Old Champions Are New Entries In Our Post-Crown Jewel WWE Pound-For-Pound Rankings
Seth Rollins is victorious over Bronson Reed during Crown Jewel at Mohammed Abdo Arena on November 2, 2024 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
On a day that featured surprises—such as Roman Reigns being pinned by his cousin Solo Sikoa, and WWE Champion Cody Rhodes defeating World Champion Gunther—we dive into WWE’s annual Crown Jewel event, held in Saudi Arabia. WWE Women’s Champion Nia Jax looked to destroy WWE World Champion Liv Morgan in a match to determine the first-ever women’s Crown Jewel champion. The WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions champions Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill aimed to defy the odds in a fatal four-way match.
Could Bronson Reed live up to the expectations when engaged in battle with World Champion Seth Rollins? This event had an array of talent that could have all been viable options to make our pound-for-pound rankings this month, however, there can only be 10. Who topped the list?
10. Nia Jax
Last Month’s Ranking: No. 10
Last Month’s Segments: Ever since winning the WWE Women’s Championship from Bayley, the Queen of the Ring winner has had lackluster segments which led to unsatisfying matches. In the last few weeks, Nia Jax and WWE World Champion Liv Morgan have been trading insults on the mic and Money In The Bank briefcase shots in the ring, trying to get fans to care about their Crown Jewel match the WWE has been promoting as history-making. Did it make history? Technically, yes. Did fans really care? Hardly.
Crown Jewel In-Ring Performance: Jax retaining the 10th spot on our rankings list is a clear indication that her matches have walked the tightrope between terrible and exciting, often taking a bump somewhere in between. Jax looked dominant throughout her Crown Jewel fight, at one point crushing Morgan with a Samoan Drop from the second rope that’ll make any spectator instinctively grab their chest. However, some of the moves looked sluggish and relied too much on her raw power as opposed to any in-ring finesse. Jax was pinned after Liv Morgan’s walking insurance policy Raquel Rodriguez caused an interference by hitting Nia in the head while the ref was distracted by Dominick “Dirty Dom” Mysterio, which ultimately allowed Morgan to hit her Oblivion finishing move. Decent effort by Jax in this contest; nonetheless, things need to progress for her if the WWE Women’s Champion looks to remain on our list.
9. Bianca Belair
Last Month’s Ranking: N.A.
Last Month’s Segments: From NXT to Monday Night Raw, you’d have a hard time watching WWE lately and not seeing the WWE Women’s Tag Champions. Belair and Cargill were in a multi-story feud with former champions Chelsea Green and Piper Niven, Iyo Sky and Kairi Sane, both of who were also former tag champions, and main roster newcomers, Jakara Jackson and Lash Legend. They have been booked and busy, and the television matches and angles in the previous weeks were compelling enough to convince some fanatical onlookers that Belair and Cargill could actually lose the titles.
Crown Jewel In-Ring Performance: Belair never disappoints when she’s given an opportunity, and this was no different. She clearly was the “ring general” in the Fatal Four Way match against Meta-Four, Chelsea Green & Piper Niven, and Damage CTRL where chaos, top rope assaults, and suplex surprises reigned supreme. She’s a star that often shines brighter than her competition, thanks to her unique blend of agility, speed, strength, and irresistible style. Cargill and Belair used the Road Warriors’ legendary “Doomsday Device” finisher on Niven to retain their titles in a fun match that will likely continue the story, with Jackson and Legend being Cargill and Belair’s next opponents.
8. Solo Sikoa
Last Month’s Ranking: No. 5
Last Month’s Segments: Sikoa has been the focal point of major WWE storylines for the last seven months. In just the last three months, he’s been involved in two title changes. After his own older brother Jey Uso came to Smackdown and got in his face, “The Street Champion” invaded Monday Night Raw to cost his brother the Intercontinental Championship. His Bloodline stablemates Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa then lost the WWE Tag Team titles to TNA Wrestling mainstays the Motor City Machine Guns, due to interference from the “OG Bloodline.” Some may have grown tired of the Bloodline story, but for me, things are starting to heat up again, and Sikoa is a major reason why.
