10 HUGE WWE Crown Jewel 2022 Predictions You Need To Know
Surely WWE wouldn't risk years of careful planning to placate their richest customer. Would they?
The deal struck between WWE and the Saudi Arabian Sports Authority remains an ugly bit of business, but a bizarre legacy is already forming from the events that have taken place so far.
Perhaps due to the repugnant nature of the politics at play, or infamous stories of grounded planes and the like, there's never been a single event that hasn't been (rightfully) overshadowed by the paradox of trying to "put smiles on faces" alongside putting a smiley face on an oppressive machine. Not least when the earnest WWE fans from the country evidently have a fantastic time no matter what sh*t they're served. And that's the other thing - there's been some historically terrible sh*t.
Goldberg destroying The Fiend. Kane's mask slipping in the ring before it did so horrifically on Twitter. Shane McMahon entering a Best In The World tournament in the last few seconds and winning. Everything The Undertaker's done. The list goes on, and even if WWE seem to have tried to make the events feel like part of the calendar rather than a special attraction, the pending threat of some total chaos never seems too far away.
Especially with some of the stuff on this show...
10. Drew McIntyre Vs. Karrion Kross
A very WWE rematch for a very WWE feud, Drew McIntyre Vs Karrion Kross should have been a one-and-done at Extreme Rules, and with a much braver finish to boot.
McIntyre is spiralling, it would seem. Having lost to Roman Reigns at Clash At The Castle, he's then mostly been on the wrong end of some Kross sh*tkickings and the aforementioned defeat. But because the b-show loss was pathetically cheap, he's taken his anger to the parking lot and will now get the opportunity to let loose all his rage in a Crown Jewel steel cage.
Kross, meanwhile, isn't anywhere near removed enough from the original main roster run that stigmatised him so badly last year. A pepper spray-inspired victory at Extreme Rules was so insultingly non-committal that it didn't even register as a win. Though he can hardly afford a loss, this reeks of going to rubber match on the ground that the 'Scottish Warrior' couldn't get a pinfall victory. Kross needs to win the feud and win it convincingly, but those desperate for its conclusion won't get their wish here.
Winner - Drew McIntyre