Anthony Sulla-Heffinger
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WWE Crown Jewel 2024 live updates, results, grades and analysis: Roman Reigns and the Usos lose; Liv Morgan wins Crown Jewel Championship
The seven-match card features two champion vs. champion showdowns for newly created Crown Jewel titles.
Staff writer
For the second time this year, WWE is heading to Saudi Arabia for a premium live event. After King and Queen of the Ring in May, WWE is holding the annual Crown Jewel event in Riyadh. It's the sixth time in the promotion's history that the annual event has taken place, with 2020 having been skipped due to the COVID pandemic.
This year's card features seven matches, including champion vs. champion clashes between Cody Rhodes and Gunther as well as Liv Morgan and Nia Jax, with the winners walking out of Riyadh with the newly created Crown Jewel Championship. In addition, we have two traditional championship matches — a triple-threat contest for LA Knight's United States Championship and a fatal four-way for the Women's Tag Team Championships, currently held by Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair.
The three non-title matches also have significant weight behind them, with Roman Reigns and the recently reunited Usos taking on The Bloodline, Seth Rollins and Bronson Reed seemingly putting a bow on their entertaining feud, and Randy Orton battling Kevin Owens, potentially setting up Rhodes' next Undisputed WWE Championship challenge.
Here's a look at the full card, which streams live on Peacock starting at 1 p.m. ET.
Men's Crown Jewel Championship: Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes vs. World Heavyweight Champion Gunther
Women's Crown Jewel Championship: WWE Women's Champion Nia Jax vs. Women's World Champion Liv Morgan
United States Championship: LA Knight (c.) vs. Carmelo Hayes vs. Andrade
WWE Women's Tag Team Championship: Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair (c.) vs. Iyo Sky and Kairi Sane vs. Piper Niven and Chelsea Green vs. Lash Legend and Jakara Jackson
Roman Reigns and The Usos vs. The Bloodline
Seth Rollins vs. Bronson Reed
Randy Orton vs. Kevin Owens
Follow all of the action from Crown Jewel with Uncrowned's live blog below:
Live13 updates
WWE Men's Crown Jewel Championship match: Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes vs. World Heavyweight Champion Gunther
After Gunther's uneventful entrance, the Riyadh crowd went nuts for Rhodes, singing "Kingdom" as the Undisputed WWE Champion made his way to the ring.
After some brief circling and pandering to the crowd, the two champions locked in a quick collar-and-elbow, which Gunther quickly escaped and went for a sleeper hold. The two showed off the more technical side of their skill sets early in the match, sticking to holds and mat work.
Rhodes managed to counter out of a back body drop, looking to land an early CrossRhodes but Gunther escaped and locked in a sleeper for a second. Rhodes made his way out of it with an arm drag and both men returned to their feet with a stalemate.
Gunther finally gained control after he counted a Bionic Elbow from Rhodes with a crushing chop. Rhodes tried to build momentum with a flurry of clotheslines, sending Gunther outside the ring, but never off his feet. A Disaster Kick finally sent Gunther down. Rhodes went to keep up the pace with a pair of suicide dives but he was met with a sleeper and then was caught on his second attempt and sent back first into the ring apron, setting up a work injury for the rest of the match.
The Ring General controlled the next portion of the match, with any brief momentum Rhodes built getting squashed by his inability to slam Gunther due to his back injury. As Gunther continued to methodically unload on Rhodes, the Saudi fans started the wave, which the World Heavyweight Champion reciprocated in the ring.
Rhodes was able to hit a vertical suplex and followed Gunther to the top turnbuckle to land the biggest move of the match so far in a superplex. Rhodes finally built momentum with speedy offense, capped off by his scoop powerslam, Bionic Elbow and Cody Cutter leading to a near-fall.
