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WWE Crown Jewel results, grades: Roman Reigns screws Brock Lesnar after Paul Heyman interference
The champ retained the gold (Picture: WWE)
Roman Reigns retained the Universal Championship in dramatic circumstances at WWE Crown Jewel.
Paul Heyman played a role in the ending as the Tribal Chief beat Brock Lesnar after The Usos interference and he then clobbered the Beast Incarnate with the title belt for the win.
However, there will be plenty of controversy over the ending as Heyman was the one who threw the championship into the ring to be used as a weapon.
It’s not clear exactly who he was trying to help – commentary made sure we knew that – and he looked suitably shook up over Reigns’ victory.
It was a brilliant ending to a fantastic match on a show that overdelivered with a stacked card, and WWE found a way to keep one of its strongest stories in recent memory rolling.
Seeing Lesnar in this kind of shape as a fired-up babyface was refreshing, and a welcome contrast following years as the dominating villain.
The Head of the Table has been perfectly cast as the mob boss, and this match hit all the rights notes, with even the ref bump playing a necessary role.
The question still remains when it comes to who Heyman is really aligned with, and you’d think we’ll get an answer on SmackDown tomorrow night.
Becky Lynch retains, Xavier Woods and Zelina Vega win big, Edge and Seth Rollins have a classic and more
Crown Jewel kicked off with an instant classic as Edge and Seth Rollins ended their long-running feud with a brutal Hell In A Cell match befitting of their rivalry.
There were plenty of call-backs and brilliant near-falls, with Rollins sending the Rated R Superstar off a latter and through a table with a sunset bomb, but even that and a chain-wrapped superkick couldn’t get the job done.
In the end, a crossface with a chain and then a wrench wore Seth down before a stomp of his own was enough to get the win.
Edge defeated his foe (Picture: WWE)
Up next, Mansoor beat Mustafa Ali in a very entertaining match which was thankfully more than just giving the Saudi-born star a hometown victory, even with the result never in doubt.
In a very nice moment for the local fans, Karate Olympic silver medallist Tareg Hamedi came out to lay out Ali and celebrate with Mansoor.
Given the camels up by the entranceway, it was only a matter of time until they had a more prominent role – and it came when Riddle rode one to the ring as he and Randy Orton retained their tag team titles.
RK-Bro had formidable challengers in AJ Styles and Omos, with everyone getting great reactions and the giant being protected even as his team lost when Orton reversed a Phenomenal Forearm into an RKO.
Zelina wins the inaugural tournament (Picture: WWE)
Zelina Vega beat Doudrop with a Code Red to become the first ever Queen’s Crown winner in a decent match ending a sadly unremarkable tournament.
While it would’ve been great seeing the Scottish star get this moment, there’s no denying Vega will do great things as queen.
Bobby Lashley and Goldberg was just about what fans should have expected once it became No Holds Barred AND Falls Count Anywhere, although seeing the Hall of Famer pick up the win was still disappointing.
The action was a tonne of fun with both men delivering the right level of violence for this bgudge match, and the ending itself looked great as Goldberg speared the All Mighty off the stage after quickly getting rid of the Hurt Business.
Goldberg and the All Mighty went to war (Picture: WWE)
Xavier Woods saw his dreams come true as he won the King of the Ring in a great final against Finn Balor.
Anything can happen in WWE and the fairy tale ending was by no means a foregone conclusion, so seeing Woods win such a prestigious prize is a genuinely special moment.
Big E ensured it was a great night for the New Day as he followed up the final with a fantastic big man match and bested Drew McIntyre.
It looked like it was over when the Scotsman hit the Claymore but E was able to kick out and went onto hit his second Big Ending of the bout to retain his WWE Championship.
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There were high expectations for the SmackDown Women’s Title match going into Crown Jewel, and the quality of the show only added to that.
Sasha Banks, Bianca Belair and Becky Lynch somehow exceeded all of them, nailing it in an absolutely incredible triple threat match that made all three women look like stars.
Banks looked every inch the superstar she is, the EST of WWE showed off her charisma and strength (including a one-handed gorilla press on the Legit Boss) and The Man looked smart as she stole the win to retain the gold.
WWE Crown Jewel results and grades
Mansoor pinned Mustafa Ali (B+)
Raw Tag Team Titles: RK-Bro (c) defeated AJ Styles and Omos (B+)
Queen’s Crown final: Zelina Vega pinned Doudrop (B-)
Falls Count Anywhere: Goldberg beat Bobby Lashley (B)
King of the Ring final: Xavier Woods pinned Finn Balor (B+)
WWE Title: Big E (c) defeated Drew McIntyre (A-)
SmackDown Women’s Title: Becky Lynch (c) beat Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair (A)
Universal Title: Roman Reigns (c) pinned Brock Lesnar (A+)
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