5 title changes at WWE Saudi Arabia events

WWE returns to Saudi Arabia for the first time in over 18 months later this October for Crown Jewel 2021.

The pay-per-view is the first WWE event to take place in Saudi Arabia since Super ShowDown in February 2020 as part of the promotion's multi-year agreement to produce major events in the country.

Several major matches for the event have already been announced. This includes Roman Reigns defending the Universal Championship against Brock Lesnar and Big E defending the WWE Championship against Drew McIntyre.

Despite the criticism and controversy surrounding the pay-per-views, WWE's shows in Saudi Arabia have certainly been newsworthy when it comes to title changes.

Several major championships have changed hands during the big stadium events in Saudi Arabia since the beginning of WWE's relationship with the country.

Let's take a closer look at five title changes at WWE Saudi Arabia events.

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#5 Bray Wyatt & Matt Hardy def. Cesaro & Sheamus - RAW Tag Team Championships (WWE Greatest Royal Rumble 2018)

Heading into the WWE Greatest Royal Rumble 2018 event, the RAW Tag Team Championships were vacant.

Former champions Cesaro and Sheamus were defeated by Braun Strowman and 10-year old fan Nicholas at WrestleMania 34 for the RAW Tag Team Championships. The next night on Monday Night RAW, Strowman and Nicholas relinquished the titles due to Nicholas still needing to attend school.

With the titles vacant, Cesaro and Sheamus demanded their titles back. However, RAW General Manager Kurt Angle refused and instead announced that they would face the winner of a tournament at The Greatest Royal Rumble for the RAW Tag Team Titles.

The new tag team of Bray Wyatt and "Woken" Matt Hardy won the tournament and faced Cesaro and Sheamus at The Greatest Royal Rumble.

"The Deleters of Worlds" defeated The Bar when Bray Wyatt hit Sheamus with Sister Abigail, capturing the RAW Tag Team Titles for Wyatt and Hardy for the first time as a team.

#4 Brock Lesnar def. Braun Strowman - Universal Championship (WWE Crown Jewel 2018)

Heading into WWE Crown Jewel 2018, the WWE Universal Championship was vacant.

Former champion Roman Reigns defeated Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam in August to capture the Universal Title. Several weeks later, Braun Strowman cashed in his Money in the Bank contract to challenge Reigns for the title at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view.

Lesnar returned during the match and attacked both superstars, leading to a no contest. This set up a Universal Championship triple threat match for the Crown Jewel pay-per-view.

However, on the October 22 edition of Monday Night RAW, Roman Reigns relinquished the tile. The Big Dog announced that his leukemia had returned after being in remission since 2008.

With the title vacant, the match was turned into a singles match between Brock Lesnar and Braun Strowman for the Universal Championship.

At the event, Acting RAW General Manager Baron Corbin attacked Braun Strowman with the belt before the match began. Lesnar followed this with three F5's on The Monster Among men, resulting in three nearfalls.

The Beast hit two more F5's on Strowman, which was enough to win the match and the Universal Championship for a second time.

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#3 The Miz & John Morrison def. The New Day - SmackDown Tag Team Titles (WWE Super ShowDown 2020)

John Morrison returned to WWE for the first time in nine years when he signed with the company in 2020.

The former Intercontinental Champion was quickly reunited with his former tag team partner The Miz on Friday Night SmackDown.

Miz and Morrison quickly began feuding with SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day. This led to a tile match being announced for WWE Super ShowDown in February.

At the event, Miz and Morrison squared off with Big E and Kofi Kingston, who were representing The New Day.

The closing moments of the match saw The Miz hit Big E with a Skull Crushing Finale. However, this only received a near fall. Morrison followed this up by hitting Kofi Kingston with a steel chair, allowing Miz to roll up Kingston and win the match for his team.

This was the first time that The Miz and John Morisson had held the SmackDown Tag Team Championships.

#2 Bray Wyatt def. Seth Rollins - Universal Championship (WWE Crown Jewel 2019)

WWE Crown Jewel 2019 is perhaps best remembered for The Fiend Bray Wyatt capturing the Universal Championship for the first time.

Earlier in the month, the Universal Championship Hell in a Cell match between Seth Rollins and The Fiend ended in a No Contest at the Hell in a Cell event. The match was widely panned and criticized by the WWE Universe for its bizarre and illogical booking.

A Falls Count Anywhere rematch between Rollins and Wyatt was later announced for Crown Jewel. However, a stipulation was announced that referee could not stop the match for any reason.

The closing moments of the match saw Rollins hit The Fiend with a superkick, sending Wyatt off the stage and onto electrical equipment, causing the equipment to catch fire.

However, The Fiend magically rose from the wreckage and hit Sister Abigail onto Seth Rollins to win the match and the Universal Championship for the first time.

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#1 Goldberg def. Bray Wyatt - Universal Championship (WWE Super ShowDown 2020)

WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg announced his desire to once again get back in the ring on an episode of Friday Night SmackDown in February 2020.

The former WCW star stated that he never received a rematch for the Universal Championship after losing the title at WrestleMania 33. So Goldberg challenged Bray Wyatt to face him for the Universal title at Super ShowDown, to which "The Fiend" accepted.

At the event, the two superstars began their match with a staredown. Goldberg quickly hit The Fiend with four spears, with Bray Wyatt kicking out for a shocking near fall.

Goldberg then managed to power out of The Madible Claw and hit the Jackhammer, shockingly defeating Wyatt in under three minutes to capture the Universal Championship for the second time in his career.

This marked The Fiend's first loss since the debut of the character in 2019.