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14. Crown Jewel
While Backlash was the worst WWE show of the year, Crown Jewel was the most controversial. Due to the assassination of renowned journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the Saudi Arabian kingdom came under heavy criticism worldwide.
As a result, most sports and entertainment organizations severed ties with the country. People like Roger Federer and Tiger Woods refused to participate in events that took place in the country.
But WWE didn't cancel their plans and went forward with Crown Jewel. John Cena and Daniel Bryan refused to work the event and were promptly removed from the show. WWE faced harsh criticism for continuing to work with Saudi Arabia. As a result, WWE removed all mention of Saudi Arabia from Crown Jewel.
That event was promoted as an 'International Event' and not once was the host city or country mentioned before, during or after the show. But the damage control was too little and too late for the damage WWE already did to their image by that point.
In terms of in-ring action, the event was nothing special. At times it even became a downright disaster. Thanks to the World Cup the event had 12 matches on the card. As a result, most matches were under 10 minutes and felt rushed. Shane McMahon's ludicrous win at the World Cup Grand Finals was universally panned.
While AJ Styles vs Samoa Joe and The Bar vs The New Day were decent, they were not enough to save the show. Brock Lesnar's Universal title win over Braun Strowman was criticized as well.
The Main event of the evening was the return of Shawn Michaels to in-ring action. D-Generation X faced The Brothers of Destruction. Kane, who was a US Mayor of Knox County, faced harsh criticism for working the show as well. The Main Event went 27 minutes which felt like a lifetime.
The match was slow and while Michaels looked great, the rest didn't. Overall the entire Crown Jewel event was a forgettable one and rightfully so as WWE will probably never ever mention its existence ever again.
