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Crown Jewel has been a rather interesting affair. The build-up to the show itself has been fine but has been smeared with controversy from the outside. However, WWE has decided to go ahead with the show, and whatever you think of it, make no mistake - the show is going to be a memorable one!
The biggest tragedy in the build-up has been the fact that Universal Champion Roman Reigns was forced to relinquish his championship after revealing that he's battling Leukaemia again. Once more, our wishes go out to The Big Dog, who'll always be known as the lineal Universal Champion until he comes back.
Until then, it's going to be an epic rematch between The Monster Among Men Braun Strowman and The Beast Incarnate Brock Lesnar to determine the new Universal Champion.
WWE has been advertising the World Cup for a while and though it's filled with only Americans, there's no denying that there are some really interesting match-ups, including Kurt Angle's first-ever WWE singles match in 12 years.
Without beating around the bush, let's get to the matches and preview what to look forward to tonight in Crown Jewel!
KICK-OFF SHOW: Shinsuke Nakamura vs Rusev - United States Championship match
The truth is that Shinsuke Nakamura's United States Championship run hasn't had much substance to it. It seemed like the title took a backseat on SmackDown Live. However, in a last-minute matchmaking decision, it was announced that Nakamura would be defending his US title against Rusev.
Rusev, fresh off a rivalry with Aiden English will look to become a 3-time US champion. But will The King Of Strong Style prevail? He faces a big threat in Rusev at Riyadh. Will it be a Rusev Day in Saudi?
AJ Styles vs Samoa Joe - WWE Championship
AJ Styles' WWE title defence against Daniel Bryan was advanced to the go-home episode of SmackDown Live. Styles beat Bryan clean as a whistle, making him submit to the calf crusher.
However, right after the match, Samoa Joe returned and attacked both Styles and Bryan, lifting the WWE title to indicate his intentions. There's no shortage of history between Styles and Joe and despite the fact that their rivalry had seemingly ended at Super Show-Down, Joe did what he does best and made a statement.
He now has one more opportunity at the WWE title. And Styles has a huge chip on his shoulder. If he manages to walk out still WWE Champion, then AJ Styles will reach a full year as WWE Champion on November 7th. He'll join the elite club of being WWE Champion for a full year, which also has the likes of Bruno Sammartino, Pedro Morales, Bob Backlund, Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, John Cena and CM Punk.
Cesaro & Sheamus vs The New Day - SmackDown Tag Team Championship
On SmackDown 1000, The Bar defeated The New Day to win the SmackDown tag team titles, thanks to interference from The Big Show.
With the World's Largest Athlete by their side, will The Bar manage to retain over the multi-time champions? The New Day and The Bar are on an elite level and more often than not, it's very hard to determine who the better team is.
The thing is, just like their rivalry with The Usos, The New Day and The Bar have a certain dynamic where any team can be better on any given night. The unpredictability of it all is what's going to make it so interesting.
Who will The New Day choose to represent the team? Will the third member prove enough to take out The Big Show if he's around?
WWE World Cup - 8-man tournament
The WWE World Cup has taken a really interesting turn. The catchphrase of the tournament has been "To determine who's the best in the world".
While the running joke has been the fact that all competitors are American citizens, let's not take anything away from the match ups. There are some really juicy and interesting ones.
Quarter Finals
RAW: Seth Rollins vs Bobby Lashley
Is this an exciting one, or what? Seth Rollins and Bobby Lashley face off for the first time ever in the Quarter Final match-up. It's going to be The Architect vs The Dominator. It's the kind of match that could main event on any given night, but they're in the quarters.
It's going to be the speed, agility and technical skills of Rollins vs the power in Lashley. We don't know if Lio Rush will be there to hype Lashley up but if he does, it'll be detrimental to Rollins. Let's not forget Dean Ambrose's possible appearance!
SmackDown Live: The Miz vs Jeff Hardy
This is going to be a good one. Given that he knows he'll possibly have to wrestle two more matches, The Miz is going to try and finish Jeff Hardy as quickly as possible. But The Charismatic Enigma is going to look to win the big one.
RAW: Kurt Angle vs Dolph Ziggler
This is going to be Kurt Angle's first WWE singles match in 12 years and it's up against The Show-Off himself. It's a situation where we have a match that we never knew we wanted to see. But it's going to be incredible. It could perhaps be one of the best matches of the World Cup.
The real question is whether Angle will be able to survive through the tournament or will age play a factor?
SmackDown Live: Randy Orton vs Rey Mysterio
Randy Orton takes on an old rival in Rey Mysterio. Mysterio will once again find himself as the underdog in a high stake match up against The Viper!
We predict that Rey Mysterio will be the surprise winner of the World Cup!
Braun Strowman vs Brock Lesnar - Vacant Universal Championship
Braun Strowman and Brock Lesnar had a rivalry post-Summer 2017 for the Universal Championship. Strowman proved to be Lesnar's biggest threat but at the end, Lesnar became only the second man to pin the Monster Among Men.
Roman Reigns was forced to relinquish the Championship due to leukaemia, making the triple threat a singles match. Fans want to see Strowman win the title and after the Reigns occurrence, he's going to be more determined than ever.
Will The Monster Among Men finally become Universal Champion? It seems to be his destiny. While Lesnar is busy preparing for a UFC fight, Strowman may just be more motivated than ever.
The match undoubtedly deserves to main event the show. Fans are going to be viewing with much anticipation to see who's going to be the next Universal Champion.
Braun Strowman may even be the babyface champion that the fans deserve if he wins!
The Brothers of Destruction vs DX
In a huge nostalgia match-up, Shawn Michaels returns to the ring after 8 years to take on The Brothers Of Destruction. A chaotic main event at Super Show-Down saw Triple H beat The Undertaker.
However, the Brothers Of Destruction weren't interested in DX's sportsmanship and show of respect, so they attacked them after the match. This prompted The Heart Break Kid, a man who for years was determined to stay retired out of retirement.
If this was the straw that broke the camel's back, then one can only imagine what kind of a match it's going to be. It's a grudge match of epic proportions but it seems safe to assume that after another war, this time there's going to be a genuine show of respect between the two teams, all egos aside for once.
Which match are you most excited for at Crown Jewel? Voice your opinions in the comments below!
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