WWE Crown Jewel 2023: Biggest Winners And Losers
WWE inked a massive deal with Saudi Arabia years ago to bring live events to the Middle Eastern kingdom, and so every few months, another comes up on the premium live event calendar. That time is again here with Crown Jewel taking place in Riyadh at the Mohammed Abdu Arena yesterday. Unlike some previous cards which were built upon novelty acts and nostalgia, this year's show had some storyline developments heading in and likely repercussions coming out as a result. In other words, this version of Crown Jewel had some stakes to it.
You know the drill by now. Some will emerge from Crown Jewel looking much better coming in than others, and it's up to me to navigate just who the biggest winners and losers of the Saudi show were this time around.
Winner: Saudi Arabia
WWE started bringing live shows to Saudi Arabia in 2018, and today's Crown Jewel marked its tenth such event. It's also the first one I've ever tuned in to watch. For what it's worth, it's been rather difficult for me to reconcile the various human rights abuses that exist within the country, not to mention the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi that will forever be attached to its current leadership. And now that I finally gave in for this particular card, I'm not exactly sure how I feel about it.
But that's what the Saudi government has long wanted. The goal — via sportswashing — has been to showcase how not terrible Saudi Arabia is, because there's wrestling, soccer, boxing, and golf. Look at all these cool and entertaining things that happen there, but don't look at those horrors over there. Saudi Arabia has invested a great deal of money to try to rehab its image with distraction, normalizing it as a pretty swell place. Today, they got me. So I guess it's been money well spent for them as people discuss Tyson Fury's fight last weekend or Roman Reigns' latest title defense, and none of the other more murderous activities that transpire within its borders. After all, I now know Saudi Arabia's national bird and am unlikely to forget that piece of meaningless trivia moving forward.
Losers: Bianca Belair & Bayley
As two major pieces of today's WWE Women's Championship match, you'd think this might have to do with the particular roles of Bianca Belair and Bayley in the bout and how they might have factored into its outcome. Sadly, it doesn't.
Instead, let's talk about the terrible spot each of these women were put in to forward Saudi propaganda throughout the course of Crown Jewel. After all, if Saudi Arabia is going to get you thinking it's not such a terrible country, then it's going to need some people to vouch for its credentials. WWE put Belair and Bayley front and center to talk about how Saudi Arabia basically feels like a second home to them, the amazing experiences they have traveling to these events, how incredible the airlines are, etc. And all this is said while members of the women's roster are forced to dress a certain way just to be able to wrestle on these shows. Don't forget — it was also only a few short years ago that women weren't even allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia.
I know WWE is being paid a lot of money to put some polish on Saudi Arabia, but it's quite egregious to push two of your most popular women to be among the most prominent voices behind that.
Winner: Logan Paul
Say what you want about Logan Paul — be it dealing with his social media beginnings, his overall demeanor, or his energy drink — but the guy is good at professional wrestling. From the first time he debuted in the squared circle at WrestleMania 38, Paul has surprised everyone but himself with how talented he is in the ring. And that doesn't even begin to account for just how punchable his face is, with his personality and presentation lending themselves to be an exceptional heel. He is tailor-made for WWE and, at Crown Jewel, he took a huge step forward in his wrestling career — winning his first-ever singles title by defeating WWE Hall of Famer Rey Mysterio for the United States Championship.
While the match was a little more underwhelming than his previous bouts and the finish was a little wonky — seriously, Santos Escobar, why would you conveniently place those brass knuckles where Paul could reacquire them after you just intervened to stop them from being reintroduced? — the end result is a major development. Paul has a lot on his plate as it is across his various ventures, but the sky truly is the limit for him in WWE. Some may not want to admit it, but a reign with the WWE Championship is well within his reach down the line, given how quickly his rise has been to this secondary belt. He was just put into position to be a major player in WWE — if he chooses to really stick with it.
Loser: Lame Talk Shows
Quite often, these premium live events and pay-per-views are running long enough as it is that those of us watching them don't need any extra filler thrown in to make them even longer. Therefore, these lame talk show segments that really don't serve much of a purpose have got to go.
First off, most of them aren't very good as it is when they're scheduled on regular weekly programming. Gone are the days when these were treated as something relevant and meaningful, like when "Piper's Pit" or "The Snake Pit" were forwarding storylines. Now, you just add some cheap furniture to the ring — maybe a fake potted plant or two — and let the formula just run its course.
But if you're that insistent on making them part of the show, then they need to accomplish something. But having "Miz TV" morph into "The Grayson Waller Effect," so the loudmouths who host each show can battle over whose fake talk show is better (the true answer is neither) is a monumental waste of time, especially when we all desperately want to get back to the rest of the announced matches. Then you throw in actor Ibrahim Al Hajjaj — who likely means nothing to anyone outside of Saudi Arabia — getting involved, and you end up with an additional segment that no one asked for, no one wanted, and no one needed.
Winner: IYO SKY
It's been a long time coming, but IYO SKY is finally coming into her own in WWE. The former "NXT" Women's Champion did quite well for herself on the developmental brand, but had trouble finding her footing upon her main roster call-up and introduction as a member of Damage CTRL. But, at this year's Backlash, in her title match against Bianca Belair, something finally clicked. And ever since, the creative minds of WWE have been willing to give her a bit more room to spread her wings, even crowning her as WWE Women's Champion at this year's SummerSlam.
However, the lingering shadow of Damage CTRL remains. After all, while she may be the reigning champ, Bayley still has been positioned as the leader of the faction, and Dakota Kai's presence still makes SKY feel like a secondary presence in the group, belt or not, going back to their time as a tag team. But, at Crown Jewel, SKY finally began to feel like her own person. A bit of miscommunication saw her deck Bayley on the outside of the ring, likely fueling the tension that's been building between them as of late. Furthermore, the appearance of Kairi Sane on the scene just took SKY up a level.
Longtime friends and once partners as the Sky Pirates, Sane allows SKY to be at the forefront of their partnership and not solely serve as an accompaniment. SKY's time in Damage CTRL is likely coming to an end soon enough, and now she'll have an equal to do damage with in the WWE women's division. She's no longer a henchwoman, but a leading force. That's an even bigger win than successfully retaining her title at Crown Jewel, which she did anyway.
Loser: Kairi Sane
Kairi Sane is back in WWE.
After exiting the company at the end of 2020, a cyberpunk version of Sane returned today at Crown Jewel to assist IYO SKY — and there couldn't have been a worse place for it to happen.
Don't get me wrong — the story of Sane's re-emergence is an interesting one, and WWE should be able to get plenty of mileage out of it. Sane and SKY are longtime friends. The last time we saw Sane in WWE, she was brutally assaulted by Bayley — who just so happens to be in alignment with SKY currently as part of Damage CTRL. There are a variety of angles to explore here creatively.
The problem was that no one in Riyadh cared — not even a little bit. What should have been a very cool return was absolutely wasted on a crowd with zero energy who may or may not have even been paying attention to the women's match that was taking place right in front of them. Seriously — Crown Jewel's energy levels dipped drastically in the hours that followed the show's hot opening, and Kairi Sane's comeback may have been the biggest victim of it.
I love that Sane is back. I look forward to seeing what comes from her pairing with SKY. I am very interested in seeing how her dynamic with Bayley plays out, given their past. But this talented woman deserved so much better for her reintroduction than she got in Saudi Arabia.