Like many of her WWE colleagues, Aja Smith is on her way to Saudi Arabia for Crown Jewel. The event is set to take place on Saturday, November 5th and will feature some of the biggest names in the wrestling world.
Prior to joining WWE, Smith, under the name Aja Perera, wrestled across the United States, Japan and Mexico. However, upon joining WWE in 2020, she donned the black and white stripes to become part of NXT. Upon signing with the company, she became WWE’s first full-time African American female referee.
Aja Smith To Make More History
Aja Smith took charge of her first main roster match in April 2020 and hasn’t looked back. The official is now set to make even more history, as at Crown Jewel she will become the first African American woman to referee a match in Saudi Arabia.
The milestone comes after Jessika Carr became the first woman to referee a match in the Kingdom at the event of the same name in 2021.
WWE initially came under fire in the lead up to the first-ever Crown Jewel event in 2018 as it was noted that women would not be allowed to perform on the show. However, that changed in 2019 when Natalya and Lacey Evans competed in the first women’s match to ever take place in Saudi Arabia. The two women wrestled in full bodysuits and in WWE branded t-shirts, while they embraced in the ring after the match.
At time of writing there are two women’s matches scheduled for WWE Crown Jewel 2022.
Meanwhile, it has been reported that WWE have emergency backup plans in place after it was reported that Saudi Arabia had informed the United States of an “imminent attack” from Iran.
You can find the full card below.
- Roman Reigns (c) vs. Logan Paul – Undisputed WWE Universal Championship
- Brock Lesnar vs. Bobby Lashley
- Drew McIntyre vs. Karrion Kross (Cage Match)
- Braun Strowman vs. Omos
- AJ Styles, Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson vs. Finn Balor, Damian Priest & Dominik Mysterio
- Bianca Belair (c) vs. Bayley – Raw Women’s Title Match (Last Woman Standing)
- The Usos (c) vs. The Brawling Brutes – Undisputed Tag Team Titles
- Asuka & Alexa Bliss (c) vs. Dakota Kai & IYO SKY – Women’s Tag Team Titles