Brock Lesnar became the Universal Champion once again at WWE Crown Jewel on Friday, which took place live from the King Saud Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Nov. 2 (UPI) — Brock Lesnar became the Universal Champion once again at WWE Crown Jewel on Friday at the King Saud Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Professional wrestling legend Hulk Hogan served as host and opened the show, making Crown Jewel the first time Hogan has appeared on WWE programming since 2015.
Hogan welcomed the live audience to the event and hyped up the crowd as fireworks exploded.
Lesnar faced off against Braun Strowman for the Universal Championship after former champion Roman Reigns was forced to relinquish the title, due to his recent leukemia diagnosis .
Lesnar gained an early advantage before the match started, as acting Raw general manager Baron Corbin hit Strowman in the back of the head with the Universal title. The attack was Corbin’s revenge on Strowman for attacking him Monday on Raw.
Lesnar then quickly delivered a thunderous F-5 to Strowman and went for the pin. The Monster Among Men surprisingly kicked out and refused to quit as The Beast kept unleashing more F-5s.
The Beast finally won the match following a fifth F-5, giving him the Universal Championship for the second time in his career. Lesnar celebrated in the ring with the title as his advocate, Paul Heyman, looked on with a smile on his face.
Also at Crown Jewel, WWE Champion AJ Styles defended his title against Samoa Joe. The match was made Tuesday after Styles and Daniel Bryan had their originally planned Crown Jewel match happen on Smackdown.
Joe appeared poised to win the highly competitive match after he was suddenly able to lock Styles into his patented submission hold, the Coquina Clutch. As Styles grasped for air, he was able to grab hold of Joe’s foot and administer the Calf Crusher, thus stopping the Coquina Clutch.
Styles then won the match after he nailed Joe with a Phenomenal Forearm for the three count. Styles has now remained WWE Champion for nearly a year. The Phenomenal One will next face Lesnar in a champion vs. champion match at Survivor Series on Nov. 18.
The World Cup tournament at Crown Jewel featured a number of WWE veterans including Intercontinental and Raw Tag Team Champion Seth Rollins, Bobby Lashley, Hall of Famer Kurt Angle, Dolph Ziggler, Rey Mysterio, Randy Orton, The Miz and Jeff Hardy.
Ziggler, with help from his partner Drew McIntyre, and The Miz reached the finals to decide who was the best in the world. McIntyre was ordered to leave Ziggler’s side before the match was started by the referee. The Miz used the distraction to attack Ziggler before the bell rang, however, the A-lister injured himself during the assault.
Smackdown commissioner Shane McMahon, not wanting a Raw superstar like Ziggler to win the tournament, entered himself into the match. McMahon ended up winning in the end, after striking Ziggler with a Coast to Coast from the top rope.
WWE legend Shawn Michaels came out of retirement and re-formed D-Generation X with his best friend Triple H to take on The Brothers of Destruction, The Undertaker and Kane.
Michaels, in his first match in eight years, still held his own and was able to deliver all of his signature moves including an elbow drop from the top rope and the Sweet Chin Music.
Kane would take Triple H out of the equation after he Choke Slammed The Game into the announcer’s table. Michaels, despite being alone, would not give up and continued to fight on. The Heartbreak Kid at one point performed a Moonsault onto Kane and The Undertaker from the top rope.
Triple H, who was only able to use one arm due to an injury, eventually re-entered the match. D-Generation X won after Kane was hit with a Sweet Chin Music followed by a Pedigree.
Other moments from Crown Jewel included United States Champion Shinsuke Nakamura defeating Rusev during the pre-show; and Raw Tag Team Champions Cesaro and Sheamus successfully defending their titles against The New Day.