Crown Jewel In-Ring Performance: Sikoa continues to be solid in the ring. His offense is believable enough to dazzle, and he continued to show that growth in the OG Bloodline vs New Bloodline standoff. Sikoa sells Reigns’s Superman punch spectacularly. While his cousin started the match off hot, it didn’t take long for the new tribal chief to assert his will. Personally, I much prefer Sikoa’s version of a “Uranage” that he calls the “Spinning Solo” over his Samoan Spike, but I respect him wanting to honor the memory of the late, great wrestling legend Umaga. The spike is also what allowed the leader of the Bloodline to vanquish Reigns and later declare himself the true Original Tribal Chief, undoubtedly setting up more drama we can’t wait to watch.
7. Liv Morgan
Last Month’s Ranking: No. 7
Last Month’s Segments: Morgan has been involved in a love triangle scandal with former Royal Rumble winner Rhea Ripley and Judgement Day member Dirty Dom for a substantial amount of time. More recently, it has been the Women’s World Champion trying to escape from the Australian-born superstar, often hiding behind Raquel Rodriguez. Due to the WWE’s prioritizing Crown Jewel’s ascension to one of the company’s tentpole annual events, WWE was tasked with advancing the Ripley-Morgan feud, while also promoting Morgan’s Crown Jewel match with Nia Jax to determine the first-ever Crown Jewel Women’s Champion. Ripley got a legitimate eye injury in the build-up to this match, causing a halt in original plans. There is still interest in Morgan vs Ripley; however, they should wrap this story up as soon as Ripley is healthy. As for the Crown Jewel match, the lead-up was underwhelming, and the match mirrored it.
Crown Jewel In-Ring Performance: Morgan has figured out how to be an underdog while also ensuring it’s believable when she picks up a win. At first glance, this is a heel vs heel match, with all parties involved technically being bad guys. However, the crowd response to Morgan made her a babyface—the hero, in wrestling terms—by default. I truly enjoy Morgan’s work in the ring, but she could benefit from either having a different finisher or a second one Oblivion. That doesn’t discredit her work or her huge win against Jax.
6. Bronson Reed
Last Month’s Ranking: N.A.
Last Month’s Segments:. “Big” is an understatement when describing this monster, Bronson Reed. A few months ago, Reed put Seth Rollins on the shelf. Once “The Architect” returned, his goal was to destroy Reed. The giant performer has looked dominant over a number of wrestlers the last few weeks, and he aimed to end Seth for good. Most weeks, they were brawling all over the arena, with the week going into their Crown Jewel match showing us Reed couldn’t be stopped
Crown Jewel In-Ring Performance: For someone of Reed’s size, the 330-pound behemoth can accomplish some truly incredible feats. He takes bumps well, and he’s also good at selling. Reed knows how to wrestle “big man style,” but he’s not unbeatable. He worked really well with Rollins at Crown Jewel, even taking a nasty “Curb Stomp” on steel steps. That ultimately was the cause for the loss, but even in defeat, Reed rose up to show Rollins he’s here to stay.
5. Roman Reigns
Last Month’s Ranking: No. 3
Last Month’s Segments: In a somewhat predictable turn of events, Reigns found himself needing help. After his cousin Jimmy Uso made his return at Bad Blood, the OG Bloodline found themselves outnumbered by the New Bloodline. As a result, Reigns and Uso were being decimated week after week on Smackdown. Eventually, Jimmy was able to convince his brother Jey Uso to settle his previous issues with Reigns and help them out. The Bloodline story remains one of the most layered and intriguing stories the WWE has to offer.
Crown Jewel In-Ring Performance: Roman Reigns losing to Sikoa by pinfall may be shocking to us all, but was certainly the right decision. This was another match where Reigns, being the intelligent man that he is, let his teammates work most of the match and made the tag when it mattered the most. The multi-time Wrestlemania headliner did not do much from a “wrestling” performance perspective; however, Reigns commanded the attention of not only the fans but his opponents.
Once the former champion did get his hands on Sikoa, the crowd erupted. At one point, the New Tribal Chief hit the Original Tribal Chief with the Samoan Spike, and Reigns did not kick out. Either Jimmy was late breaking it up, or Reigns forgot. Nevertheless, the bad guys walked away winners. The post-match saw The New Bloodline beating down the OG Bloodline when Sami Zayn attempted to make the save for the good guys. The match was fine, but it’s really the story that maintains its position on this ranking. Things are heating up leading into next month’s Survivor Series, and Reigns is performing near his peak.
4. Seth Rollins
Last Month’s Ranking: N.A.
