Backstage News On Why Bloodline Six-Man Tag Didn't Main Event WWE Crown Jewel
In a rare instance, The Bloodline did not main-event the WWE premium live event they most recently wrestled on — that being Crown Jewel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Instead, original Bloodline members Roman Reigns, Jey Uso, and Jimmy Uso battled the Solo Sikoa-led new Bloodline in the opening contest, with the latter team securing the win via a pinfall on Reigns. Meanwhile, Cody Rhodes and "The Ring General" GUNTHER closed the show with a champion vs. champion match in which the winner earned the first ever WWE Crown Jewel Championship. A new report has shed light on the reasoning behind this particular booking decision.
According to Fightful Select, there were a number of factors. Firstly, the fallout of the six-man tag, which saw Sami Zayn deliver an inadvertent Helluva Kick to Reigns, was moreso an "angle." As such, the outlet notes that "the booking didn't call for it." Furthermore, WWE wanted to properly showcase the Crown Jewel Championships, which WWE CCO Paul "Triple H" Levesque previously circled as a historic and annual tradition for WWE, by elevating them to the greatest spotlight — the main event.
WWE Women's World Champion Liv Morgan and Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes emerged as this year's Crown Jewel Champions after boasting victories over WWE Women's Champion Nia Jax and WWE World Heavyweight Champion GUNTHER, respectively. Following Rhodes' win over GUNTHER, Levesque joined Morgan and Rhodes in the ring to celebrate their new titles (and entries into the WWE history books). Fightful notes that ending Crown Jewel with Morgan and Rhodes was also important to WWE's relationship with Saudi Arabia, which brings in a massive amount of money for the company.
The physical Crown Jewel Championships will remain in Riyadh's WWE Experience attraction, though the yearly winners of these titles will carry forth a Super Bowl-like ring to commemorate their respective victories.