WWE Crown Jewel Predictions

WWE Crown Jewel is nearly upon us, and while there are certainly some moral questions left in the air, we’re going to focus on the match card as Emma Heeley, Nate Craver and Nick Holicki give us their thoughts on the show’s lineup.

The real meat of the show is going to be the World Cup tournament, making up seven of the night’s matches, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t going to be an interesting card otherwise.

We’ve got a time machine match between D-Generation X and the Brothers of Destruction in the main event. All bets are off now that SmackDown‘s WWE Championship match has changed to replace Daniel Bryan with Samoa Joe. We know for sure that we are going to see a new Universal champion, as Braun Strowman and Brock Lesnar face off, and let’s not forget New Day vs. The Bar 53 – now with 50% more Big Show.

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World Cup – Round One

Seth Rollins vs. Bobby Lashley

Emma Heeley

This is a no-brainer. Bobby’s injured, Seth is a dual Champion. Got to be Rollins.

WINNER: Seth Rollins

Nate Craver

I’m going with a Lashley win. I’m guessing Rollins will lose via some sort of interference from Dean Ambrose to further their storyline. I also think from Vince’s point of view, Lashley winning will make the Crown Prince happier than a Seth Rollins win. Plus it seems Lio Rush is a pet project of Vince’s.

WINNER: Bobby Lashley

Nick Holicki

At some point, you have to expect Dean Ambrose to cost Seth a match, but I don’t think it happens in the first round. For that reason, I’m counting on a Rollins victory here.

WINNER: Seth Rollins

Dolph Ziggler vs. Kurt Angle

Emma Heeley

Unfortunately for Dolph, he’s against my pick to win the whole tournament. However, after this show, I would very much like to see a proper program between these two.

WINNER: Kurt Angle

Nate Craver

Ziggler is the man. Well, the man who is always around to take the pin. He’s also good enough in the ring to make Angle look fantastic in the ring. I think Angle takes the win here. With John Cena out of the tournament, Angle might be the most well-known star of the bunch. I don’t think he’s getting booked to lose in the first round.

WINNER: Kurt Angle

Nick Holicki

What in the past five years could make anyone believe that Dolph is going over a nostalgia star in Saudi Arabia? Kurt’s winning this one.

WINNER: Kurt Angle

The Miz vs. Jeff Hardy

Emma Heeley

This was a tough choice. In the end, it boiled down to who would I want to see face Kurt Angle in the final, and as much as I love Jeff… I got to go with the ‘A-Lister.’

WINNER: The Miz

Nate Craver

Let the nostalgia continue. I think Jeff Hardy picks up the victory here. In the search to find the best in the world circa 2007, I think Hardy moves on. While The Miz could definitely take advantage of calling himself the best in the world better than anyone else in this tournament, I don’t see him winning here.  

WINNER: Jeff Hardy

Nick Holicki

I have a feeling that the Miz is primed to go deep in this tournament. Don’t ask me why – perhaps because he’s been the most consistently entertaining of all the entrants in this tournament, or perhaps because it could catapult him into the WWE Championship picture (alongside Daniel Bryan). Whatever the case, I think Miz will pick up the win.

WINNER: The Miz

Rey Mysterio vs. Randy Orton

Emma Heeley

Classic match of little guy vs big guy, where the little guy comes out on top.

WINNER: Rey Mysterio

Nate Craver

Either of these men could pick up the victory, but you probably want a heel/face dynamic in the semi-final. Orton makes sense to face Hardy in round two. They’ve had a lot of matches recently and would be an easy match to plan later on in the night.  

WINNER: Randy Orton

Nick Holicki

This is a weird pairing, because both guys need a victory here. That said, Rey’s only just returned, while Orton appears to be in the midst of some sort of push. I’ll go with Handy Randy to get the win.

WINNER: Randy Orton

World Cup Winner

Emma Heeley

If you haven’t been paying attention to my predictions until now then shame on you! 

However, adding that extra layer of ‘loser gets fired from SmackDown‘ does make this match all the more interesting.

WINNER: Kurt Angle

Nate Craver

Not to get all political on folks, but given the recent heat WWE has received for going to Saudi Arabia, I could see them using Angle as a public relations opportunity. In Vince’s mind, I could see him trying to use the fact that they put over the ‘All-American Hero’ as the winner of the Saudi tournament. He’s going to want a babyface winning this thing so the crowd goes home happy. If John Cena were in the tournament, his name would have been the one I predicted.

Plus, I think Orton loses and gets sent to Raw. Not giving away any predictions later, but I think moving a heel Orton over to Raw is going to make a lot of sense based on who walks out tonight with the Universal Title.  

WINNER: Kurt Angle

Nick Holicki

I would call this a dumpster fire of a tournament, but dumpster fires are probably more memorable. With very little on the line in the World Cup to crown the best mid-carder in the world (other than the mythical “bragging rights” that WWE loves to talk about and a confounding threat by Shane McMahon to fire the SmackDown representative who loses in the final), I’m just going to take a stab in the dark.

