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5 Ways History Was Made At WWE Crown Jewel

By John Duffy. Published 23rd October 2021.
WWE Crown Jewel

On October 21, WWE returned to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the first time since February 2020. The reason for the return was the wrestling spectacular, Crown Jewel.

WWE began hosting wrestling shows in the country since 2014. Every time the promotion runs in Saudi Arabia a history-making moment takes place.

In 2018 it was the largest Royal Rumble happened. The Greatest Royal Rumble featured 50 wrestlers and was won by Braun Strowman.

Back on October 30, 2019, Lacey Evans and Natalya participated in the first-ever women’s match in Saudi Arabia.

The following year Bayley defended the SmackDown Women’s Title against Naomi marking the first time a women’s championship was defended in the country.

This year’s event was no different and featured many history-making moments. Here are 5 ways history was made at WWE Crown Jewel.

5. Crown Jewel hosted the first-ever Queen’s Crown Tournament finals

WWE launched their inaugural all-women’s tournament on October 8th edition of SmackDown.

The eight-women tournament featured Toni Storm, Carmella, Natalya, Liv Morgan, Shayna Baszler, Dana Brooke, Doudrop and Zelina Vega.

Vega opened the tournament with a quick win over Storm before defeating Carmella the following week to reach the finals. On RAW Doudrop bested Natalya and then one of the tournament’s favourites, Shayna Baszler to head to Saudi Arabia.

Vega went on to defeat Doudrop at Crown Jewel and become the winner of the Queen’s Crown.

The moment was historic on two counts. Not only was it the first-ever Queen’s Crown finals, but it was the first time two women’s matches took place in the country.

 

4. Crown Jewel made history with Saudi Arabia’s first-ever Hell in a Cell match – which was the first match officiated by a woman in the Kingdom

At Crown Jewel Seth Rollins and Edge intense and highly personal feud saw them clash inside WWE’s most unforgiving structure, Hell in a Cell.

The two WWE Superstars have been on a collision course since Money in the Bank earlier this year. Edge was in a match against Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship and seemingly had the match won but Rollins interfered and cost him the match and ultimately the title.

Edge got his revenge on Rollins in a match at SummerSlam, but the Visionary got his defeated Edge at Madison Square Garden. Rollins then challenged Edge to a third and final match by invading his home. Edge responded with the stipulation of Hell in a Cell.

To make the history-making moment even more historic as WWE Official Jessika Carr became the first female referee to officiate the first-ever Hell in a Cell match in Saudi Arabia.

3. Crown Jewel was the first time a wrestler’s entrance featured a camel

At Crown Jewel, live camels were featured by the entrance ramp as part of the Middle-Eastern aesthetic.

Former United States Champion Matt Riddle became the first-ever WWE wrestler to make his way to the ring on the back of a camel.

As the former United States Champion rode a chariot of the desert down the entrance ramp his stoic partner, Randy Orton looked on bafflement, which made for a highly entertaining and historic moment.

However, this isn’t the first time a WWE employee has ridden on a camel. At WrestleMania IX the legendary Bobby Heenan hilariously entered Las Vagas’ Caesar’s Palace on a camel, the wrong way around!

2. Crown Jewel made history by hosting the first-ever women’s Triple Threat Championship match

At Crown Jewel, the show was co-headlined by Becky Lynch defending the SmackDown Women’s Championship against Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair. The match marked the first time in history that three women competed in the ring.

It was the first time, all three WWE Superstars performed in the country and they certainly made the most of the occasion.

The three women put on an incredible performance to make the history-making affair even more special.

Lynch retained the title in a stellar and well-structured title bout, which lasted nearly 20 minutes. The action was filled with some fun and unique spots and once again proved that women’s wrestling belongs.

 

1. Crown Jewel was historic for having the first-ever match featuring two Muslim competitors

Hometown hero Mansoor and Mustafa Ali made history when they clashed at WWE Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia.

Their match was the first time two Muslim Superstars met in singles action on a WWE pay-per-view.

Once partners the two became enemies when Ali turned on Mansoor after suffering a tag team loss on Monday Night RAW. Mansoor was able to get revenge on his former friend in the match. However, after the bout, Ali attacked his opponent until Olympic Silver Medalist, and as Michael Cole put it, Karate player, Tareg Hamedi made the save.

Mansoor possesses an impressive winning street in his home country, having never tasted defeat in Saudi Arabia. Knowing that he and Ali were making history must have made the victory even sweeter.