By the end of WWE Crown Jewel, two WWE Champions will be wearing additional hardware. The promotion returns to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday to begin a new annual tradition: the Crown Jewel Championship Games.
The Raw and SmackDown World Champions vie to become the first Crown Jewel Champions. World Heavyweight Champion Guenther takes on Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes and Women's World Champion Liv Morgan takes on WWE Women's Champion Nia Jax. The Crown Jewel titles were introduced at Bad Blood by WWE Chief Content Officer Paul Levesque. The Champion vs Champion games take place annually in Saudi Arabia.
Additionally, the next chapter of the Bloodline saga begins as Jey and Jimmy Uso join “Original Tribal Chief” Roman Reigns against Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa in a six-man tag team match. The Usos recently reunited after the new version of the Bloodline continued to run roughshod over SmackDown. With both Usos back together with Reigns, anything could happen as we get closer to Survivor Series.
Plus, there's even more bad blood in the air in two singles games where the title isn't at stake. Seth Rollins and Bronson Reed will face off after the two brutalized each other over the last month or so. Reed's first violent attack put Rollins out of action for several months. And former friends become rivals when Randy Orton takes on Kevin Owens. Owens became more and more unstable each week and began attacking both Orton and Rhodes, his former best friends, after months of provoking Rhodes.
Let's take a look at who the CBS Sports experts pick to win each game on Saturday's card beginning at 1 p.m. ET.
WWE Crown Jewel 2024 Predictions
Roman Reigns and The Usos vs. The Bloodline: The sensible conclusion here is that The Bloodline wins, further ratcheting up the tension as Survivor Series approaches. However, there's something about the Usos reuniting and how much I feel like the results will be skewed makes me think that WWE might want to give the fans a babyface win in this case. There are ways to have The Bloodline return to Reigns, Jimmy and Jey between Saturday and Survivor Series to get things moving in the right direction. I hope I'm wrong, because a Bloodline victory is really the most sensible approach from a wrestling storytelling standpoint, but there are also ways to turn Sikoa's increasing frustration into important story beats. Pick: Roman Reigns and The Usos win – Brent Brookhouse
Unlike Brent, I assume WWE is doing the sensible thing. The Bloodline needs momentum heading into Survivor Series and still has a one-person advantage over the original faction. Reigns and Jey are bigger draws than anyone else in the rival group. WWE risks making The Bloodline 2.0 look like a cheap rip-off if they lose to Reigns' team on back-to-back pay-per-views. The biggest variable is how long WWE wants to drag this storyline out. With Survivor Series wrapping up, the creative team will have to make conscious decisions about how things play out in November. When there's a lot more at stake, it might not matter who wins at Crown Jewel. Choice: The bloodline wins – Shakiel Mahjouri
Men’s Crown Jewel Championship – Gunther vs. Cody Rhodes: The problem I have with the two champion vs champion matches is that it feels like they both end in a glitch or other unsatisfying ending to avoid a top champion taking a loss , because Crown Jewel just feels less important than anything like Survivor Series. Looking at the escape hatches to avoid a clear defeat, Rhodes simply has more opponents who can stick their nose in the game and allow Gunther to snag a cheap win. Whether it's Kevin Owens or someone from The Bloodline, someone will interfere and Rhodes will lose without it having any real impact on anything. Selection: Gunther wins the title — Brookhouse (also Mahjouri)
Women’s Crown Jewel Championship – Liv Morgan vs. Nia Jax: The new WWE regime seems to hold Jax in high regard. Her most recent commitment to the company is by far her strongest. It's not perfect, but it's a significant improvement over previous efforts. Jax won the Queen of the Ring tournament in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in May. It preceded her WWE women's title win and set the tone for this weekend. Morgan has more potential, but she's a devious hero who doesn't need a one-time celebratory title win. Jax is a physical force. Finding additional prizes for your trophy case is responsible booking. Pick: Nia Jax wins the title — Mahjouri (also Brookhouse)
Randy Orton vs. Kevin Owens: Owens is currently too central to Rhodes' story to lose to Orton, who is enjoying a good run as a veteran who can easily take on anyone. Owens will need to stay fit and sharp for a rematch with Rhodes, this time with his old punching power. I have a sneaking suspicion that this could steal the show on Saturday, but the result leaves no doubt. Pick: Kevin Owens wins – Brookhouse (also Mahjouri)
Seth Rollins vs. Bronson Reed: It's nice to see Reed in a big feud, but something about this storyline feels like a lot of work. I can't remember the last time Rollins was such a minor player on Raw. These are the highs and lows of professional wrestling. Reed is portrayed as an unstoppable force, but Rollins will almost certainly find a way to defeat this monster. Pick: Seth Rollins wins — Mahjouri (also Brookhouse)
United States Championship – LA Knight (c) vs. Andrade vs. Carmelo Hayes: Knight would have been a main event champion if SmackDown still had an inactive champion. Unfortunately for him, Rhodes is a workaholic. The United States Champion has taken a backseat to storylines that play a more central role in SmackDown's two-hour block. He even feels like an opening act in Andrade and Hayes' seven-match series. Knight is still one of the most popular babyfaces on the roster and stands to gain more from the title than his challengers. Pick: LA Knight retains the title — Mahjouri (also Brookhouse)
WWE Women's Tag Team Championships – Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill (c) vs. Damage CTRL vs. Meta-Four vs. Chelsea Green & Piper Niven: There's a lot going on in this game, but choosing a winner ultimately comes down to what makes sense. Cargill and Belair are still relatively fresh in their second run as champions, and no team in the game stands out as someone ready to make a run for the belts, even in a fairly weak women's tag division. It seems like Cargill and Belair will continue to hold the titles until WWE can find an interesting direction for one or both as singles. Selection: Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill retain the titles – Brookhouse (also Mahjouri)