WWE Crown Jewel 2021 was a stacked card in front of a greatly improved crowd in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which was into most of the action. The wrestlers delivered in the ring, with a series of good to great matches, and a feel-good moment when Xavier Woods realized his boyhood dream of becoming King of the Ring.
WWE Crown Jewel 2021 Winners
Xavier Woods
Xavier Woods realized his boyhood dream—and yearslong social media campaign—to become King of the Ring with a clean win over Finn Balor. Woods has now completed the New Day trifecta of New Day members winning major championships or tournaments as a singles star. Hopefully WWE commits to King Xavier, who has the potential to shine as King of the Ring in a role he was born to play.
Edge
Edge and Seth Rollins had an instant classic, to the point where “WHAT A MATCH” was immediately trending following their entertaining Hell in a Cell tilt. Edge winning was a surprising choice given WWE has more of its future invested in Seth Rollins. But after a clunker against Randy Orton in his return match at WrestleMania 36, Edge extended his string of great matches since returning to the company.
Zelina Vega
Zelina Vega was a surprising choice to win the Queen’s Crown given her one-year losing streak, but a three-match win streak allowed her to make history as a darkhorse winner of the inaugural Queen’s Crown.
Not only did Vega compete in just the third WWE women’s match in Saudi Arabia history, the two received more time than typical midcard women’s matches. It remains to be seen whether or not WWE has actual plans for a Zelina Vega push, or whether or not they will default to 50/50 booking with their new queen.
Goldberg
Though Goldberg did not deliver on his threats to “kill” Bobby Lashley, he came out victorious and was well-received by a Saudi Arabia crowd free of the pesky internet wrestling snark liable to torpedo Goldberg matches.
Goldberg had lost his last three matches headed into his showdown against Bobby Lashley, and while it’s fair to question beating a top full-time star like Lashley with a part-timer like Goldberg, Goldberg’s mystique is greatly enhanced by wins.
Bianca Belair
This was the rare instance where Bianca Belair can safely be considered a winner despite taking the losing pinfall. Do yourself a favor and watch her performance in what was a very good SmackDown Women’s Championship match. Belair was unbelievable, showcasing her unmatched strength with one awe-inspiring spot after another, including a one-armed Gorilla Press Slam.
Paul Heyman
Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns are the stars of the best feud in WWE, but it’s a feud that revolves around Paul Heyman. Heyman stood stoically throughout the entirety of this match. When it was time for him to make a decision, Heyman continued to play it right down the middle, tossing the WWE Universal Championship in between both Lesnar and Reigns. Following the match, while The Bloodline was celebrating, the look on Heyman’s face told the entire story as he remained conflicted in what is becoming a must-watch angle.
WWE Crown Jewel 2021 Losers
Seth Rollins
Though he turned in a great match opposite Edge, this was a surprising loss for Seth Rollins. Per storyline, Rollins was looking to prove he’s on Edge’s level, and he’s not “Edge Light.” losing a match like this is not only a step back for his topsy-turvy character, it worked to prove Edge right in defining Rollins as an inferior version of the Hall of Famer.
Bobby Lashley
Bobby Lashley has been in a slump since not only losing the WWE Championship to Big E, but also losing his mouthpiece MVP, who is currently on the mend as he recovers from knee surgery. Lashley’s loss to Goldberg will not hurt him, as he’s a made man in WWE to this point, so hopefully he will be booked strongly as WWE enters into its next “season” starting Monday night on Raw.
Drew McIntyre
Still in search of his moment, Drew McIntyre lost yet another world title match, this time to Big E. McIntyre now heads to SmackDown, where Roman Reigns is a dominant Universal champion with no end in sight. Once slotted to be the next John Cena, it could be a long time, if ever, before McIntyre regains a world title in WWE.
