WWE Crown Jewel sets viewership record as company looks to capitalize internationally ahead of WrestleMania 41
WWE’s Crown Jewel premium live event broke all-time viewership records over the weekend as Cody Rhodes and Liv Morgan were awarded the Crown Jewel titles.
In a news release first obtained by Fox News Digital, WWE said this year’s Crown Jewel set a record for the most-watched WWE event from Saudi Arabia.
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The company said the event saw a 28% viewership increase from last year’s event. It was also the sixth Crown Jewel event that was sold out at Mohammed Abd Arena in Riyadh.
The event's success put an exclamation point on a highly successful run overseas for WWE. The company has held premium live events in Australia, France, Scotland, Canada and Germany so far this year. Crown Jewel was the second event in Saudi Arabia and Survivor Series: War Games will be in Canada at the end of the month.
Additionally, WWE announced the RAW and SmackDown brands will have an international schedule as well. Belgium, Austria, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, England and Northern Ireland will have Road to WrestleMania events in 2025. WrestleMania 41 takes place on April 19 and 20 in Las Vegas.
Crown Jewel was highlighted by the awarding of the Crown Jewel Championship for the men’s and women’s divisions. Rhodes, the Undisputed WWE champion, faced off against World Heavyweight champion Gunther. Morgan, the Women’s World champion, fought against Nia Jax, the WWE Women’s champion.
Rhodes and Gunther main-evented the show and put on a classic match filled with slaps, suplexes and technical abilities only a handful of professional wrestlers could pull off.
Rhodes tried to pull off a Cody Cutter from the top turnbuckle but was caught by Gunther. The Austrian tried to put Rhodes into a sleeper hold but the "American Nightmare" countered. Rhodes pinned Gunther’s shoulders to the mat while Gunther had him locked in.
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For Morgan, she had more to handle than just Jax. There was the looming threat of Tiffany Stratton cashing in her Money in the Bank contract to earn a title shot. Stratton made clear that Morgan and Jax were both in her line of vision, and she did not care either way which title she tried to attain.
Morgan received help from Dominik Mysterio, who distracted the referee while Raquel Rodriguez pushed Jax off the ropes as she went for the Annihilator finishing maneuver. Morgan then nailed the Oblivion on Jax and pinned her for the win.
Stratton did not cash in.
Elsewhere, the Solo Sikoa-led Bloodline defeated Roman Reigns, Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso. Sami Zayn helped thwart the 4-on-3 attack the Bloodline members levied on their old compatriots. Zayn, however, tried to nail Sikoa with a kick but missed and hit Reigns. It added intrigue to a massively evolving storyline.
Despite the valiant effort from NXT stars Lash Legend and Jakara Jackson, it was Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill who retained their Women’s Tag Team Championship in a fatal four way. Chelsea Green and Piper Niven and Iyo Sky and Kairi Sane were among the losers as well.
Seth Rollins topped Bronson Reed in a massive brawl. LA Knight defended his United States Championship in a triple threat match over Andrade and Carmelo Hayes.
Additionally, Kevin Owens and Randy Orton’s slugfest was called off. Their scrap ended with Owens hitting a flying elbow drop off of a guardrail onto Orton and through a table.
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