Last Month’s Segments: After a much-needed break from the action, “The Visionary” was back to regain some momentum. Rollins took a break from focusing on future opponent CM Punk to forge a battle with a superstar on the rise, Bronson Reed. Week after week, the two were separated after brawling throughout every building they were in. Rollins remains top-level with his promos alone. With the first-ever NXT champion laid out on the go-home edition of Monday Night Raw, we all anticipated watching Rollins attempt to overcome the monster.
Crown Jewel In-Ring Performance: You’d be hard-pressed to find a bad Seth Rollins match. There’s a reason the grand slam champion is always a main attraction. From the very start of the match, Rollins and Reed had the audience in their sweaty, grappling palms. At first, it appeared Reed was going over on Rollins after a “Tsunami” from Bronson in the first few minutes of the match. However, that wasn’t the case, and Rollins was able to hit a “Curb Stomp” for an implacable false finish. After a back-and-forth exhibition, Rollins found a way to win with a super “Curb Stop,” adding to his collection of top-tier performances. Although this feud with Reed hasn’t concluded, I wouldn’t object to Rollins moving on to his story with the aforementioned CM Punk.
3. LA Knight
Last Month’s Ranking: N.A.
Last Month’s Segments: Knight hasn’t been featured as much as many are clamoring for, but he’s still “MAXimized” his minutes on television. The United States Champion found himself in the middle of the issues between his two Crown Jewel opponents, Andrade and Carmelo Hayes. Hayes and Andrade competed in a series of matches that were due to culminate in a Game 7-style match at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center to determine a number one contender for Knight’s title. The U.S. Champion was the special guest referee and ensured there was no decisive winner, therefore sealing his fate. Good build-up to this triple-threat match.
Crown Jewel In-Ring Performance: Based on entrance and crowd reaction alone, LA Knight was most certainly over with the live crowd. Andrade and Hayes had some creative high spots in the match, whereas Knight focused more on the ground and pound. The champion did show some athleticism when both his challengers were on the turnbuckles; he leaped up and superplexed Andrade off the top. The finish of the match was equally as clever: Knight caught Hayes while he was holding Andrade and hit the “Blunt Force Trauma,” effectively knocking them both out. Impressive showing from all three wrestlers.
2. Gunther
Last Month’s Ranking: N.A
Last Month’s Segments: Gunther really did not have much going on with his storyline in the lead-up to Crown Jewel. With Cody Rhodes having another story occurring simultaneously, Gunther was reduced to just cutting promos. The two champions did fight on a Smackdown live event in Brooklyn. But, other than that, it’s been relatively lax for Gunther.
Crown Jewel In-Ring Performance: When I think of an old-school heel WWE Champion, Gunther is the perfect personification. This match between the two world champions was technically sound and hard-hitting. Gunther laid in all of his offensive moves, and Rhodes took it. Despite the loss, Gunther wasn’t hurt by this at all. Cody needed this win more in order to cement his title run. In what some may see as an uncharacteristic move, Gunther shook hands with Rhodes and gave him the Crown Jewel ring. Where does this leave the self-proclaimed “ring general?” Well, we’re just going to have to wait and see.
1. Cody Rhodes
Last Month’s Ranking: No. 4
Last Month’s Segments: In the build to Crown Jewel, Rhodes has been trying to get his lick back from Kevin Owens. Following the Bad Blood event in Atlanta, the prizefighter attacked Cody in the parking lot. Rhodes has been seeking revenge ever since the altercation. Mutual friend Randy Orton has been trying to end this problem between Owens and Rhodes. That only angered Owens, leading him to believe the third-generation superstar was picking sides. Rhodes dealing with the RKO drama, while handling his issues with World Champion Gunther, gave viewers more than enough entertainment to continue supporting the WWE Champion.
Crown Jewel In-Ring Performance: The highly acclaimed WWE Champion was slated to make history. In a match that would crown the first-ever Crown Jewel champion, Rhodes and Gunther went out and had a standard WWE main event title match. At times, it felt more physiologically based than a knock-down, all-out blood feud, which it was not. There was nothing bad about the match. It did start off slow, but that’s expected of two wrestlers without an actual story leading into the match. Rhodes showed his resilience by reversing Gunther’s sleeper and getting the pinfall on the man who has ruled over Raw. Nothing outstanding throughout the match, just a solid effort. The significance of the results lies solely upon Rhodes winning another championship for the first time.
