Jake Paul’s older brother wins his first wrestling title at WWE Crown Jewel 2023 in Saudi Arabia. Roman Reigns remains enthroned at the top, an old acquaintance returns
Social media and martial arts phenomenon Logan Paul has won his first WWE title!
At Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia on Saturday night, Paul dethroned living legend Rey Mysterio to become the league’s new US Champion – a perfectly logical move from the Show Fighting market leader’s point of view: Jake Paul’s older brother has not only generated a lot of attention there over the past year and a half, but has also astounded with spectacular ring performances at the top level.
Meanwhile, the “Undisputed Universal Champion” Roman Reigns retained the league’s main title in Riyadh. Reigns, against whom Paul had impressed with an outstanding match at Crown Jewel 2022, defeated the up-and-coming LA Knight in the main event.
In other news, Japan’s Kairi Sane made her comeback by helping compatriot Iyo Sky defend her women’s title against Bianca Belair with an Unfair Interference
Logan Paul wins his first WWE title
The new US Champion Paul has been under WWE contract since 2022, it’s one of several ventures the social media influencer and businessman recently linked to FC Bayern is pursuing in the combat sports arena.
Paul, who also met boxing legend Floyd Mayweather in an exhibition match in 2021, continues to fight real fights alongside WWE: in October, he defeated US-American Dillon Danis by disqualification in an MMA match – to then promote his WWE match against Mysterio.
Paul’s victory – which featured a spectacular entrance in a desert buggy – was portrayed as controversial: He got help from his entourage, who were driven off by Mysterio’s sidekick Santos Escobar but still achieved their goal.
Paul used brass knuckles handed to him against Mysterio – and acted innocent afterwards. WWE Hall of Famer Mysterio, however, confronted his conqueror, hinting at a rematch.
For now, though, Paul’s victory stands, and he received an explicit tribute from league leader “Triple H” Paul Levesque afterwards: “In just eight matches, Logan Paul has cemented his status in sports entertainment – and now he’s got the metal to prove it. “
Just 8 matches into his career, @LoganPaul has cemented his place in the world of sports entertainment… and now, he’s got the hardware to prove it.
Congratulations to your new U.S. Champion, “The Maverick” Logan Paul. USTitle WWECrownJewel pic.twitter.com/bpFF76jvtf
– Triple H (@TripleH) November 4, 2023
Roman Reigns remains “undisputed “
Reigns didn’t come out of his victory over Knight without help either, as is almost always the case from the members of his family clan The Bloodline: Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa – who had previously celebrated his biggest win for WWE to date against legend John Cena – interfered several times.
The valiantly fighting crowd favorite Knight resisted for a while, but then had to give in after taking Reigns’ finisher spear twice – once on the outside against the barricade, once in the ring. So the longest title reign in WWE history, spanning over three years, continues.
Also celebrating a big win was Cody Rhodes, arguably being set up for a rematch against Reigns, who defeated Damian Priest in the co-main event. Priest also had his Money in the Bank briefcase stolen by Sami Zayn that night – preventing Priest from cashing in the title match he was entitled to at any time.
Meanwhile, the WWE World Champion remains Seth Rollins, who defeated Drew McIntyre in the opening bout of the show
