4 Mistakes WWE has made in the buildup to Crown Jewel

Next on the WWE premium live event schedule is the 2024 edition of Crown Jewel. This event will put the major Champions of RAW and SmackDown against each other. The winners will earn a Crown Jewel title made especially for this event.

Cody Rhodes will battle Gunther, while Liv Morgan will attempt to overcome the much bigger Nia Jax. Crown Jewel will also bear witness to two non-title matches. Seth Rollins will face Bronson Reed, while Kevin Owens will tangle with Randy Orton.

While the booked matches fall into current WWE angles, some decisions around the PLE feel like mistakes. WWE has made the next four errors regarding its build and decisions about Crown Jewel.

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#4. The return of the Wildcard Rule

Since WWE decided to book matches between brands, using the unpopular Wildcard Rule again made sense. The caveat was an excuse for Vince McMahon to book certain stars—Roman Reigns and Charlotte Flair, mostly—each week on RAW and SmackDown.

The reasons for why they showed up often made no sense. While doing so again in 2024 fits because both brands are on the USA network, it only helps those stars involved in the event.

Cody Rhodes, Gunther, Liv Morgan, and Nia Jax have been double-booked over the last few weeks. Factor in RAW's recent cut to two hours, and stars looking to get featured must wait even longer until Crown Jewel passes.

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#3. No Bloodline presence booked for Crown Jewel yet

Depending on one's opinion, this could be good or bad. The Bloodline drama has dominated WWE over the last five years. It's held the top spot on any PLE with its major players involved.

That drama has also spilled over to Monday Night RAW. This past week, Solo Sikoa and his minions cost Jey Uso the Intercontinental Championship. Jey returned the favor on SmackDown, costing Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa the WWE Tag Team titles.

With the way the angle has dominated programming, it's weird that The Bloodline has not been involved in some way at Crown Jewel. That may be because the storyline will be the major focus of WarGames.

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#2. Inconsistent treatment of tag team titles

The women's tag titles have been featured extensively on 2024 PLEs after WrestleMania. (Image Credit: WWE.com)

One easy way to remedy the previous point would have been to save the tag team title match for Crown Jewel. It would have given the Championships a focus for once this year, but the big moment was saved for the latest SmackDown.

A rematch could have easily been added to the card. Instead, WWE threw together a four-team contest for the women's tag titles. Outside of SummerSlam, those titles have been on four PLEs since April, but mainly because Bianca Belair was involved in the title match.

Midcard and tag team title bouts are often saved for go-home episodes of RAW and SmackDown. However, the WWE and World Tag Team Championship haven't been featured once on a PLE since WrestleMania 40.

Equality is supposed to be a two-way street, but there hasn't been equal representation in the WWE tag division this year. It's even worse when a team from NXT is booked for Crown Jewel, and main-roster tag titleholders are not.

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#1. A Championship match for a title that won't be defended

WWE spared no expense in crafting the Crown Jewel titles this year. (Image Credit: WWE.com)

WWE remedied the King and Queen of the Ring tournaments by giving the winners more than just a crown and scepter. After winning this year's tournaments, Gunther and Jax earned title shots at SummerSlam and later gold at the show.

Events in Saudi Arabia differ from other PLEs as they have relied on stars who were more active 15 years ago rather than current performers. Braun Strowman won a title belt that was essentially a trophy after winning the Greatest Royal Rumble.

Triple H unveiled diamond-filled specialty belts that won't be on the line beyond Crown Jewel. Winners will likely carry the Championships for a few weeks for bragging rights, and then they'll be forgotten about until next year's show.

Winners of the matches could have earned the right to pick the loser's opponent at Survivor Series or the Royal Rumble. Money in the Bank and the Royal Rumble work because the winners get something other than a diamond-encrusted belt to keep the other shoulder warm.