WWE Crown Jewel 2021 Retro Review: Every Match Rated and Revisited

WWE Crown Jewel 2021 took place on Thursday, October 21, 2021, at the Mohammed Abdo Arena on the Boulevard in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as part of Riyadh Season. Around 22,000 fans were in attendance. It was the third Crown Jewel, the sixth WWE event in Saudi Arabia, and the first Crown Jewel since 2019, after the pandemic took the 2020 show off the calendar.

It was also WWE's first event outside the United States since Super ShowDown in February 2020, so this was a real return to touring for the company. The card was stacked: three of WWE's top singles titles were on the line, both the King of the Ring and the brand-new Queen's Crown tournaments had their finals here, and one of the year's best feuds was going inside Hell in a Cell. On paper, it looked like the strongest Saudi card WWE had put together. Here is how it played out, one match at a time.

The build

• Edge vs. Seth Rollins: Rollins cost Edge his Universal title match at Money in the Bank, saying Edge had cut in line. Edge beat him at SummerSlam, Rollins won the rematch on SmackDown on September 10, and then Rollins started taunting Edge about retirement and even turned up at Edge's home. Edge answered by attacking him and challenging him to Hell in a Cell.
• Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar: Lesnar returned after SummerSlam, his first appearance since WrestleMania 36. He claimed Paul Heyman, Reigns' Special Counsel, had known he was coming, which put doubt into the Reigns and Heyman partnership. Reigns accepted the challenge, and it became a Universal Championship match once Reigns got past Finn Bálor at Extreme Rules.
• Becky Lynch vs. Bianca Belair vs. Sasha Banks: Lynch made a surprise return at SummerSlam and took the SmackDown Women's title from Belair in 26 seconds. Their Extreme Rules rematch ended in a no contest when Banks attacked both women, which led to a triple threat.
• Big E vs. Drew McIntyre: McIntyre attacked the new WWE Champion after a steel cage match on Raw to demand a title shot, and Big E accepted.
• Goldberg vs. Bobby Lashley: At SummerSlam, Lashley won when the referee stopped the match after Goldberg hurt his knee. Lashley then put Goldberg's 15-year-old son, Gage, in the Hurt Lock. Goldberg returned on Raw vowing revenge, Lashley asked for No Holds Barred, and Falls Count Anywhere was added on the day of the show.
• The tournaments: King of the Ring returned for the first time since 2019, and the Queen's Crown was created as the women's version. Eight wrestlers entered each, split between Raw and SmackDown. Xavier Woods and Finn Bálor reached the King of the Ring final; Doudrop and Zelina Vega reached the Queen's Crown final.
• The rest of the card: RK-Bro had taken the Raw Tag Team titles from AJ Styles and Omos at SummerSlam, and a rematch was set. Mustafa Ali shoved Mansoor on Raw and said he was tired of losing, setting up a singles match. On the Kickoff, SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos met the newly reformed Hurt Business in a non-title match.
• One more thing: the 2021 WWE Draft had already happened, but the roster changes did not take effect until the next night. Several matches on this show were the last stop for rivalries about to be split up.

Match by match

Kickoff: The Usos vs. The Hurt Business (Cedric Alexander & Shelton Benjamin)

The night started on the Kickoff with a non-title tag match. The Usos were the SmackDown Tag Team Champions, while Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin had only just reformed as The Hurt Business. The Hurt Business controlled most of the match. They isolated Jey Uso and worked over his left arm, and even after the hot tag to Jimmy, Alexander took control back when Benjamin kneed Jimmy in the ropes.

The closing stretch was busy. Benjamin hit Paydirt for a near fall, Jey broke up another pin as all four men came into the ring, and then The Usos took over with superkicks. An Uso Splash on Alexander gave them the win after 10:40. Reports differ on which Uso hit the final splash, so we will just say The Usos got it done.

One thing stood out about the crowd. The Usos were heels on SmackDown at the time, but the Riyadh fans treated them like the good guys. That happens a lot at shows outside the US, and it made for a fun, loud start.