With Gunther dazed, Rhodes went for another Cody Cutter but was caught in midair and locked in back-to-back-to-back submissions, a crab and two sleepers. With the sleeper locked in, the ref checked Rhodes' arm but he fought back to his feet and broke the hold with jawbreakers. Rhodes finally hit a CrossRhodes but was so wiped out he couldn't capitalize for a pin.
Who will become the Crown Jewel Champion?#WWECrownJewel pic.twitter.com/FjXQFKJ11V
— WWE (@WWE) November 2, 2024
As both men struggled to their feet, Gunther was first to go on the offensive, hitting a dropkick and powerbomb for a near-fall. Visibly frustrated, Gunther unloaded chops on Rhodes and then began to taunt him. A newly invigorated Rhodes countered a Gunther sleeper attempt into a suplex and followed up with a CrossRhodes for another near-fall.
Rhodes rose to his feet and signaled for another CrossRhodes, but Gunther countered with a snap mare. Rhodes then went for a top-rope Cody Cutter but was caught by Gunther, who transitioned into a sleeper. Gunther got rolled on top of by Rhodes, who scored the win to become the first men's Crown Jewel Champion.
Cody Rhodes defeats Gunther in 23:02 to win the WWE Men's Crown Jewel Championship.
After the match, the two men shook hands and Rhodes was presented his new championship by Paul "Triple H" Levesque.
- Anthony Sulla-Heffinger
United States Championship match: LA Knight (c.) vs. Andrade vs. Carmelo Hayes
Carmelo Hayes was first out, drawing a relatively muted reaction from the crowd. Andrade garnered a similar non-reaction.
LA Knight on the other hand, was the overwhelming crowd favorite, with the crowd shouting "Yeah!" as Knight was introduced.
Andrade and Hayes started the match teeing off on each other, with bad blood continuing from their abruptly ended seven-match series. Knight was content to watch early, but then went to capitalize. As he taunted, Andrade and Hayes hit a double superkick on the champ, sending him outside the ring.
As the two challengers battled in the ring, Knight pulled Hayes out ringside and repeatedly smashed his head on the announce table. Knight then returned to the ring to turn his attention to Andrade. Andrade would emerge from this sequence on top, hitting a second-rope Spanish fly on Hayes and a DDT on Knight before a stunning moonsault, drawing "This is awesome" chants less than four minutes into the match.
Hayes used this time to recover and unleash a flurry of offense on both men, event attempting to pin them both at the same time. Andrade then silenced Hayes with a destroyer and hit Knight with a standing moonsault for a near-fall.
Andrade kept up the pace by hitting a modified Spanish fly on Hayes from the top rope for a near-fall. With both challengers down, Knight climbed to the top rope for his big elbow, hitting both men and going for a definitive win with a double cover.
Talk about some unique offense!#WWECrownJewel pic.twitter.com/SXrYjtmOKl
— WWE (@WWE) November 2, 2024
With Hayes and Andrade battling on the top turnbuckle, Knight leaped to meet them and hit a release German superplex on Andrade, opening the door for a Nothing But Net finisher from Hayes for a near-fall on Knight.
The finish came somewhat suddenly as Knight caught Hayes and Andrade with a double BFT to score the pinfall on Hayes.
LA Knight retains the United States Championship in 9:11.
- Anthony Sulla-Heffinger
Kevin Owens vs. Randy Orton
Owens, still rocking the Cowboy Bob Orton shirt, made his way to the ring first with a cold stare as he walked down the ramp.
As has been the case at PLEs — particularly overseas — Orton received a big ovation as the Riyadh crowd sang his theme "Voices."
As Orton played to the crowd, Owens attacked Orton and hit him repeatedly in the knee with a steel chair and then threatened to powerbomb him through the announce table. Orton recovered and utilized an eye poke to compose himself enough to dump Owens onto the table himself.
As action returned to the ring, Owens continued to focus on Orton's knee and hit a stunner on the referee. Michael Cole said the match was waved off as the violence continued between the two men and WWE officials streamed out from backstage.
