When I think of WWE shows in Saudi Arabia, I think of the gaudy Crown Jewel Championship belts — overflowing with meaningless flash. I think of huge stages, bright lights, pyro, and production that only the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia can afford.
With the move to an indoor venue for security reasons, the 2026 Crown Jewel event had none of that. It was flat and so was the booking for nearly all the matches.
WWE Crown Jewel 2026 Brass Ring Media Post-Show
WWE generated their “moment” when Tiffany Stratton cashed-in Money in the Bank, turned heel on Chelsea Green, and won the WWE Women’s Championship, but the rest of the show was marred with status quo storytelling that left opportunity on the table.
Here are my Brass Ring Ratings for the event and here’s how they work … I call it like I see it and grade accordingly. One brass ring = bad. Five brass rings = epic, all-time greatness, and perfection.
Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton - Last Man Standing Match
This was a good match and a strong opener that had the unfortunate task of working alongside a backwards story. Orton took a heavy part of the early going in the match, which would’ve made sense had Rhodes actually gotten a babyface reaction. Instead he was booed and Orton just shined himself up. That was the newsworthy part of the match — the Saudi Arabia crowd was fully behind Orton for everything and they let Rhodes know it. Bravo to the announce team. Michael Cole and Corey Graves worked very hard to thread the needle on why Rhodes was getting booed, while justifying him going to where he needed to go in order to get the win and move on with his career. That was the setup and the finish delivered a definitive end to that narrative. Rhodes finally hit Orton with a punt kick and Orton couldn’t answer the 10-count after taking it. Had the audience really invested in the actual story being told, they’d have cheered Rhodes finding a new depth for the vicious kick. Instead, the boos came out again, which would be meaningful if it all came across as a real heel turn, but all signs point to Rhodes just continuing on with his Rhodes bit next week on television.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOO 1/2
Bron Breakker and Austin Theory vs. Penta and Je’Von Evans - WWE World Tag Team Championship Match
This was excellent. It’s amazing what happens when two sides of a wrestling match are defined correctly. So much was on the table for these guys to do, because the audience was reacting to babyfaces and heels as designed. Breakker and Theory got plenty of time throughout the match to get heat. They were relentless in beating down Penta and Evans, which set the hook for their comeback. The return of Oba Femi helped too. He looked great, which is why he has to be on TV more often. Evans and Penta are the new tag champions — the exact right culmination of the match story.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOO 3/4
Liv Morgan vs. Chelsea Green - WWE Women’s Crown Jewel Championship Match
This match certainly wasn’t as action-packed as some other women’s matches we’ve seen recently. A lot of it — especially near the end — was slow and overly choreographed. What this had in droves was story. The match had a clear story woven throughout the match from the moment entrances happened. Morgan overlooked Green and lost. Everything was built on that foundation and Morgan was tremendous in finding the camera and selling that with her facial expressions the entire way. As for the Tiffany Stratton heel Money in the Bank cash-in? A strong angle. Not a new one, but a strong one nonetheless. Green chasing Stratton is money.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOO 1/4
Roman Reigns vs. Sami Zayn - WWE Men’s Crown Jewel Championship
This was a very good match with an awful finish. Reigns over Zayn clean? Total missed opportunity to boost Zayn as a champion AND 946 from a booking perspective. The action was strong, but the weak ending with Reigns standing tall without an angle won’t mean much of anything come Monday. Disappointing because of all that was left on the table. Zayn got his respect from Reigns at the end of the match — sure — but, that didn’t make much sense either. How do you go on continuing to hate Zayn with Reigns endorsing him the way he did. Scared booking.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOO
What was your match of the night on WWE Crown Jewel? Let us know in the comments!
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