streak ended in 2024, with a new title being introduced in the final match of the show.

Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes and World Heavyweight Champion GUNTHER headlined the premium live event in a match to crown the first-ever Crown Jewel Champion.

The American Nightmare was ultimately victorious, reversing a sleeper hold to pin the Ring General and make WWE history.

This is now an annual tradition, with the WWE and World Heavyweight champions meeting every year at Crown Jewel to determine that year’s Crown Jewel Champion.

2025: Cody Rhodes vs Seth Rollins – Men’s Crown Jewel Championship

Cody Rhodes competed in his second Crown Jewel Championship match in 2025, with Crown Jewel emanating from Perth, Australia instead of Saudi Arabia.

He was up against Seth Rollins, a WWE star who he had a lot of history with, especially following their feud in 2022, Cody’s first following his return to the company.

The Visionary was ultimately victorious, finally scoring a major victory over the American Nightmare, and becoming the second ever champion in this annual title’s lineage.

This victory proved to be Pyrrhic however, with the shoulder injury Rollins suffered during this match keeping him out of action for six months.

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• Roman Reigns
• Cody Rhodes
• Crown Jewel
• wwe

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