The 2022 Crown Jewel was the fourth Crown Jewel professional wrestling live event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event aired on pay-per-view (PPV) worldwide and was available to livestream through Peacock in the United States and the WWE Network internationally. It took place on Saturday, November 5, 2022, at Mrsool Park in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It was the eighth event that WWE held in Saudi Arabia under a 10-year partnership in support of Saudi Vision 2030.
Production
Background
In early 2018, the American professional wrestling promotion WWE began a 10-year strategic multiplatform partnership with the General Sports Authority in support of Saudi Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia's social and economic reform program. Crown Jewel was then established later that same year as one of the recurring events under this partnership. Announced on May 23, 2022, the 2022 event will be the fourth event in the Crown Jewel chronology and the eighth event overall for the Saudi Arabian partnership. The event will take place on Saturday, November 5, 2022, in Riyadh at Mrsool Park and will feature wrestlers from the Raw and SmackDown brands. The event will air on pay-per-view worldwide and the livestreaming services Peacock in the United States and the WWE Network in international markets.
Storylines
The event included matches that resulted from scripted storylines where wrestlers portrayed heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that build tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches. Results are predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw and SmackDown brands, while storylines are produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown.
On the October 10, 2022 episode of Raw, The Judgment Day (Finn Bálor, Damian Priest, Dominik Mysterio and Rhea Ripley) invited AJ Styles to join their faction. Styles entered the ring, seemingly accepting The Judgment Day's offer, however, Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows came to Styles' side, reforming The O.C. The next week, after Anderson and Gallows had defeated Alpha Academy (Chad Gable and Otis), The Judgment Day challenged The O.C. to a Six Man Tag Team Match at Crown Jewel, which was accepted.
On the October 14, 2022 episode of SmackDown, while Braun Strowman was competing in a Two On One Handicap Match, Omos, accompanied by his manager, MVP, appeared in the crowd. Following Strowman's match, MVP taunted Strowman, declaring that Strowman would look normal next to Omos. The following week, Strowman called out Omos, however, MVP would confront Strowman. Strowman announced he wanted to face Omos at Crown Jewel, a proposition that MVP accepted. Omos would then make his way out, towering over Strowman before pushing him out of the ring. A match between Omos and Strowman at Crown Jewel was made official on October 24.
After making his return on the August 5, 2022 episode of SmackDown, Karrion Kross continued to target Drew McIntyre, resulting in a Strap Match at Extreme Rules, which Kross won after McIntyre was pepper-sprayed by Kross' valet Scarlett. On the October 14 episode of SmackDown, Kross was involved in a car accident before being attacked by McIntyre. The following week, McIntyre declared he had been reprimanded for his actions before announcing he would face Kross in a Steel Cage Match at Crown Jewel.
Before defending his United States Championship against Seth "Freakin" Rollins on the October 10, 2022 episode of Raw, Bobby Lashley listed opponents he had defeated. Brock Lesnar, who was on Lashley's list, made his return before attacking Lashley. Lashley went ahead with his title defence but was defeated by Rollins, losing the United States Championship as a result. Later that night, Lashley challenged Lesnar to appear at the following week's Raw. That next week, Lesnar would appear, leading to a brawl with Lashley. It was announced later that night that Lesnar and Lashley would face off at Crown Jewel.
On the September 12, 2022 episode of Raw, Damage CTRL (Dakota Kai and IYO SKY) defeated Aliyah and Raquel Rodriguez to win the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship. On the October 3 episode of Raw, Damage CTRL attacked Alexa Bliss and Asuka, allies of Bianca Belair, who Damage CTRL leader Bayley was feuding with. Bliss and Asuka returned on the October 31 episode of Raw, defeating Kai and SKY to win the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship. The next day, a rematch between the two teams for the title was scheduled for Crown Jewel.
At Extreme Rules, Bianca Belair successfully defended her Raw Women's Championship against Bayley in a Ladder Match. On the October 24, 2022 episode of Raw, Bayley defeated Belair in a Championship Contenders Match after a returning Nikki Cross attacked the champion. Thanks to her victory, it was announced that Bayley would face Belair for the Raw Women's Championship in a Last Woman Standing Match at Crown Jewel.
On the September 23, 2022 episode of SmackDown, The Brawling Brutes (Butch & Ridge Holland) failed to win the Raw and SmackDown Tag Team Championships from The Usos (Jey Uso & Jimmy Uso) after interference from Imperium (Gunther, Giovanni Vinci & Ludwig Kaiser). On the October 21 episode of SmackDown, following a match between Sheamus and Solo Sikoa, Sheamus was attacked by The Bloodline. The following week, Butch and Holland would defeat Sikoa and Sami Zayn. Later that night, it was announced that Butch and Holland would once again challenge The Usos at Crown Jewel.
After appearing on Logan Paul's IMPAULSIVE podcast, Roman Reigns was called out by Paul. Following an exchange on social media, Paul appeared on the September 16, 2022 episode of SmackDown, confronting The Bloodline and inviting Reigns to a press conference. The following day, at the press conference in Las Vegas, Triple H announced that Reigns would defend the WWE Championship and Universal Championship against Paul at Crown Jewel.
Match Preview
Results
- Numbers in parentheses indicate the length of the match.
- (c) refers to the champion(s) heading into the match.
- Brock Lesnar defeated Bobby Lashley (6:01)
- Damage CTRL (Dakota Kai & IYO SKY) defeated Alexa Bliss & Asuka (c) to win the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship (12:51)
- Drew McIntyre defeated Karrion Kross (w/ Scarlett) in a Steel Cage match (13:00)
- The Judgment Day (Finn Bálor, Damian Priest & Dominik Mysterio) (w/ Rhea Ripley) defeated The O.C. (AJ Styles, Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson) in a Six Man Tag Team Match (14:00)
- Braun Strowman defeated Omos (7:19)
- The Usos (Jey Uso & Jimmy Uso) (c) defeated The Brawling Brutes (Butch & Ridge Holland) to retain the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship & WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship (10:48)
- Bianca Belair (c) defeated Bayley in a Last Woman Standing Match to retain the WWE Raw Women's Championship (20:27)
- Roman Reigns (w/ Paul Heyman) (c) defeated Logan Paul to retain the WWE Championship & WWE Universal Championship (24:49)
Other on-screen talent
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See also
DVD release
[ Crown Jewel 2022 on DVD]
External links
Crown Jewel 2022 Official Website
Crown Jewel 2022 Kickoff on WWE Network
Crown Jewel 2022 on WWE Network- Crown Jewel 2022 at CAGEMATCH.net
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