For us, this was a solid, old-school tag match: stiff, simple and well paced. Benjamin and Alexander looked like a real team again, and the heat on Jey was done well. The problem was stakes. No titles were on the line, and with the two teams on different brands, it was hard to see where it went next. Still, as a warm-up for a crowd that had waited almost two years for WWE to come back, it did its job well. Our rating: ★★★

Edge vs. Seth Rollins, Hell in a Cell

The main card opened with its biggest match. The start was delayed by the slow lowering of the Cell and a video package, but once the bell rang it never let up. Rollins hit an early springboard knee and Edge answered with the Edgecution DDT for a near fall. Rollins went for a suicide dive and crashed into the Cell wall instead. Edge then sent him into the Cell and the steel steps and went for an early crossface.

Rollins escaped by grabbing a broken piece of a chair, and then he did something nasty: he drove it into Edge's eye. He followed with a frog splash for two and put Edge through a table. Edge brought a ladder into play, but Rollins used it against him, and the big spot of the match came when Rollins hit a sunset flip powerbomb from the ladder through a table. Edge kicked out.

The finish was clever. Rollins set Edge's head on a steel chair for the Stomp, but Edge countered and hit him low with the chair. Edge then hit several superkicks, untangled a chain from around Rollins' foot, and locked in the crossface using a steel pipe. Rollins nearly gave up. Instead of taking the submission, Edge put a chair under Rollins' head and hit Rollins' own move, the Stomp, onto it. That ended it at 27:40, and pyro went off as Edge got back to his feet.

We think this is the best match ever held on a WWE Saudi show, and it is not close. It was violent without being silly, every weapon had a purpose, and the story of Edge beating Rollins with his own finish was the perfect ending to the feud. If we have one complaint, it is the repeated eye attacks. They worked as heel tactics, but they started to feel like a gimmick by the end. That is a small issue. Opening the show with this was a bold choice, and it set a level the rest of the card was always going to struggle to match. WWE itself later ranked it No. 1 in its top 25 matches of 2021, and for us that holds up. Our rating: ★★★★½

Mansoor vs. Mustafa Ali

Following the Cell match was always going to be hard, but Mansoor had one big advantage: he was home. The Riyadh crowd was firmly behind him from the start. Mansoor hit an early standing moonsault and a dropkick, and Ali took over by tripping him on the apron. Ali kept rolling outside to break up Mansoor's momentum, which was a smart, simple heel tactic.

Ali worked a camel clutch and hit a tornado DDT, then missed a 450 splash. Later he trapped Mansoor in a submission with his legs across his neck, and Mansoor had to fight for a long time before reaching the ropes. When Ali went up for a second 450, Mansoor moved again, sprang off the apron with a slingshot neckbreaker and got the pin after 10:00.

The night was not over for Ali. He attacked Mansoor after the bell, and that brought out Tareg Hamedi, a Saudi karate athlete who had won a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics. Hamedi dropped Ali with a kick to the head, then he and Mansoor celebrated with the crowd. Bleacher Report also pointed out that this was the first time two Muslim Superstars had wrestled a singles match on a WWE pay-per-view.

For us, this was exactly what it needed to be. The result was never in doubt, but Ali made Mansoor look good, the match was laid out logically, and the crowd cared about every move. The Hamedi cameo was a little cheesy, but it got a big live reaction and gave the hometown fans a moment. Ali deserves real credit here. He was one of the most underused wrestlers on the roster, and he still gave a home-crowd hero a match to be proud of. Our rating: ★★★

RK-Bro (c) vs. AJ Styles & Omos, Raw Tag Team Championship

The best part of this one came before the bell. During RK-Bro's entrance, Riddle walked off, leaving Randy Orton confused, and then came back to the ring riding a camel. It was silly, it was very Riddle, and given where the show was, it got a big reaction. ESPN called the entrance a highlight, and we agree.

The match itself was built around Omos' size. He dominated both Orton and Riddle early, using a claw hold on the shoulder, and AJ Styles kept tagging him in to do the heavy lifting. The crowd chanted Randy's name as Orton tried to fight back. Riddle and Styles picked up the pace when they were in together, Styles landed a pele kick, and Riddle stopped a chokeslam by grabbing Omos' leg.

Orton nearly hit an early RKO, and the finish came when he caught Styles out of a Phenomenal Forearm with an RKO in mid-air. Riddle followed with the Floating Bro, and RK-Bro kept their titles after 8:40.

