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WWE Crown Jewel received somewhat mixed responses from many WWE fans. In an event which saw Shane McMahon unexpectedly win the WWE World Cup, AJ Styles retain his WWE title, Brock Lesnar regain the vacant Universal Championship and DX defeat The Brothers of Destruction - it was certainly a night that left more questions than answers.
In many ways it was a night for the old guard, Hulk Hogan returned as host for the night, 48-year old Shane McMahon became 'the best in the world' and the main event had four competitors with the combined age of 206.
Many have criticised the company's lack of direction, citing that WWE is too focused on their past rather than the future. However, the main event did live up to expectations, and Shane McMahon winning the World Cup tournament will leave many interested in seeing what happens next.
To many this event was always destined to fail. The political pressure put on WWE before the event, superstars pulling out, and the females not being able to compete, put a dark cloud over the event from the outset.
Although many were unhappy with the company's decision to go ahead with the event, many fans inside the King Saud University Stadium were excited to see the WWE come to their country.
Critics questioned Brock Lesnar regaining the WWE Universal Championship in his match against Braun Strowman. WWE were in a difficult position here as former champion Roman Reigns was forced to relinquish the title a couple of weeks ago on Raw after the devastating news that he had been diagnosed with leukemia.
Some see Lesnar's sporadic appearances as a good enough reason not to put the title on him, as his last title reign saw him appear infrequently.
Although the event itself had some good moments, here are 4 reasons why it underwhelmed.
#4 Bad for public relations
WWE Crown Jewel was a bad PR exercise for the company. Many had criticised the WWE's decision to go ahead with the event for political reasons, whilst others pointed towards the amount of money the company was receiving as the prime reason for them going to Saudi Arabia in the first place.
On top of this, WWE's decision to have Hulk Hogan host the event did not go down well with many fans. Hogan was suspended by the WWE for racial remarks he made in 2008 on a radio show, and for a period he was removed from WWE's archives.
Many thought Hogan would never appear on WWE TV again, such was the severity of his remarks. However, The Hulkster was not just part of this event, he hosted it.
One of the problems many saw with WWE having an event in Saudi Arabia is that women were not allowed to wrestle on the show. At a time WWE is growing women's wrestling, and one week removed from the critically acclaimed Evolution pay-per-view, this event took the gloss off a historic and successful night for women's wrestling.
#3 Stars withdrawing from the event
In the week before Crown Jewel, it was announced that both John Cena and Daniel Bryan had withdrawn from the event. Although the reasons for them pulling out are not clear, it certainly does not reflect well on WWE to have two of their most prominent stars pull out of the event at such short notice.
Bryan was booked to compete in the WWE title match against AJ Styles, however due to Bryan excusing himself from the event, he was replaced by Samoa Joe. John Cena meanwhile was scheduled to face Seth Rollins in the quarter-final of the WWE World Cup, but ended up being replaced by Bobby Lashley.
One possible reason for Cena and Bryan missing the event was the recent political pressure put on WWE regarding holding an event in Saudi Arabia. WWE had gained some negative mainstream press for their decision to go ahead with the event, and the decision of two of WWE's most prominent stars refusing to appear brought the event under more scrutiny.
Another superstar who was forced to withdraw from the event was Roman Reigns. Originally Reigns was supposed to defend his title in a triple threat against Brock Lesnar and Braun Strowman, however after the heartbreaking announcement of his leukemia diagnosis, Reigns was forced to relinquish the title and withdraw from the event.
Of course moments like these are out of WWE's control, however not having Reigns, the face of the company, certainly weakened the event.
#2 Poor booking
All things considered, Crown Jewel seemed like a poorly booked show. A stacked card with short matches would have been better.
One of the main features of the show was the World Cup tournament. WWE in the preceding weeks had built it up on Raw and SmackDown as being so prestigious that it would determine "the best in the world".
Having Shane McMahon not take part in the tournament from the start, but take the place of the injured Miz in the final, and win it, completely destroyed the credibility of the tournament.
The match for the vacant Universal Championship between Brock Lesnar and Braun Strowman did not live up to the hype. In the match, Strowman who has so far been booked as an unstoppable force, was beaten by Lesnar in just over 3 minutes. Albeit with an assist from Baron Corbin, one would expect Strowman to give a better account of himself, given how WWE has built him up.
#1 Too much emphasis on past stars
WWE likes to bring back former stars for matches and storylines, it has always been this way. However, Crown Jewel was significantly dominated by stars from the past.
The event itself was hosted by Hulk Hogan. Undoubtedly Hogan is a legend of WWE, but there was no real reason for Hogan to be there.
This role would have been better suited to someone currently relevant weekly on WWE programming. Hogan is marketable, but WWE need to give air time to their current talented roster, rather than focus too much on stars from the past.
The World Cup tournament to determine "the best in the world" was much to the disbelief of many fans, won by Shane McMahon. The tournament was a chance for WWE to show faith in one of their current stars and put the proverbial 'rocket boosters' on him. But rather than the tournament being won by Seth Rollins, Dolph Ziggler, or The Miz for example, it was won by Shane McMahon.
Whether or not the decision to have Shane win the tournament leads to a storyline, it is disheartening to see a non-wrestler in his late 40's win in pretty quick time, with a coast-to-coast dropkick against a talent like Dolph Ziggler.
The main event saw DX go up against The Brothers of Destruction. This was a very good match and worthy enough to finish the show, however it again highlights WWE prioritising older stars over new ones.
Shawn Michaels returned for this one match and now will probably go back into retirement, and the other stars in this match are semi-retired athletes. Having 4 men in their 50's main event the show does nothing but highlight WWE's reluctance to move on from the past.
