Roman Reigns Wins At WWE Crown Jewel, Offers Respect To Sami Zayn

Roman Reigns and Sami Zayn have a long history with each other, and at WWE Crown Jewel 2026, the two men wrote another chapter in their story as they fought over the WWE Men's Crown Jewel Championship. Zayn wanted Reigns' respect and to take him seriously, and after a hard-fought bout, Zayn earned Reigns' respect, but it was the "OTC" who walked away with the victory.

Reigns looked to have gotten the better of the feeling out process, but Zayn kept dumping Reigns out of the ring to gain the control, which he would keep throughout the next portion of the match. Reigns would fire back but Zayn would cut him off and attempted a Suplex, which Reigns was able to muscle into his favor to hit one of his own. Reigns would continue the assault as the crowd would get on his case and went to Superplex Zayn but took too long to get to the top, and Zayn took advantage by flipping through and hitting a Sunset Flip Powerbomb for a two count.

Zayn couldn't follow up with a Blue Thunder Bomb as Reigns hit a Uranage and wanted to follow up with a Superman Punch, but Zayn finally landed the Blue Thunder Bomb which gained a near fall. Zayn hit a Tope Con Hilo to the outside to keep the momentum going, but when he rolled Reigns back in the ring for a Frog Splash, Reigns rolled out of the way and quickly followed up with a Superman Punch that only gained a two count. A strike exchange led to Reigns hitting a Corner Lariat, but as Zayn went to quickly hit a Helluva Kick, Reigns ducked and hit another Superman Punch. Reigns went for the Spear but as he was gearing himself up, Zayn landed the Helluva Kick which only got a near fall.

Referee Chad Patton was next to eat a Superman Punch as Zayn ducked out of the way, and as the official was down, Zayn hit an Exploder Suplex and another Helluva Kick. Charles Robinson ran down for the count but Zayn couldn't get the job done, and out of frustration, he hit a Helluva Kick on Robinson. Zayn wanted to take the low road and use a title belt for help but Reigns hit another Superman Punch and a Spear, only for Zayn to kick out again. After a strike exchange where Zayn looked out on his feet, the two men would exchange Superman Punches that still couldn't put Zayn down, leading to Reigns telling Zayn that he did in fact respect him. Reigns followed up with one final Spear to gain the win and become the 2026 WWE Men's Crown Jewel Champion.

After the match, Zayn demanded Reigns shake his hand to prove he actually did respect him, but Reigns opted not to, and instead gave Zayn a hug before telling Saudi Arabia to acknowledge him.