We think this match was fine and not much more. It stayed in third gear until the last minute, and we had already seen these two teams at SummerSlam. The RKO counter to the Phenomenal Forearm is always a good finish, and Omos was used well as a big obstacle. But there was little doubt about the result, and both teams needed new opponents. Remember the camel. You can forget most of the rest. Our rating: ★★½

Queen's Crown final: Zelina Vega vs. Doudrop

The first Queen's Crown final had SmackDown's Zelina Vega against Raw's Doudrop. Doudrop controlled much of the match with her power. Vega hit a tornado DDT for a near fall and locked in a dragon sleeper, but Doudrop got up and flattened her with a clothesline. Doudrop followed with a spinning side slam and a senton, but missed a splash, and Vega hit the Code Red for the pin after 5:50.

After the match, Vega sat on a throne with a crown and scepter, and the ring announcer told the crowd to hail Queen Zelina. It was a nice image, and Vega looked happy to have it.

Here is the problem. Just under six minutes sounds short for a tournament final, and it was. But it was still the longest match of the whole Queen's Crown tournament, roughly twice as long as any earlier round. That tells you how little time WWE gave this tournament. The King of the Ring got more time and more build, and it showed.

For us, this is the weakest match on the show. That is not really the wrestlers' fault. Vega was crisp, and the Code Red is a good finish. Doudrop was a solid, believable opponent who never got to show much. But the match had no time to build, the crowd had little reason to care, and it ended just as it was getting going. A new women's tournament deserved a final that felt like a big deal. This felt like a TV match. It is not bad, just forgettable. We think the low rating fairly reflects how little the show invested in it. Our rating: ★

No Holds Barred, Falls Count Anywhere: Goldberg vs. Bobby Lashley

Lashley came out first, and he came prepared, bringing a chain to the ring. He used it early, bloodied Goldberg and went after the left knee that had let Goldberg down at SummerSlam. He hit Goldberg with a chair, used chop blocks, and stomped on Goldberg's leg while it was trapped in a chair. The crowd was behind Goldberg the whole way.

The turn came when Lashley went for a spear and Goldberg moved, sending Lashley crashing through a table set up in the corner. Goldberg hit a spear and a Jackhammer, but chose not to pin him. He wanted more. He speared Lashley through the barricade, into the timekeeper's area. Lashley tried to leave up the ramp, and Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin ran out with kendo sticks to save him. Goldberg dealt with them quickly and used a kendo stick on Lashley.

The finish was the spot everyone remembers. Goldberg speared Lashley off the entrance stage and through tables set up below it, then pinned him on the floor, which was legal under Falls Count Anywhere rules. The match went 11:25.

We think this is one of the better Goldberg matches of his later WWE run, mainly because it played to his strengths. It was all big moments and no mat work, and the story of Goldberg passing up the pin to get revenge for his son made sense. The stage spear looked great. But there are two problems. First, the match was mostly a string of bigger and bigger spots, with little in between. Second, Lashley had been one of the hottest acts in WWE, and losing like this stopped him cold. We get why WWE did it. We just do not think it was worth it. Our rating: ★★½

King of the Ring final: Xavier Woods vs. Finn Bálor

Raw's Xavier Woods faced SmackDown's Finn Bálor for the crown. Woods started fast, hitting a dropkick and a superkick for an early near fall. Bálor came back with a Slingblade and, when Woods went for a tornado DDT, countered into a Double Stomp to the chest.

Woods kept fighting. He hit a superplex from the top rope for another near fall, and when Bálor went for the Coup de Grace, Woods turned it into a roll-up for two. Woods tried his elbow drop off the ropes, but Bálor got his knees up. Woods then hit an enziguri, a gutbuster and a second elbow drop for the win after 9:40, becoming the 22nd King of the Ring.

We liked this a lot, and for one simple reason: Woods rarely got to wrestle a big singles match, and he proved he could. He scored several near falls, the counters felt earned, and Bálor was believable as a winner the whole way, which kept the crowd guessing. The win itself was a feel-good moment. Woods had spent years as part of The New Day, and this was his night on his own.

The only real complaint is time. At under ten minutes, the match ended just as it was hitting its best stretch. With five more minutes, we think this could have been one of the best matches of the night. Even so, it made the King of the Ring feel important for the first time in a long while, which the Queen's Crown final did not manage. Our rating: ★★★

Big E (c) vs. Drew McIntyre, WWE Championship

Drew McIntyre came out with his sword, and this match had a big-fight feel from the first lock-up. It opened with a test of strength and shoulder blocks, and then Big E landed heavy chest strikes that sent McIntyre to the floor. McIntyre answered outside with a big belly-to-belly suplex and then a jumping spinebuster back in the ring for a near fall.

