At WWE Crown Jewel, the epic Bloodline story takes another turn: Sami Zayn is back in the game!
The biggest long-term story in WWE is heading for a new climax – and an old acquaintance has returned to the fray.
At the major event Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia, the feud between the new Bloodline and the original formation around Roman Reigns has intensified further. Back in the game: crowd favorite Sami Zayn, who renewed his old alliance with Reigns and the Usos.
Sami Zayn helps the old Bloodline
In Riyadh on Saturday night, a match between Reigns and the newly reunited Jimmy and Jey Uso was scheduled against the new Bloodline with Solo Sikoa, Jacob Fatu and Tama Tonga.
The new “Tribal Chief” Sikoa – the younger brother of the Usos – led his team to victory, partly because the new, old triumvirate and the Usos did not yet interact with each other as confidently as they used to. Sikoa pinned Reigns after two Samoan Spikes.
When the obligatory gang attack on Reigns and the Usos followed, the old ally Zayn appeared as a white knight – who is also particularly popular with the Arab fans because of his Syrian roots and Muslim faith.
Zayn initially hinted that he would side with Sikoa because of his unfinished business with Reigns and the Usos, but then instead gave him his Exploder Suplex. However, because Zayn caught Reigns with a Helluva Kick in the ensuing chaos, things are not yet back to normal in the newly formed brotherhood. All signs point to the two factions competing in a War Games match at Survivor Series at the end of November.
Liv Morgan and Cody Rhodes win new titles
The Bloodline Match opened the show on Saturday, followed by the start of a planned new tradition at WWE: two duels between the WWE and World Champions of the men and women for the newly introduced “Crown Jewel Championship”.
In the women’s event, Liv Morgan secured the new trophy against Nia Jax – with the help of her allies from the Judgment Day group.
In the main event of the show, WWE Champion Cody Rhodes triumphed over World Champion Gunther of Austria: After about 25 minutes, Rhodes countered Gunther’s sleeperhold by springing up on his legs at the ring corner and shouldering Gunther – a trick best known from the matches of legend Bret Hart against Roddy Piper and Steve Austin.
There were no title changes at Crown Jewel: US Champion LA Knight won a triple threat against Carmelo Hayes and Andrade, while female tag team champions Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill defended their belts against Iyo Sky and Kairi Sane, Chelsea Green and Piper Niven, and Lash Legend and Jakara Jackson from the NXT squad.
In other matches, Seth Rollins defeated heavyweight Bronson Reed, while a scheduled duel between Randy Orton and Kevin Owens never officially started because the two instead fought each other uncontrollably.
