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WWE

WWE will celebrate Halloween this year by providing fans with the latest spectacle from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The WWE Crown Jewel event is set to take place on Thursday at King Fahd international Stadium in Riyadh, with the show beginning here in the United States at 1 p.m. ET with a kickoff show leading us in at noon. These bi-annual Saudi Arabia events have proven to be loaded with star power since the inception of WWE's partnership with the Saudi General Sports Authority in 2018, though this particular Crown Jewel event may be the most loaded Middle East event we've seen to date while monumental history will be made in the process. 

We're in for some serious mainstream crossover on Thursday at Crown Jewel as lineal heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury will step into a WWE ring to square off with one of the few humans on the planet that can match him in size. Cain Velasquez will also begin his career as a full-time WWE superstar right at the top of the mountain as he challenges a familiar foe, a new World Cup trophy will be handed out and, maybe most importantly, the first women's professional wrestling match will take place in Saudi Arabia as history will be made. 

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Crown Jewel match card

  • WWE Championship: Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Cain Velasquez
  • Universal Championship (Falls count anywhere; can't be stopped for any reason): Seth Rollins (c) vs. "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt
  • Tyson Fury vs. Braun Strowman
  • Natalya vs. Lacey Evans
  • Team Hogan (Roman Reigns, Rusev, Ricochet, Ali & Shorty G) vs. Team Flair (Randy Orton, Drew McIntyre, King Corbin, Bobby Lashley & Shinsuke Nakamura)
  • Tag Team Turmoil (World Cup to crown Best Tag Team in the World): The New Day vs. The Viking Raiders vs. Heavy Machinery vs. Lucha House Party vs. Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins vs. The Revival vs. The OC vs. Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode vs. The B-Team
  • United States Championship: AJ Styles (c) vs. TBD
  • 20-man Battle Royal to determine United States championship No. 1 contender (Kickoff show)

Crown Jewel predictions

Team Hogan vs. Team Flair

Brent Brookhouse: In the twisted world of the WWE, Hulk Hogan's music hitting after his team wins counts as a "feel-good moment." And that's largely what I'm basing my pick on. I can't see this group of heels celebrating a win to Flair's music as some sort of "moment," but can see the reverse after a Roman Reigns spear into an Ali 450. These KSA shows feel like they live off of these sort of cheap bits of nostalgia ... and Hogan Must Pose. Pick: Team Hogan wins

Jack Crosby, Adam Silverstein: It may seem odd to choose the heel team here on a show which is traditionally designed to see babyfaces go over in front of the Saudi crowd, but I am going to lean toward the heels getting the win here. The main reason I am doing so is because I think the finish of this match will be designed to launch one particular superstar into a top program going forward: Drew McIntyre. It appears as if McIntyre will be positioned as a top star on Monday nights coming out of the draft, and he seems like a solid choice to challenge for the universal title to close out the year. That push kicks into high gear here with McIntyre picking up the win for his team. Pick: Team Flair wins

Tyson Fury vs. Braun Strowman

BB, AS, JC: The entire reason Fury is on this card is to become a bigger box office attraction and promote his rematch with Deontay Wilder. I can't imagine him agreeing to do this all to lose his showdown with Strowman. Also, Strowman isn't really damaged by a loss here because he's already been plenty damaged by WWE. Once Strowman drops his match with the boxer, he can hopefully begin to be built back up. For now, though? He's going to be the one getting those hands. Pick: Tyson Fury wins

Universal Championship: Seth Rollins (c) vs. "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt (Falls Count Anywhere)

AS, BB, JC: Simply put, WWE backed itself into a corner here considering the finish to their Hell in a Cell match, the decision to run it back at Crown Jewel and giving it a stipulation not only of Falls Count Anywhere but that the match cannot be stopped for any reason. It's convoluted. Not to mention the fact that Wyatt is now on SmackDown, which already has the WWE title, so there's no good reason for it to switch brands following the WWE Draft. I do not know exactly how Rollins will retain the title, but if they can put a finish together similar to the one they did with Erick Rowan -- Wyatt being trapped under something heavy and literally unable to escape a pinfall -- that could work. Still, it seems unnecessary to pin The Fiend at this early juncture. Pick: Seth Rollins retains the title

WWE Championship: Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Cain Velasquez

BB: I don't expect it to be clean, nor do I expect it to be satisfying. But it seems a safe bet Lesnar leaves KSA still WWE champion. Cain winning by DQ or by countout to not have to eat a pin in his first WWE match and leave more in the tank for the eventual rematch wouldn't be a shock, but something tells me Lesnar will get the pin after something underhanded. Pick: Brock Lesnar retains the title

AS, JC: You cannot have Velasquez lose his first match in WWE, and you cannot have Lesnar beat Velasquez clean during his in-ring debut. Therefore, what makes the most sense is for WWE to play up Velasquez's real-life knee injury, which he reportedly does need surgery on at some point. Lesnar can take out Velasquez with a chair in an attempt to not only escape a beating but take him out of the company completely. This would allow Velasquez to not only make an impact in his first match with a good amount of early offense but set up a long-term storyline that can climax at WrestleMania in a rematch for the WWE title where Velasquez finally goes over. Pick: Cain Velasquez wins; Brock Lesnar retains the title