From there it was two powerful men trading their biggest moves. Big E hit three belly-to-belly suplexes and a Warrior Splash for two. When Big E went for the Big Ending, McIntyre countered with a Michinoku Driver for another near fall. McIntyre hit a Glasgow Kiss and a Future Shock DDT, and Big E answered with a powerbomb and a stretch muffler. Big E landed one Big Ending for a near fall. McIntyre hit a top-rope bulldog and then a Claymore, and Big E kicked out, something very few people had done.

McIntyre went for a second Claymore, but Big E moved, spun him around and hit a second Big Ending to retain after 13:25.

We think this is the second-best match of the night and the best match of Big E's WWE Championship reign. It was fast, hard-hitting and full of believable near falls, and both men looked strong. The Claymore kick-out mattered, because it made Big E look like a real champion. Two small issues: the result felt fairly predictable with McIntyre heading to SmackDown in the draft, and the closing stretch had a lot of finisher kick-outs back to back. Neither stops us recommending it. If you only have time for two matches on this show, watch this and the Cell match. Our rating: ★★★★

Becky Lynch (c) vs. Bianca Belair vs. Sasha Banks, SmackDown Women's Championship

Becky Lynch was the heel champion on SmackDown, but you would not have known it in Riyadh. The crowd was firmly behind her, even with Bianca Belair as the clear babyface of the story. Lynch was knocked out of the ring early, and Belair hit a one-armed press slam on Banks that got one of the biggest reactions of the match.

This was a busy, creative triple threat. Lynch tried a double missile dropkick, but Belair and Banks caught her and slammed her into the corner. Banks hit a meteora and locked in the Bank Statement on Lynch, which Belair broke up with a handspring splash. At one point Banks had the Bank Statement on and Lynch had the Dis-arm-her on at the same time, both on Belair. Later Lynch put the Dis-arm-her on both opponents at once, and Belair stood up and lifted both of them.

Lynch hit the Manhandle Slam on Banks, but Belair broke up the pin. In the closing moments, Belair hit the Kiss of Death on Lynch, only for Banks to throw Belair out of the ring. Banks came back in, and Lynch rolled her up with an inside cradle while holding the ropes. Lynch retained after 19:25.

We think this was a very good match with a cheap finish. All three women were involved all the way through, the double-submission spots were smart, and Belair's strength spots were the highlight. The match got almost 20 minutes and used them well. The finish was a heel champion cheating to win, which fits the story, but it also fits a pattern from that year of Lynch getting the win without beating Belair clean. Some will love that, some will hate it. For us, the match is worth watching for everything before the last ten seconds. Our rating: ★★★½

Main event: Roman Reigns (c) vs. Brock Lesnar, Universal Championship

Paul Heyman was at ringside with Reigns, and the whole match was about whose side he was really on. Early on, Lesnar tried again and again to suplex Reigns, but Reigns held onto the top rope. Reigns threw Lesnar into the ring post, hit a Superman Punch near the entrance and then a big dive to the floor.

Lesnar took over with German suplexes and an F-5 for a near fall. When he went for a second F-5, Reigns countered into a guillotine choke, and Lesnar escaped with a spinebuster. Then came the turn. Lesnar hit another F-5, but Reigns' legs swung into referee Charles Robinson and knocked him out. Lesnar had a pin with nobody to count it. While Lesnar was checking on the referee, Reigns hit a spear, and again there was no count.

With both men down, Heyman threw the Universal Championship into the middle of the ring between them. It was not clear who it was meant for. Lesnar and Reigns had a tug-of-war over the belt, Lesnar won it, and then The Usos ran in and hit him with a double superkick. Reigns hit Lesnar over the head with the belt, a second referee ran out, and Reigns retained after 12:20.

We think this was a decent main event that never became a great one. The opening was fun, the guillotine counter was good, and the Heyman question kept people talking. But the match ran just over 12 minutes, and much of that time was spent on a referee bump, a second referee and outside interference. After what Edge, Rollins, Big E and McIntyre did earlier, it felt like a let-down. The finish was clearly designed to keep the feud going rather than end it, and for us that is the biggest weakness. Our rating: ★★★

Beyond the matches

Crown Jewel 2021 was more than just a run of matches. Here are the other things that happened on the night, all drawn from live reports.