This is INSANE!#WWECrownJewel pic.twitter.com/ZMzNRrIogZ
— WWE (@WWE) November 2, 2024
Raw and SmackDown GMs Adam Pearce and Nick Aldis were next out, with Pearce eating an RKO from Orton and the fight spilling into the Saudi crowd.
That RKO is OFFICIAL!#WWECrownJewel pic.twitter.com/4HjMTqUyUV
— WWE (@WWE) November 2, 2024
In the crowd, Owens hit Orton repeatedly with a road case cover and set him up on a table near a high barricade. Naturally, Owens climbed to the top and delivered a big elbow drop to Orton and the show cut away.
- Anthony Sulla-Heffinger
WWE Women's Crown Jewel Championship match: WWE Women's Champion Nia Jax vs. Women's World Champion Liv Morgan
WWE Women's Champion Nia Jax made her way to the ring first. Jax won the Queen of the Ring tournament the last time WWE was in Saudi Arabia in May. Morgan followed, and notably neither champion was flanked by their cronies — Dominik Mysterio and Raquel Rodriquez for Morgan and Money in the Bank briefcase holder Tiffany Stratton for Jax.
Morgan went right at Jax when the bell rang, hitting a drop kick. Jax shrugged that off and utilized her size and strength to dominate Morgan early. Morgan evaded an early splash from Jax and then attempted to take out Jax's legs. Morgan followed up with a big tornado DDT for a near-fall.
Jax quickly recovered and scored a near-fall of her own with a massive pop-up Samoan drop. Jax dished out more punishment by whipping Morgan into the corner and unleashing a hip attack. As Jax went for a another, Morgan escaped, sending her foe into the ring post. Any brief momentum was snuffed out by an avalanche Samoan drop from Jax for another near-fall.
Jax set Morgan up on the top turnbuckle and Morgan countered into a Sunset Flip Powerbomb. After this hit, Stratton's music hit and she ran to cash in the Money in the Bank briefcase. Jax caught her in the act and sent he back to up the ramp. Morgan hit a Crucifix Driver for a near-fall and Stratton returned ringside.
Stratton's second attempt was thwarted by Rodriguez, who came out with Dominik Mysterio. Morgan hit ObLIVion on Jax and then confronted Stratton alongside Rodriguez. Recovered, Jax took out all three women.
It's TIFFY TIME!#WWECrownJewel pic.twitter.com/zJqWfJvRB2
— WWE (@WWE) November 2, 2024
Jax went for the Annihilator finisher but Mysterio distracted the referee and Rodriguez took out Jax. Morgan hit ObLIVion and picked up the win to become the first-ever WWE Women's Crown Jewel Champion.
Liv Morgan defeats Nia Jax in 8:13 to win the WWE Women's Crown Jewel Championship.
Congratulations to the first-ever Women's Crown Jewel Champion ... LIV MORGAN!#WWECrownJewel pic.twitter.com/CUGHNoXLnl
— WWE (@WWE) November 2, 2024
- Anthony Sulla-Heffinger
Seth Rollins vs. Bronson Reed
Rollins was first to enter, and it was noted that this was his 11th match in Saudi Arabia. Rollins was wearing an interesting patchwork trench coat to the ring that looked to have been made of leather and jeans. His gear had a similar look. Rollins was also rocking what appeared to be Space Jam Jordan XIs
Reed was all business heading to the ring but was met midway down the ramp by an attacking Rollins. The two battled up and down the entrance ramp, and Reed went to toss Rollins into the steel steps but Rollins was able to evade and hit a suicide dive to take out Reed.
Rollins continued to stalk Reed ringside but was caught in midair by the Aussie and hurled into the timekeeper's area. Reed followed by whipping Rollins into the steps and then into the ring to finally start the match.
With the bell having rung, it appeared as if the match would end quickly as Reed hit a Tsunami and went for a second, which Rollins evaded and countered to land a Stomp. Despite this, Reed would control much of the opening portion of the match due to the size and strength disparity.
