10 WWE PPVs That Were Doomed From The Start

1. Crown Jewel

WWE Crown Jewel
WWE

Not since Triple H pretended to copulate with a corpse has a WWE story felt so much like a hellish reflective milestone.

Much has already been reported on only the second show of a ten-year deal between WWE and the Saudi Arabian Sports Authority, but little of it doesn't bear repeating.

In April, inaugural event Greatest Royal Rumble was held up as a catastrophe for not allowing women to compete. In just six months, the discussion has moved on from misogyny to murder.

As of writing, there's been no update from WWE about if the show will be moved to an agreed location less riddled with human rights infractions and an undercurrent more toxic than the sewer slime in Ghostbusters 2, but they'll almost certainly want it to stay as is if they can get away with it.

The millions (and millions) of dollars at stake being comprised at the second hurdle would almost certainly result in future shows going in the bin too. The daft atmosphere around Shawn Michaels moneyed comeback has quickly been quelled by the story - WWE have mortgaged their biggest retirement return on a show they'll never want to talk about again - but the show going ahead will leave a bigger stain on the company than anything found in Kane's car after his Katie Vick crash.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett