As WWE heads toward the end of 2023, attention turns to Saudi Arabia. WWE will host the 2023 edition of Crown Jewel in Riyadh on Saturday afternoon.
The card is beginning to take shape with Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins defending their individual world titles against LA Knight and Drew McIntyre, respectively. But the champion carrying the biggest burden is Rhea Ripley. The women’s world champion has her hands full against four title challengers in one match. John Cena will also appear in Crown Jewel in pursuit of a singles win that has eluded him for years.
The card has mostly taken shape but there’s still time for WWE to make additions in advance of its 10th event in Saudi Arabia.
Take a look below at the confirmed matches for Crown Jewel, which streams live on Peacock with the main card starting at 1 p.m. ET.
2023 WWE Crown Jewel matches
Undisputed WWE Universal Championship — Roman Reigns (c) vs. LA Knight: Knight is WWE’s biggest success story this year. Saddled with a terribly male modeling manager gimmick upon his main roster debut, Knight has flourished since reverting to his NXT persona. Knight is getting some of the loudest crowd reactions these days and he teamed with John Cena to defeat Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa at Fastlane. Knight shined in a verbal altercation with Reigns on SmackDown and will now officially face him at Crown Jewel.
World Heavyweight Championship — Seth Rollins (c) vs. Drew McIntyre: After Rollins’ grueling win over Shinsuke Nakamura at Fastlane, McIntyre made it clear that he intended to take the title from Rollins. McIntyre did make it clear, however, that he wasn’t interested in sneak attacks or fights prior to the match and that he wanted Rollins as close to his best as possible, resulting in a match being made for Crown Jewel. McIntyre did not save Rollins from an attack by Money in the Bank contract holder Damian Priest but did stop Priest from cashing in on Rollins. So, it remains possible that Priest ends up factoring into this match.
Women’s World Championship — Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Nia Jax vs. Shayna Baszler vs. Raquel Rodriguez vs. Zoey Stark: All five women have been mixing it up with various matches and attacks in recent weeks, all while trying to lay claim to being “the baddest woman in WWE.” A “fatal five-way” made sense for an unusual bout filled with WWE’s most physically powerful women.
John Cena vs. Solo Sikoa: Cena is itching to win on his own merit. The 16-time world champion shared an epiphany with fans on the Sept. 20 episode of SmackDown: he hadn’t won a singles match in more than 2,000 days. Cena said he contemplated retirement but was determined to prove he can hold his own. The surefire Hall of Famer put out an open challenge that was answered by Sikoa. A brawl broke out before the match could officially take place, but was formally booked for Crown Jewel.
WWE Women’s Championship — Iyo Sky (c) vs. Bianca Belair: Belair revealed on the Oct. 27 episode of SmackDown that she was granted a rematch against Iyo Sky for the WWE women’s championship at Crown Jewel. Sky cashed in her Money in the Bank briefcase on Belair moments after Belair defeated Asuka to win the title at SummerSlam on Aug. 5.
United States Championship — Rey Mysterio (c) vs. Logan Paul: Paul called Mysterio out after defeating Dillon Danis in a crossover boxing fight. Mysterio issued a response, saying Paul knows where to find him. Mysterio welcomed Paul to challenge for Mysterio’s U.S. championship at Crown Jewel. Paul accepted and the foes shook hands. The big question is whether WWE puts a championship around the social media influencer’s waist.
Cody Rhodes vs. Damian Priest: Priest still holds the Money in the Bank briefcase but has been held back from his desire to cash in by Rhea Ripley on multiple occasions. With nothing else going on for Crown Jewel, Rhodes and Priest made for a sensible pairing, especially after multiple clashes over the undisputed WWE tag team titles.
Sami Zayn vs. JD McDonagh (Kick-off show): Zayn has been a persistent thorn in the side of Judgement Day. He will get a chance to deal further blows to the group in a battle with Judgement Day’s fringe member, McDonagh.
