WWE Crown Jewel 2024: 3 Things We Hated And 3 Things We Loved

WWE Crown Jewel 2024 is officially in the books. The stacked premium live event emanating out of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, saw two brand new titles — the men's Crown Jewel Championship and women's Crown Jewel Championship — awarded to their inaugural victors. It also featured two massive grudge matches, as Seth Rollins took on Bronson Reed and Randy Orton faced the unhinged Kevin Owens. LA Knight defended his United States title against Andrade and Carmelo Hayes and women's tag champs Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill. Oh, and there was also the small matter of the original Bloodline facing off against members of the new incarnation of the faction in a six-man tag match. 

If you're reading our thoughts on what went down at Crown Jewel, we hope you've already formed your own by watching or reading the results, so spoilers from this point on.

No titles changed hands, one grudge match never even got officially underway and the other might not be settled yet. Two world champs got some extra hardware to show off and plenty of shenanigans were afoot in the Bloodline family drama. We're not going to talk about all of it — in fact, we're not going to talk about Cody Rhodes vs. GUNTHER, but rest assured, we all enjoyed it; just not as much as we enjoyed some other stuff! Here are three things we hated and three things we loved about WWE Crown Jewel 2024.

I'll start out by saying I'm just assuming that the OG Bloodline versus the new Bloodline will be a match at Survivor Series: WarGames in a few weeks, but I think it's a fairly safe assumption to make, even after today. I went in to this match thinking it was going to end up as a "hated" portion of this article, written by me, for the simple reason it pit Roman Reigns' Bloodline versus Solo Sikoa's Bloodline against each other ahead of WarGames, which I think is much too early. I thought we could have continued to set up this feud with in-ring promos, a few beatdowns, and whatever else instead of an actual match, but that wasn't the case.

After today, I hated this entire thing even more, because it was Reigns who ate the pin from Sikoa to end the match. While I love the Usos, they absolutely could have taken a pin from Sikoa to further things along with this story without hurting Reigns. Before Sami Zayn came out at the end of this match, I had a feeling of "why bother?" once it concluded. Until Zayn's interference, it felt like we could be going right to a Sikoa versus Reigns singles match for the title of Tribal Chief, instead of the WarGames match that initially made sense, one I'm still hoping for, but I'm not sure if I'm as invested in as I was before. When it comes down to it, this was a Bloodline versus Bloodline match, and probably should have ended in no contest chaos to keep everyone protected going in to a bigger match at a bigger PLE.

The fact this match went on first also didn't help anything for me. Of course, it made sense, considering there were two bigger matches for the Crown Jewel Championships to go on, and one would hope Cody Rhodes versus GUNTHER was going to main event. But, I think I'm just now so conditioned for anything involving the Bloodline to main event a show, this made things feel pretty weird, and even sluggish, at times for me for the rest of the show. Bloodline matches always start out so slow to begin with, and it made it hard for me to get into the rest of the PLE. There wasn't much for me to like within this match whatsoever, from even before the bell rang, through the three count with Reigns' shoulders on the mat. I'm sure the drama that's continuing to unfold within the "good" Bloodline, now involving Zayn, will draw me right back in, but the finish of today's match left a bad taste in my mouth.

Written by Daisy Ruth

Once upon a time, on the Island of Relevancy, a tribe domineered over the WWE Universe with unbridled violence and underhanded tactics. They were a tight-knit family bound by blood, believing success to be their birthright, and in the process of sustaining that rightful success they welcomed an outsider, first only as a means to an end. As time went on, the outsider became one with the family in his own respect, naturally endearing himself to the group he was merely just surviving, held on a tight leash for fear of violent ejection. But soon the outsider broke the Stockholm Syndrome, realizing that neither did he want to do the things he was tasked with, but also that he didn't need a familial relationship if it meant servitude.

That has been the story of Sami Zayn and The Bloodline, with that synopsis as the bare bones of individual arcs between each of the characters. Zayn has his own unique bond with each member of The Bloodline, new and original; the almost patriarchal and adversarial relationship with his former "Tribal Chief," the brotherly relationship shared with each of The Usos – one Jimmy Uso severed abruptly while Jey Uso has nurtured with time, and the unspoken bond shared with Solo Sikoa on the other side. The aftermath of Crown Jewel's Bloodline six-man tag exemplified each and every one of those dynamics, with Zayn coming down to the ring as Sikoa had Jey set up for a chair snap across his neck. He first pleaded with Sikoa not to go through with it, standing between the warring brothers, but when it became clear the self-proclaimed "Tribal Chief" wouldn't be deterred, he committed to saving the only member of The Bloodline he still has a bond with. For a moment in time, occupied by the immediate threat before them, all of Zayn, Reigns, and The Usos came together to dispatch of Sikoa. But the moment couldn't erase the break down between the heroes in this story, the conflicts each and every one of them shared, and the clashing mentalities of their character arcs.

So Zayn and Reigns both went ahead, looking to deliver the first blow, and came together for perhaps the funniest and yet most logical outcome: Zayn kicked Reigns in the face and Sikoa ran off laughing at the collapse. It was a laugh of relief for the "Tribal Chief" and then came the realization, he had a cohesive unit and his foes stood bickering in the ring. When you follow the way each of the characters have continued to interact with one another over the past few years, each chapter heading into this event and then the event itself paid homage to the lore. The foundation has been laid once more for weeks of TV leading to an eventual reunion for real, the Avengers needed Infinity War's loss to win Endgame, and the same could be said about The Bloodline OGs.

