WWE's latest venture to Saudi Arabia will air live Thursday on the WWE Network when Crown Jewel emanates from King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh.
In typical fashion, Crown Jewel is an event filled with attractions, including former UFC Heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez and current lineal heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury making their respective WWE in-ring debuts.
Crown Jewel will also feature the first women's match to ever occur in Saudi Arabia when Lacey Evans tangles with Natalya, as well as appearances by WWE Hall of Famers in Hulk Hogan and "Nature Boy" Ric Flair.
Here is a full rundown of the Crown Jewel card, along with a closer look at some of the top matches that will likely have the WWE Universe buzzing.
Crown Jewel Card
- WWE Championship: Brock Lesnar vs. Cain Velasquez
- Braun Strowman vs. Tyson Fury
- Universal Championship Falls Count Anywhere: Seth Rollins vs. "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt
- Team Hogan vs. Team Flair
- Natalya vs. Lacey Evans
- Mansoor vs. Cesaro
- Tag Team Turmoil: New Day vs. The OC vs. The Revival vs. Viking Raiders vs. Heavy Machinery vs. Hawkins and Ryder vs. Lucha House Party vs. Ziggler and Roode vs. B-Team
- 20-Man Battle Royal: Winner faces AJ Styles for United States Championship
Top Matches to Watch
Brock Lesnar vs. Cain Velasquez
In a rematch of their UFC Heavyweight title fight from 2010, Lesnar and Velasquez will do battle Thursday, with the WWE Championship hanging in the balance.
While Velasquez has a pair of trios matches with AAA under his belt, Thursday will represent his first singles match, and he will have an immediate opportunity to capture the biggest and most prestigious prize in professional wrestling.
In limited in-ring action, Velasquez has flashed some impressive ability, and the fact that he legitimately beat Lesnar in the UFC gives him instant credibility against one of the most dominant forces in WWE history.
Aside from that, WWE has built up a strong storyline between Lesnar and Velasquez, with Rey Mysterio calling on Velasquez for help after Lesnar destroyed Mysterio and his son, Dominick, on Raw.
Even more heat was added to the rivalry on SmackDown when Lesnar baited Mysterio and Velasquez by attacking Dominick again before taking out both Velasquez and Mysterio.
It is difficult to envision Velasquez winning the title in his first match, so it may require some creative booking from WWE in the form of interference from Mysterio and Dominick or some dirty tricks from Lesnar to help him retain without damaging Velasquez's credibility.
Braun Strowman vs. Tyson Fury
While Velasquez has limited pro wrestling experience, Fury has absolutely none, which is why there is no shortage of intrigue surrounding his clash with Strowman.
The issue between Strowman and Fury began several weeks ago on SmackDown when Braun threw Dolph Ziggler toward Fury, who was sitting ringside. That nearly set off a brawl and eventually led to the announcement of their match at Crown Jewel.
Fury has been vocal about his love for wrestling and his desire to jump at the opportunity presented to him despite the risk of an injury putting his heavyweight title rematch against Deontay Wilder in jeopardy.
Triple H has expressed his belief that Fury is tailor-made for the wrestling business and that he will open some eyes in Thursday's match.
Fury has been training at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, and WWE even ran an angle with Strowman attacking Fury during his training to build additional heat between the combatants.
While Fury likely won't lose since he is undefeated in the boxing world, WWE can ill afford to have Strowman lose decisively either since it would be a bad look for a dominant wrestler to lose to a first-timer.
Like the Lesnar vs. Velasquez match, look for WWE to go with a result that will protect both performers, such as a draw or a count-out, even if that may not be overly satisfying to the fans.
Seth Rollins vs. "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt
After their match at Hell in a Cell ended controversially by referee stoppage, there will be a great deal of pressure on Rollins and Wyatt to deliver in their Universal Championship match at Crown Jewel.
This will likely be the final meeting between them for quite some time since Wyatt was moved to SmackDown as part of the WWE draft and Rollins remained on Raw, so they figure to pull out all the stops.
In an effort to avoid another poor ending, WWE announced that Thursday's match cannot be stopped for any reason. That seems to suggest that Rollins and Wyatt will dish out and absorb no shortage of punishment as they battle all around the stadium in a Falls Count Anywhere match.
Given how sadistic The Fiend character is and the fact that Rollins has become far more aggressive in recent weeks as well, WWE figures to have them throw everything but the kitchen sink at one another.
During a warm-up Falls Count Anywhere match on Raw, Rollins beat Erick Rowan by trapping him beneath a forklift.
In order for The Fiend to lose without hurting his character in the long run, WWE will have to come up with something along the same lines as the Rollins vs. Rowan finish.
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