• The setting: this was WWE's first trip abroad since February 2020, and the crowd of around 22,000 was loud from the Kickoff onwards. They cheered for Mansoor, for The Usos and for Becky Lynch whatever their roles on TV, and they were firmly with Goldberg.
• Heyman's backstage tease: Kevin Patrick asked Paul Heyman whether he had gone over the Crown Jewel contract with Brock Lesnar. Heyman dodged the question and said he would walk to the ring with Roman Reigns and leave with the Universal Championship. It was a smart little tease for the main event.
• Becky Lynch interview: in a short interview with Kevin Patrick, Lynch said it was time to remind people who she was.
• Breast cancer awareness segment: Natalya and Titus O'Neil came to the ring with four women introduced as breast cancer survivors to promote the Zahra Breast Cancer Association. Footage of the Royal Saudi Air Force flying over the arena followed.
• Local footage: the show aired footage from the opening of Riyadh Season and from a Be a Star anti-bullying rally held in Riyadh.
• Survivor Series promotion: promos ran for Survivor Series, built around Raw against SmackDown.
• Production moments: the lowering of the Cell before the opener, the pyro after Edge's win, Riddle's camel, McIntyre's sword and Vega's throne, crown and scepter all gave the show a big-event look.
• Tareg Hamedi: the Olympic karate silver medallist's post-match kick on Mustafa Ali was the night's local celebrity moment, and it got a strong reaction from the live crowd.

For us, the non-match content was kept short and mostly stayed out of the way. That was the right call on a ten-match show.

The verdict: does it hold up today?

Yes. We think this is the best Crown Jewel of the early years and still one of the best shows WWE has run in Saudi Arabia. Edge vs. Rollins is a must-watch, Big E vs. McIntyre is close behind, and the women's triple threat is very good for all but its last few seconds. The weak spots are real: a rushed Queen's Crown final, a tag title match that went nowhere, and a main event that leaned on referee bumps and interference. But only one match on the card is truly poor, and the good stuff is very good. If you are new to Crown Jewel, start here.

• Best match: Edge vs. Seth Rollins, Hell in a Cell
• Worst match: Zelina Vega vs. Doudrop, Queen's Crown final
• Overall: 4 out of 5

Full results and our ratings

What happened next

• Lesnar did not wait for a rematch. On SmackDown the next night he brawled with Reigns and The Usos, fought off security and posed with the Universal title. Adam Pearce suspended him indefinitely and was hit with two F-5s for it, and Lesnar was later fined $1 million. He returned in December, and a rematch with Reigns was set for Day 1 in January 2022.
• That rematch never happened at Day 1. Reigns was pulled from the show after testing positive for COVID-19, Lesnar was added to the WWE Championship match instead, and he won the title by pinning Big E.
• The draft took effect the night after Crown Jewel. Becky Lynch, drafted to Raw, swapped titles with Charlotte Flair, so Lynch became Raw Women's Champion and Flair SmackDown Women's Champion. McIntyre moved to SmackDown, ending his feud with Big E.
• Xavier Woods was crowned King Woods on SmackDown with a crown, cape and scepter, and later knighted Kofi Kingston as his Hand of the King. Zelina Vega got her own coronation as Queen Zelina on Raw. Both tournaments later returned, and since 2024 their winners earn world title matches at SummerSlam. See where Saudi shows stand now in our Crown Jewel 2026 preview.
• Big E's run at the top ended badly. After losing the title at Day 1, he suffered a broken neck in an accidental fall during a SmackDown match in March 2022.

More Crown Jewel retro reviews

We have gone back through every Crown Jewel. Here is how the others rate, out of 5:

• Crown Jewel 2018: ★½ (1.5 out of 5), the first one, and the World Cup
• Crown Jewel 2019: ★★ (2 out of 5), celebrities and the first women's match in Saudi Arabia
• Crown Jewel 2022: ★★★½ (3.5 out of 5), Reigns vs. Logan Paul and a Last Woman Standing match
• Crown Jewel 2023: ★★½ (2.5 out of 5), Rollins vs. McIntyre and Reigns vs. LA Knight
• Crown Jewel 2024: ★★½ (2.5 out of 5), the first Crown Jewel Championships
• Crown Jewel 2025: ★★★★ (4 out of 5), the first Crown Jewel outside Saudi Arabia

And for what is coming next, read our Crown Jewel 2026 preview.