WINNER: The Miz

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The Bar vs The New Day – SmackDown Tag Team Championship

Emma Heeley

My only logic going into this match is that they have just put the belts on the Bar, would they really take it away from them that soon?

WINNERS: The Bar

Nate Craver

The Bar – It’s too soon to swap the titles back. The Bar retain. I also think we’re going to see the emergence of Big E in the future as a singles competitor. This feud will be the tipping point. He doesn’t leave the New Day, but I think we’re going to see him in a singles feud with the Big Show in the next few months. The Bar will go on to face other competitors like SAnitY or the Usos.

WINNERS: The Bar

Nick Holicki

As much as I enjoy the New Day, it just feels like the tag team belts have been pinballing back and forth between these two teams for months. I’d like to see the Bar consolidate their grip on the titles that they only won a few weeks ago and go on to face other challengers. Perhaps SAnitY?

WINNERS: The Bar

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AJ Styles vs Samoa Joe – WWE Championship

Emma Heeley

This is the first match on the entire card where I have literally no idea who could win. Realistically speaking, Joe was just thrown into this match because D-Bry refused to go to Saudi Arabia… But… I REALLY want Joe as WWE Champion. And while I think that’s in Joe’s future, I doubt they would crown him here. I really hope I’m wrong.

WINNER: AJ Styles

Nate Craver

My head says AJ Styles. It’s a last minute match change. We’re going to see a new champion crowned later on in the Universal Title match. All my logic says, why would you take the title off AJ now, but folks love a swerve.

I’m going Samoa Joe. I think Joe versus whoever wins in the next match would be a more compelling match with a deeper history. Joe wins tonight, loses to the Universal Champ at Survivor Series, and we then get a triple threat at TLC between AJ, Joe, and Daniel Bryan.  

WINNER: Samoa Joe

Nick Holicki

I’ve been burned twice before when picking Joe to go over AJ Styles at a pay-per-view. Also, despite the commonly held belief that a last-minute replacement usually wins the match, I just don’t see WWE suddenly making the title change that they decided against just a month ago. So, for those reasons, I’m going with my head this time and picking AJ Styles to overcome the monstrous Joe.

WINNER: AJ Styles

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Brock Lesnar vs Braun Strowman – Universal Championship

Emma Heeley

Here lies the second match on the card where I have literally no idea who could win. While my heart is screaming Strowman, I’m not entirely sure he’s ready to be the company’s top guy. However, do we really want to see a second Lesnar run with the belt? I’m going with my heart…

WINNER: Braun Strowman

Nate Craver

It’s got to be Braun Strowman.  It has to be. You just lost the guy you put 5 years of effort into.  You can’t afford to put the title on someone who isn’t going to be around and remind you that the real champion is gone for legitimate reasons.  Braun has to win and needs the title. Fans can get behind The Monster Among Men.

I think we’re then going to see Randy Orton show up on Raw.  We never got the payoff for who he was watching on the monitors.  It would be an easy bait and switch to say it was Braun the whole time.  Orton would slide in nicely to Raw and take a top heel slot that was just vacated by Braun.

WINNER: Braun Strowman

Nick Holicki

WWE can’t put the belt on Brock again, can they? Not when his mind is so clearly focused on the UFC, while ours still remember the disaster that was his last reign.

It wouldn’t be entirely out of character for WWE to pull a major swerve and stick the championship on the ‘Beast Incarnate’, but I really hope that doesn’t happen here. Braun can’t afford to lose another title match and, quite frankly, would make for a fascinating, dominant champion. He’s essentially a Brock Lesnar that shows up for work every week.

Strowman will definitely win this one… right?

WINNER: Braun Strowman

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D-Generation X vs The Brothers of Destruction

Emma Heeley

It’s been eight years since Shawn Michaels’ last competitive match. Surely they can’t let him lose…

WINNERS: DX

Nate Craver

Of the four guys in this match, the one guy who wouldn’t seem to care about taking the pin would be Kane. Triple H doesn’t allow himself to lose on big shows. The Saudi Prince paid some big bucks to see ‘Taker and Shawn Michaels. It’s got to be Kane taking the pin and DX picking up the Win. I’m not really sure who are faces and who are heels in this match. Something will happen to further the storyline and get us to Michaels/’Taker at ‘Mania.  

WINNERS: DX

Nick Holicki

Thirteen-year-old me is super excited for this match-up. Unfortunately, that’s also around the number of years that each of these guys is past their prime.

Expect a slow, plodding, unspectacular match that ends with a victory for DX, possibly setting up something between Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker down the line.

WINNERS: DX

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What are your predictions for WWE Crown Jewel? Let us know in the comments, on Twitter, or on Discord.

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