3 reasons why Cain Velasquez may not become the new WWE Champion at Crown Jewel 2019
WWE's association with Saudi Arabia is set to witness its fourth chapter, with WWE Crown Jewel 2019 scheduled to take place on 31st October. The pay-per-view will be held at King Fahd International Stadium in Riyad, Saudi Arabia.
Historically, the PPVs in Saudi Arabia have been notoriously termed as 'glorified House Shows', with matches and storylines being mostly dedicated to pleasing the local crowd. More often than not, they do not end up having satisfactory conclusions.
However, this time, proceedings are expected to be different. With the introduction of Fox Sports as the official broadcast partner of SmackDown, its overwhelming influence on the storylines is noticeable.
The signs of the overarching influence of the network over the storylines are evident from the fact that international sporting superstars such as Cain Velasquez and Tyson Fury are set to begin their WWE careers at Crown Jewel 2019.
Tyson Fury, a British professional boxer who will go one-on-one against Braun Strowman, is involved in a one-off situation. Whereas Cain Velasquez, the former UFC Heavyweight Champion, is set to restart his rivalry against Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship and would stay involved in WWE storylines for the coming months.
The feud beween Lesner and Velasquez demands special attention. Brock Lesnar defeated Kofi Kingston in an underwhelming encounter to win the WWE Championship on the first episode of Friday Night SmackDown on Fox, only to set up the match between the former MMA rivals at Crown Jewel 2019.
It's important to note that Velasquez brutalized Brock Lesnar for the UFC Heavyweight Championship at UFC 121 in late 2010 and hence, it is expected that history would repeat itself in professional wrestling as well. However, that might not be the case after all.
Let us look at the reasons why.
#3. No WWE Title has ever changed hands in any of the PPVs in Saudi Arabia
One of the biggest reasons is that why the WWE Universe isn't particularly fond of PPVs held in Saudi Arabia is that titles rarely change hands -- similar to House Shows and Live Events. In fact, no title has changed hands in any of the three previous pay-per-views in Saudi Arabia.
Statistically speaking, over the three PPVs since 2018 (Greatest Royal Rumble, Crown Jewel 2018 and Super ShowDown), a Championship has been on the line fourteen times and none of the titles changed hands. On two occasions, the new title-holders have been decided for the Championships which were previously vacated.
Considering this shocking track-record, it seems highly unlikely that WWE would consider changing hands for its marquee championship at Crown Jewel 2019.