The Visionary came prepared for the TSUNAMI!#WWECrownJewel pic.twitter.com/Sf7eABBBmr
— WWE (@WWE) November 2, 2024
Two big counters swung things back into Rollins' favor as he landed a high knee and then planted Reed with a DDT. Rollins continued to work on taking down the bigger Reed with a trio of clotheslines, the final from the top rope. As Rollins went for a fourth (second from the turnbuckle) Reed pounced and threatened with a Superplex. The Visionary fought back and managed to connect on a frog splash but only got a one-count on the subsequent pin.
The match quickly swung back to Reed as he hit a sitdown powerbomb and Death Valley Driver for back-to-back near-falls. Reed completed a trifecta of near-falls by delivering an impressive Superplex to Rollins, drawing "This is awesome" chants from the crowd.
As Reed told Rollins to "stay down," Rollins got to his knees and said he should have finished him when he had the chance. Reed went for the finish twice with Tsunamis, but both times Rollins rolled out of harm's way.
The action went back outside the ring and Reed tried to crush Rollins with the steel steps. Rollins escaped and sent Reed face-first into the steps. A trio of Stomps — one onto the steps, one traditional and one from the top rope — finished off Reed.
Seth Rollins defeats Bronson Reed in 12:22
- Anthony Sulla-Heffinger
WWE Women's Tag Team Championship match: Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair (c.) vs. Piper Niven and Chelsea Green, Iyo Sky and Kairi Sane, Lash Legend and Jakara Jackson
Damage CTRL (Sky and Sane) were the first to enter. Sky won the Fatal Four-Way that set the stage for Saturday's match on the go-home episode of SmackDown on Friday.
Legend and Jackson were next out, making their premium live event debut. Green and Niven were next — this is an underrated moment where we will miss Samantha Irvin as the "Chelsea Greeeeeen" intro doesn't hit the same.
Finally, the champions made their way to the ring. Subjectively speaking, they have two of the best themes in WWE today.
Sky and Belair started the action off — anyone can tag anyone else into the match under Fatal Four-Way rules. Belair hit a big standing suplex before Sky showed off her skills in an impressive sequence that ended in a hurricanrana and kip up.
As Sky played to the crowd, Green tagged in, allowing Belair to recover and regain the advantage before tagging in Cargill. As Cargill carried around Green, Legend tagged herself in and it was Meta Four's chance to beat down on Green. We were teased with a few staredowns between Legend and Cargill.
Green scampered to Damage CTRL's corner and Sane tagged in, immediately taking control (pun intended). Sky then showed off her impeccable high-flying skills and the match quickly devolved into chaos. As Legend and Cargill finally went head-to-head, Niven climbed to the top rope and took both women out with a top-rope cross body.
Damage CTRL's focus then turned to Green and Niven, with Sane landing an In-Sane Elbow and Sky hitting a massive moonsault. Not to be outdone, Meta Four unleashed tandem offense to take out all of the women outside the ring. Cargill nearly picked up the win back in the ring by hitting Jaded on Green before Damage CTRL broke up the pin.
#WomensTagTitles on the line at #WWECrownJewel! pic.twitter.com/ckwRmVf3c7
— WWE (@WWE) November 2, 2024
The close of the match came as Green and Niven had the upper hand, setting up Niven's finisher before Cargill turned the tides and slammed Green, setting her up to take the splash from her teammate. Cargill and Belair hit a Doomsday Device on Niven and picked up the win to retain their championships.
Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair retain the Women's Tag Team Championships in 12:01.
#AndStill pic.twitter.com/M7K6pnRQsy
— WWE (@WWE) November 2, 2024
- Anthony Sulla-Heffinger
Roman Reigns, Jimmy and Jey Uso vs. The Bloodline
The most personal feud of the night kicks off Crown Jewel, with Roman Reigns and the Usos taking on Solo Sikoa's Bloodline.
