4 mistakes WWE made at Crown Jewel 2023
WWE Crown Jewel 2023 aired yesterday. The show took place at the Mohammed Abdu Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. According to WrestleTix on Twitter, over 9,000 tickets were distributed for the event.
The Saudi Arabia show had a stacked card. Seven matches were included on the main show, five of which featured championships being defended. Meanwhile, the two bouts without titles on the line saw major stars in action.
All in all, Crown Jewel 2023 was a major success, and fans appear to be quite happy with it. Despite that, not everything on the show was a slam dunk. Even the best shows tend to have misses of some kind, and Crown Jewel was no different in that regard.
This article will take a look back at the Crown Jewel 2023 event in Saudi Arabia and list a handful of mistakes that the Sports Entertainment juggernaut made. Some are minor, while others may be more important. Still, none take away from what was ultimately a great show.
Below are four mistakes WWE made at Crown Jewel 2023.
#4. WWE should have held the show at a larger venue
As noted, WWE held Crown Jewel 2023 at the Mohammed Abdu Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. According to the aforementioned WrestleTix entry, the venue has a capacity of about 13,000. However, that does not account for the Stamford-based company's elaborate stage setup.
WWE sold the venue out completely, with 9,000+ fans in attendance. It has even been noted on commentary by Michael Cole and Kevin Patrick that the show sold out in around two hours. Needless to say, there is a big demand for tickets.
It could be argued that not hosting the show in a bigger venue was a mistake. Far more fans could have attended the event if WWE had hosted the event at a relatively bigger venue, which may have also made for an even better atmosphere.
#3. John Cena losing to Solo Sikoa deflated the audience
One of the most intriguing matches heading into WWE Crown Jewel 2023 was John Cena vs. Solo Sikoa. The two have been at each other's throats since Big Match John made his return to the company a few months ago.
A part of the story heading into the match was John Cena's win-loss record. Due to his limited schedule, Cena has not wrestled frequently in half a decade or longer. When he does appear, he often loses. This led to John debating if he still had it, but he intended to turn the math around.
Instead, John lost to Solo Sikoa. The Enforcer of The Bloodline beat Cena down with repeated Samoan Spikes and won clean, to the shock of the audience. In fact, the shock was so real that the crowd was fairly deflated for much of the remainder of the show. Having Cena lose, especially like that, may have been a mistake.
#2. The Ibrahim Al Hajjaj segment was a miss
Despite WWE Crown Jewel 2023 offering seven main card matches, there was still a bonus segment included in the program. The Miz came out for a special edition of Miz TV with Actor Ibrahim Al Hajjaj as the special guest.
This was a bit odd for most viewers, even if those in Saudi Arabia clearly loved the man. Things became even more odd when Grayson Waller came out to take over the WWE talk show. Instead, the Australian was beaten down by both The Miz and Hajjaj.
It could be argued that the segment was harmless, but at the very least, it just felt like a bizarre inclusion to the event. Crown Jewel went on far past the standard three-hour mark, so cutting this segment may have helped the show in the long run.
#1. The main event's interference has become too routine
The main event of Crown Jewel 2023 was a major first-time-ever bout. Roman Reigns defended his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against the insanely popular LA Knight.
Knight has developed a massive following over the past six months or so, and many fans were hoping to see him win his first world title in WWE. Instead, Solo Sikoa, Paul Heyman, and Jimmy Uso all found a way to interfere in the match.
While Roman Reigns winning the match was the right choice, it could be argued that the company is leaning too heavily into The Bloodline's interference for his major defenses. If things become too predictable, fan interest may wane. Using interference yet again may have been a mistake.
What was your favorite moment of WWE Crown Jewel 2023? Sound off in the comments section below!