Photo credit: WWE.com

Xavier Woods Defeats Finn Balor, Wins King of the Ring at WWE Crown Jewel 2021

Mike Chiari

Xavier Woods defeated Finn Balor at WWE Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia on Thursday to become the new King of the Ring.

Woods avoided a Coup de Grace attempt from The Prince and hit him with the Limit Break elbow drop to score the biggest singles victory of his career.

After the match, the New Day man took his place on the throne, donned a crown and celebrated:

WWE announced a few weeks ago that the King of the Ring tournament was making its return, marking the first time since 2019 that it had taken place.

Baron Corbin won two years ago, only to lose his crown to Shinsuke Nakamura this year. Before the 2021 tourney began, The Artist vacated the title in order to give someone else an opportunity.

This year's tournament had a star-studded field with four Superstars from SmackDown and four from Raw vying for the crown.

On the SmackDown side, Balor faced Cesaro in the first round, while Sami Zayn took on Rey Mysterio. Meanwhile, the Raw side of the bracket saw Woods vs. Ricochet and Jinder Mahal vs. Kofi Kingston.

Balor and Zayn scored impressive victories in the first round, setting the stage for a clash between them in the semifinals.

The Prince beat the same opponent in his first match back on the main roster in July, and he repeated the feat on SmackDown to earn his way into the King of the Ring finals.

Woods and Mahal made their way to the semis on the other side, and it was the former who prevailed and set the stage for the final matchup in Saudi Arabia.

Balor entered Crown Jewel as the favorite to win given his resume and the fact that his nickname is The Prince.

After losing to Roman Reigns in a Universal Championship match at Extreme Rules in controversial fashion, it was clear the Irishman needed a big win in order to bounce back.

Despite that, Woods was given the nod and established himself as the new King of the Ring.

Woods was vocal about his desire to become King of the Ring in the weeks leading up to the tournament, and WWE has made it a reality.

While he is still part of The New Day with Kingston, the win suggests WWE sees something in him as a singles competitor, meaning he could follow in the footsteps of both of his teammates and eventually become world champion.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).

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