Sikoa, Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa and Jacob Fatu made their entrance first, drawing heavy boos from the Saudi crowd. Tonga Loa was the Bloodline member sitting out the six-man tag match.
The VERY pro-Reigns crowd chanted OTC once the Bloodline music wrapped and erupted when Reigns' music hit. Reigns was accompanied by Jimmy Uso, as has been the case lately. The OTC chants resumed before another huge pop, this time for Jey Uso, who entered through the crowd. I said it last night, and I'll say it again, Jey Uso just might be more over than Reigns right now.
The OTC is here at #WWECrownJewel! pic.twitter.com/VUbANCNZto
— WWE (@WWE) November 2, 2024
We had a little pre-match tension as Roman made a bit of a face while "Main Event" Jey Uso was introduced and then Jey started the match over Reigns, who somewhat willingly backed off.
Once the bell rang, Tonga quickly gained the upper hand before Jey landed an enzuigiri and tagged in his brother Jimmy. After a brief bit of tandem offense, The Bloodline managed to isolate Jimmy and get Fatu into the ring. The Usos again managed to show off their tag roots and cleared the ring with some quick offense.
Sikoa barked orders from the ring floor and then his corner, refusing to come into the ring, instead opting to send in Tonga to do his bidding. As Jey held Tonga in an armlock, Reigns asked to be tagged in. Jey showed his reluctance, instead tagging in his brother, Jimmy, and sowing some more dissension between the team.
The discord allowed The Bloodline to regain control, and Jimmy paid for it at the hands of Fatu and finally Sikoa, who tagged in. Tonga eventually returned to the ring and quickly whiffed on a splash, allowing Jimmy to get to his corner and tag in Jey, even as the crowd chanted "We want Roman!"
Tonga utilized an eye rake to get back to this corner and tag in Fatu, who provided instant offense with a pop-up Samoan drop and a senton. The Bloodline used the numbers game and a distracted referee to continue to punish Jey, who had now become isolated in their corner.
Jey tried to fight back and Tonga took out Jimmy from the ring apron, leaving only Reigns for the hot tag. Reigns and Sikoa tagged in at the same time and went toe-to-toe in the center of the before Reigns gained the advantage with a trio of clotheslines and an Ura Nage. Reigns then lined up a Superman Punch, before a quick counter from Sikoa that Reigns escaped. After hitting the Superman Punch, Reigns went for a Spear but was hit with a Samoan Spike from Sikoa. Jimmy ran back in to break up the near-fall.
Vintage OTC! ☝️#WWECrownJewel pic.twitter.com/xyTsNeooH6
— WWE (@WWE) November 2, 2024
Chaos ensued as the Usos went to take out Sikoa and Fatu. Reigns then fell victim to the numbers game, and inadvertently took out the referee while trying to fight off The Bloodline. Fatu unleashed vicious offense and Sikoa hit two Samoan Spikes on Reigns to pick up the win.
The Bloodline defeats Roman Reigns and The Usos in 16:39.
After the match, The Bloodline continued to abuse Reigns, setting him up for a powerbomb through the announce table. The Usos briefly made the save before The Bloodline turned their attention to Jey. As they tried to hit Jey with a Rear-View with his neck in a steel chair, Sami Zayn's music hit.
It's SAMI ZAYN!#WWECrownJewel pic.twitter.com/YKRekuGod2
— WWE (@WWE) November 2, 2024
Zayn and Sikoa were seen speaking together on Raw before Crown Jewel, but Zayn attacked The Bloodline. Reigns and the Usos returned and the quartet surrounded Sikoa in the ring. Both Reigns and Zayn went to attack but Sikoa ducked and Zayn hit Reigns, creating an argument in the ring.
