Cody Rhodes loses and 5 smart booking decisions

WWE is heading to Saudi Arabia for the second time in 2024, and this go-around Crown Jewel 2024 will feature a pair of champion vs. champion matches to crown two unofficial title holders.

World Heavyweight Champion Gunther will battle WWE Champion Cody Rhodes in a colossal clash between two of WWE’s biggest stars, while WWE Women’s Champion Nia Jax will go head-to-head with Women’s World Champion Liv Morgan to determine the inaugural Crown Jewel Champions ever. WWE’s latest pay-per-view from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is part of a massive 10-year deal that WWE is hope to extend after 2028, when the current deal expires, and the company has assembled another strong card for this year’s event, which also features a decisive six-man tag team match between both sides of The Bloodline.

Most of the past events held in Saudi Arabia have revolved around some sort of gimmick, whether it’s the Greatest Royal Rumble or the King and Queen of the Ring tournaments. This time around, WWE is hoping that the lure of a clash between its top champions will help attract fans and pave the way for a successful route to Survivor Series in just a few weeks.

Will it happen? As always, it depends on WWE’s ability to make smart creative decisions at Crown Jewel 2024.

ForbesWWE may finally be making strides toward equal payBy Blake Oestriecher

Nia Jax defeats Liv Morgan

WWE has struck gold with Jax, who is in the midst of the best run of his career and is shaping up to be the epic villain who will only be killed off as a rising fan favorite, likely a soon-to-be Tiffany Stratton.

That’s probably still at least a few months away, though, which means Jax should continue her streak of dominance no matter who she faces during that time. Morgan, her crown jewel opponent, is a very different type of champion, one who typically needs help to win and rarely, if ever, runs hard on her rivals.

Morgan can certainly recover from a loss to Jax, a colleague, and remain a heat magnet. On the other hand, it wouldn’t look good for Jax to lose to Morgan given the vast differences in their characters and the way they are booked. While it would be surprising to see this match end clean considering it involves two heels, that’s exactly what needs to happen.

After all, Jax shouldn’t need help, and Morgan’s cowardly nature doesn’t need the win.

Randy Orton defeats Kevin Owens, but Owens stands tall

Kevin Owens recently betrayed not only Rhodes, but also Randy Orton, and at Crown Jewel, the two stars will meet in a match between former friends.

Given Owens’ recent heel turn, the expectation is that he will face Rhodes in one blockbuster WWE Championship match either at Survivor Series or the upcoming return of Saturday night’s main event. That would probably mean Owens would win over Orton in Saudi Arabia, but it certainly doesn’t have to happen that way.

The main premise of Owens’ turn is the belief that he’s the good guy in the situation, but there’s also the added layer of his desire to become WWE Champion again. He is the focal point of Rhodes’ current character arc, and yet his own arc is just as compelling as he returns to his evil heel ways.

One of the best villains in WWE history, Owens should cement his heel turn—which has worked wonderfully so far—with a loss to Orton that completely enrages the former Universal Champion. After the match, Owens should attack and destroy Orton to “get his heat back” and prevent Orton from helping Rhodes later in the night. More on that soon.

Bronson Reed destroys Seth Rollins

Bronson Reed has been one of Triple H’s best hires, transforming from an overlooked midcarder to a wildly entertaining destruction machine on Raw.

Reed’s memorable feud and matches with Braun Strowman really helped him emerge as one of the top acts on the red brand, and now he finds himself in the biggest rivalry of his career with Seth Rollins. The two stars have engaged in a handful of compelling segments over the past few weeks, and their intense rivalry feels like one that will span many months and matches.

It’s doubtful that Rollins will end up losing this feud, but Reed could still get a huge boost by picking up at least one significant win over the former world champion. Given the way feuds like this are typically booked, Reed should get the first win without any underhanded tactics, leaving Rollins, the fan favorite, to overcome the odds to ultimately win the rivalry.

If Reed loses at Crown Jewel, WWE really doesn’t have many ways it can go afterwards. But if Reed wins and does so convincingly? Then WWE can easily continue this riveting rivalry with Rollins looking for revenge.

Cody Rhodes loses to Gunther in controversial fashion

WWE really put themselves in a corner with Rhodes vs. Gunther, right?

That’s because neither star should be losing right now or soon. Although Rhodes indicated in a recent promo that there would be a decisive winner in this dream match, this is one of those matches where WWE, one of its biggest stars losing cleanly, could do more harm than good .

Gunther vs. CM Punk is reportedly pencil in for Survivor Series, while Rhodes vs. Kevin Owens is also a potential direction for that show. Two matches of that magnitude indicate that all four stars involved should enter the event with as much momentum as possible.

What’s unfortunate is that WWE is in a booking because Gunther and Rhodes could use the momentum-building win at Crown Jewel. So the “out” here is a controversial finish with no clear winner, perhaps with Owens – enraged by his loss to Orton – interfering to cost Rhodes the match.

And with Orton being taken out earlier in the night, that would prevent “The Viper” from helping Rhodes.

Roman Reigns’ bloodline fails

WWE is surprisingly delivering a Bloodline match at Crown Jewel when Roman Reigns and The Usos will challenge Solo Sikoa’s new version of the faction – a match that looked like it was earmarked for Survivor Series.

In all likelihood it still is, with Reigns, The Usos, Sami Zayn and maybe even another star like Bron Breaker clashing with Sikoa, Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa and Jacob Fatu in a WarGames match. It begs the question: If the babyface side of The Bloodline stands tall at the Crown Jewel, what’s the point of a WarGames match? There isn’t one.

No, instead Reigns’ Bloodline should lose in Saudi Arabia, especially after Reigns and Rhodes already beat Sikoa and Fatu at Bad Blood last month. It’s important that Sikoa’s team is portrayed as equal to Reigns’ group because – let’s be honest – Reigns’ stable has very more star power and significantly more achievements under his belt.

To make this feud worth continuing through Survivor Series and beyond, it’s imperative that the new Bloodline beat the old version—and that either Sikoa or Fatu be the one atop the Crown Jewel.