WWE Crown Jewel live results: Lesnar gets revenge with submission win over Velasquez
Crown Jewel marks WWE’s fourth major show in Saudi Arabia and with a pair of unique participants set to make their WWE debut, the spectacle has grown in scale once again.
Current lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury steps into the squared circle with Braun Strowman while former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez revisits tensions with fellow former UFC champ Brock Lesnar inside a wrestling ring. Velasquez has wrestled before, but this is a true first for Fury.
Seth Rollins defends his Universal championship in a “falls count anywhere” match against Bray Wyatt that must have a winner after the debacle that was Hell in a Cell. Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan will also be present as they captain teams of 5. And, as we learned Wednesday, Lacey Evans and Natalya will perform in the WWE’s first women’s match in Saudi Arabia.
Tim Fiorvanti, Matt Wilansky and Marc Raimondi will cover the action as it happens.
Tyson Fury hit Braun Strowman with a right hand and sent him off the ropes and out of the ring. Strowman was counted out, giving Fury the victory. After the match, Strowman hit Fury with a running powerslam. Full recap to come.
A year ago, hometown hero Mansoor made a name for himself by winning a 50-man battle royal at WWE Super ShowDown. And the truth is that his match against Cesaro on Thursday was booked solely for the local crowd.
Unfortunately, for Cesaro, who has become an almost guaranteed loss these days in WWE, there was never any doubt how this match would play out. Mansoor was a machine from the opening bell, although he was slowed down by a nasty uppercut from Cesaro that gave him the advantage for a few minutes. Mansoor then countered a top-rope strike from Cesaro into a drop kick, followed by a cross-body splash and a Tornado DDT. Cesaro survived a couple of near-falls and even summoned enough energy to land a gut-wrench suplex off the top rope.
Ultimately, Mansoor connected with a moonsault off the top rope to put away Cesaro, as the crowd sang the praises of their hometown hero.
Afterward, Mansoor spoke passionately to the crowd:”I woke up this morning, looked myself in the mirror and said, ‘This is my most important match — the most important match of my life.’ I’ll admit, I was scared; I was nervous. But then I stepped in here in front of all of you, in front of my family. And then I remembered, anything is possible.”
Yes, even beating Cesaro.
What’s next: Perhaps this singles bout will be the one that propels the talented Mansoor to the next level. For Cesaro, expect occasional TV time and a lot more losses.
The OC walked out of Riyadh the winners of the Tag Team World Cup, as the last ones standing in the nine-team gantlet match. Here’s how it all played out:
After a nice showcase to start the match between Robert Roode, Dolph Ziggler and the Lucha House Party, the first fall came when Roode hit a Glorious DDT on Gran Metalik.
Roode and Ziggler made quick work of Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder with a superkick and then an assisted ZigZag on Ryder.
Heavy Machinery took center stage, and Otis became an instant fan favorite, rallying the crowd. He and Tucker eventually they hit the Compactor on Roode to advance.
New Day was the next team in, and after a Trouble in Paradise knocked Otis out of the ring, Kofi Kingston flew off the top rope for an assisted Big Ending on Tucker to put Heavy Machinery out.
Big E hit a Big Ending on Curtis Axel after a short encounter with the B-Team to push himself and Kingston forward.
The Revival was next, and while Kingston rolled up Scott Dawson to keep New Day in contention, The Revival hit a shatter machine on Kingston on their way out. It’s a good setup for their SmackDown tag team title match in a setting that couldn’t be much different — Buffalo, New York — in just over 24 hours’ time.
The OC made quick work of Kingston with a Karl Anderson boot and then the Magic Killer.
After targeting Erik’s knee early in the scrap, an Anderson chop block to the back of Erik’s knee set The OC up for the Magic Killer and the Tag Team World Cup victory. It was also a pinfall over the reigning Raw tag team champions, which will likely lead to some fallout Monday.
Just like he did six-plus months ago at WrestleMania 35, Brock Lesnar’s music kicked off the show, this time to a loud reaction from the crowd in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. But this time, Lesnar’s opponent was far more of an unknown quantity than his foe at the Meadowlands, Seth Rollins.
Former two-time UFC champ Cain Velasquez made his way to the ring hoping for the same result as their showdown nine years ago at UFC 121, when Velasquez upset Lesnar to win the UFC heavyweight title.
Right away, you could see each man’s MMA pedigree, as Velasquez landed a series of kicks and knee strikes, albeit none seemed to rattle the WWE champ until Velasquez knocked his opponent to the ground with a kick to the midsection and head.
But once on the ground, Lesnar was able to catch Velasquez in a kimura lock, forcing the WWE rookie to tap.
What’s next: While a short match was anticipated, Lesnar walked away looking strong and, more importantly, avenged that loss from 2010. Velasquez is still green and there’s nothing to suggest his storyline with Lesnar won’t last for months to come.
Humberto Carrillo eliminated Rowan to win the Crown Jewel Battle Royal and earn a title shot against AJ Styles later in the night.
With three men left, Rowan and Harper agreed to take out Carrillo first, then set their sights on each other. As Harper lifted Carrillo over the ropes, Rowan hit Harper from behind and sent him over the ropes. Carrillo did go over the top rope, but his feet never hit the floor. He rolled back in and hit Rowan from behind to eliminate him and earn the title opportunity.
In the chaos of the final moments, R-Truth got his revenge on the Singh brothers, pinning Sunil to regain the WWE 24/7 championship.
Falls count anywhere for the Universal championship: Seth Rollins (c) vs. “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt
Team Hogan (Roman Reigns, Rusev, Ricochet, Chad Gable and Ali) vs. Team Flair (Randy Orton, Baron Corbin, Shinsuke Nakamura, Bobby Lashley and Drew McIntyre
Natalya vs. Lacey Evans
United States championship AJ Styles vs. Humberto Carrillo