— WWE (@WWE) November 2, 2024
- Anthony Sulla-Heffinger
Goldberg retirement match confirmed for 2025 -- No Crown Jewel appearance
Anyone who was anticipating — or dreading — a run-in from Bill Goldberg in the Cody Rhodes vs. Gunther match tonight can end any speculation. Goldberg announced on the SEC Network that he would be having his final match next year, per WWE executives Nick Khan, Chris Legentil and Paul "Triple H" Levesque.
🚨 BREAKING: @Goldberg just announced that his retirement match will take place NEXT YEAR! 👀
🎥: @SECNetwork pic.twitter.com/e5KtwfOGnY— WWE (@WWE) November 2, 2024
He also closed out a clean sweep for Georgia picks (Goldberg's alma mater) as the Dawgs take on the Gators later today.
- Anthony Sulla-Heffinger
🚨 STEINER MATH REFERENCE 🚨
LA Knight (YEAH!) cut a pre-show promo and referenced Steiner Math. ICYMI here's the original, legendary wrestling clip.
Scott Steiner revolutionized the field of mathematics on TNA iMPACT May 1, 2008!
Watch on TNA+: https://t.co/LrZD89VEX3 pic.twitter.com/wnj1s67wt0— TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) May 1, 2024
- Anthony Sulla-Heffinger
Crown Jewel Full Card
Here's a look at the full seven-match Crown Jewel card.
Which match are you most excited for TODAY at #WWECrownJewel?
1PM ET/10AM PT Streaming exclusively on @peacock in U.S. and @WWENetwork everywhere else.
🦚 https://t.co/xRBTNzr3RB
🌍 https://t.co/aEwGYUpykc@RiyadhSeason pic.twitter.com/t8lEsOO6sk— WWE (@WWE) November 2, 2024
- Anthony Sulla-Heffinger
Seth Rollins' throwback eyewear
It's fitting Seth Rollins calls himself the Visionary...just peep the shades he's rocking in this interview. I can't imagine what he's seeing in that Mattel View-Master.
It's been months in the making.
Can the Visionary pass this MASSIVE test today at #WWECrownJewel? pic.twitter.com/LVNGjGkpeK— WWE (@WWE) November 2, 2024
- Anthony Sulla-Heffinger
There's levels to this -- and Kevin Owens is on another
Uncrowned colleague Kel Dansby wrote this week about the transformation we've seen in KO since he attacked Cody Rhodes after Bad Blood — I won't steal his thunder, go read it here.
BUT, Owens cut a promo on Randy Orton last night on a taped edition of SmackDown before attacking the Viper after the main event.
.@FightOwensFight just took out @RandyOrton with a chair!@Gunther_AUT took down @CodyRhodes!
Is this a preview of what's to come at #WWECrownJewel?! 😳#RiyadhSeason #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/CCeDiif9QZ— WWE (@WWE) November 2, 2024
Owens also cut a promo Saturday morning on the Crown Jewel kickoff show.
"What happens tonight is YOUR FAULT!"#WWECrownJewel pic.twitter.com/tGIpSjlj6z
— WWE (@WWE) November 2, 2024
Notice anything?
Yes, KO is wearing Dusty Rhodes and Bob Orton t-shirts, adding another layer on insult to his ongoing beefs with Rhodes and Orton. It's the little things.
- Anthony Sulla-Heffinger
ICYMI: Uncrowned's Crown Jewel coverage
Happy Saturday/Crown Jewel Day! The crew here at Uncrowned has been working hard to give you comprehensive coverage of WWE's latest Premium Live Event. Here's a rundown!
Pen Shamrock's Raw Recap — Is Dom Mysterio is the most interesting man in pro wrestling right now?
Anthony Sulla-Heffinger's feature on Tiffany Stratton's "rookie" year as her MITB cash-in looms
The Horsemen preview Crown Jewel with 5 burning questions
Kel Dansby on the Real Kevin Owens finally standing up — and why we should be very excited
Pen's P4P rankings, leading with everyone's favorite WWE power couple