Written by Max Everett

Seth Rollins was written off "WWE Raw" in August —reportedly to recover from a legit, non-storyline injury — and his exit was something to behold. "Big" Bronson Reed, seeking to step into the main event picture, attacked Rollins in the middle of the ring on the brand's flagship show, hitting him with a staggering series of six Tsunamis. In Reed's buildup as a heel, he attacked The Miz in similar fashion before Braun Strowman stepped in, setting up the Last Monster Standing match with Reed. Rollins, of course, returned from injury and cost Reed that match, setting up this Crown Jewel grudge match. 

While Rollins is a more seasoned hand and it makes sense to have him step back into the world title conversation — or into a feud with CM Punk — it comes at the expense of Reed's momentum as a monster heel. Rollins' win was also pretty much written on the wall, with reports of his participation in a No. 1 Contender's match on "WWE Raw" coming out just ahead of Crown Jewel. Obviously that opportunity wouldn't make much sense if he'd taken the L this weekend, so Reed needed to lose the match and thus a bit of steam in his ascent.

It remains to be seen how this creative decision will play out, but perhaps the one saving grace was seeing Reed rise in the center of the ring and stare Rollins down after the match.

Written by Kevin Tall

I mentioned in my dislike for the Bloodline match opener of this PLE that I didn't like the pacing of this show, which is why I think I really ended up liking the rather overbooked messiness that was the Women's Crown Jewel Championship match that pit Liv Morgan against Nia Jax. We all knew Ms. Money in the Bank Tiffany Stratton was waiting in the wings with her briefcase, but thankfully, for now, she didn't cash in on either champion. Though, she tried, and how messy that got for her, bringing in "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio and Raquel Rodriguez made things fun and seemed to pick up the pace of the show, in my opinion.

This also furthers the storyline with Jax and Stratton on "SmackDown," and I think Stratton ends up cashing in on her former friend in a babyface turn. If the way Jax has been treating her on the blue brand wasn't already a big tell, I think Morgan capturing the Crown Jewel Championship over Jax is another. Morgan has the character better fit to brag about that ridiculously gaudy title right now, despite not being able to carry it with her over here in the United States, and Jax can focus on her feud with Stratton, as well as Naomi coming for her championship.

I think the way this match was booked made perfect sense and was necessary to continue a story on at least one of WWE's two brands. Rhodes and GUNTHER will both go their own ways now, but Stratton and Jax's frenemy-ship seems to be coming to an end, further by their time in Saudi Arabia. While the Crown Jewel Championship really means nothing, Morgan can brag about it as the slimy heel she is when looking for a new challenger for her Women's World Championship on "Raw." The pacing of this match helped the show move along well and was quite entertaining. I loved it for all that it was, even if the championship doesn't really mean too much in the grand scheme of things.

Written by Daisy Ruth

Whenever Carmelo Hayes and Andrade meet each other in the ring, they create something magical given the great chemistry that they have with one another. They've been in the ring with each other several times now, and have become quite familiar with each other as competitors which shows in their matches. Because of that, at certain points in this United States Triple Threat match, it felt like LA Knight's presence in the Triple Threat almost threw things off a little bit and took away from what otherwise would've been a solid match.

What's more, there also was no reason for Hayes to be the only one taking the pin in the match given that Knight landed the BFT on both him and Andrade, and could've easily pinned them both. There was already another point in the match where Knight had pinned both Hayes and Andrade, and that one should've been put at the end especially since the goal of the match was to get Knight over to keep him looking strong. It made Hayes look weaker than needed coming out of the match, something that is even more baffling when you consider his spot on the upper mid card of "SmackDown" and the push he's been getting thanks to his Best Of Seven Series with Andrade.

Written by Olivia Quinlan

Going into this bout the recurring theme with Kevin Owens has been the insistence that he didn't want to face Randy Orton at Crown Jewel. Sure, he attacked Orton for what he saw as taking Cody Rhodes' side, but like his feud with Rhodes it's not like he saw himself as the aggressor. Owens lashed out at Rhodes for what he would describe as a betrayal when he saw his friend take Roman Reigns as his partner. It's during these hostilities that "KO" drew the ire of Orton, elbowing him in a brawl with Rhodes and getting decked in return. That was, again as he saw it, a betrayal that deserved a receipt. Without trying to deep dive too much into the psychology behind it, but this is a classic case of Owens destroying the friendships he has out of insecurity that they will betray him. That is, in effect, the story being told, Owens justifies his own actions because he has convinced himself that Orton and Rhodes are after him.

So what did he do when it got to Crown Jewel? He relentlessly attacked his rival before the bell rang, justified in his mind because it was a pre-emptive defense. It sold that something had truly snapped in the mind of Owens in the way he views his current predicament, he has lashed out and now doesn't know how he's supposed to work his way out of the rut, so he will continue to play the victim while continuing to aggressively approach the situation. It's just really fun to have a nuanced character in today's wrestling climate, one that makes sense to the narrative playing out. Especially since this is a feud so close to the WWE Championship picture, one that could easily spill into Rhodes' title run with either or both Orton and Owens.

On Orton's side, he is merely acting out of vengeance for Owens attacking him. It's not like this is a paramount goal for him, to be fighting Owens because of his issues with Rhodes, while Rhodes himself is off elsewhere winning more titles. After Crown Jewel, this feud is something that is starting to threaten Orton's own plans to return to the title picture, and we know "The Viper" enough after all this time that it has taken less for him to cut off a friendship. What was great about the segment, outside of the dumb fun that comes with brawling in the crowd, between Owens and Orton in Riyadh was that it showed animosity that can't be boxed by rules, easily setting the precedent for a future stipulation match and planting seeds for the story to grow. That, for me, achieves far more than a finisher and a 1-2-3.

Written by Max Everett