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Amidst all the controversies, WWE is adamant on honoring their contract with the Saudi Arabian government as Superstars from both RAW and SmackDown will travel to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia this Friday for WWE Crown Jewel.
Currently, there are 11 matches scheduled for the event, all on the main show. Eight of the eleven clashes are confirmed for the event with both the world titles and SmackDown Live tag team titles up for grabs.
Brock Lesnar will take on Braun Strowman for the Universal Title, which has been vacated by Roman Reigns due to his unfortunate medical condition. The WWE champion AJ Styles will take on Samoa Joe one more time as Daniel Bryan refused to travel to the country. The Bar will defend their newly won SmackDown Tag Team Championship against the New day. The Brothers of Destructions will have their grudge match against D-Generation X.
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Moreover, eight men will compete among themselves to prove who is the "best in the world" and win the World Cup. The Dominator Bobby Lashley replaced John Cena to join the former world champions such as Randy Orton, Seth Rollins, Rey Mysterio, The Miz, Jeff Hardy, Kurt Angle, and Dolph Ziggler in the tournament.
In this list, we will be predicting the match order for the night. So without further adieu, let's start.
Match no. 1: Randy Orton vs Rey Mysterio
Since the World Cup participants may need to have potentially three matches within a 4-hour frame, it is safe to predict that their preliminary matches would be done with to kick off the show. Randy Orton and Rey Mysterio are two of the most popular stars in Saudi Arabia, evident from their Greatest Royal Rumble 2018 appearance earlier this year. Hence to give the show an electric start, the professional wrestling stalwarts will open the show.
Match no. 2: Seth Rollins vs Bobby Lashley
Match no. 3: Kurt Angle vs Dolph Ziggler
Match no. 4: The Miz vs Jeff Hardy
Rest of the preliminary matches may be in any order as WWE like. However, all of them would be in the first hour of the event.
Seth Rollins pitted against Bobby Lashley may not be the most anticipated clash of the event. However, these two could have a decent match if given some time. Seth Rollins is in the form of his life whereas Bobby Lashley is not as vibrant as he was a couple of months ago. An interference from Dean Ambrose is possible.
Kurt Angle's return in singles matches is surprisingly not much advertised by the WWE. However, a clash with one of the best wrestlers going around - Dolph Ziggler - can provide Kurt with the opportunity to make his return memorable.
The Miz and Jeff Hardy are two wrestlers with good chemistry between them. Although they have gone one on one several times this year, no one would skip this match.
Match no. 5: SmackDown Live Tag Team Championship
This match is probably the only non-marquee match in the event. Thus, one can expect it to start after the preliminary World Cup matches conclude. The team of Cesaro and Sheamus captured the blue brand's tag team gold on the 1000th episode of Smackdown Live after Big Show aligned himself with the European Superstars.
Even though it is not one of the most anticipated matches of the evening, it is entirely possible that this match would end as a strong contender for the "match of the night".
Match no. 6: WWE Championship match - AJ Styles vs Samoa Joe
This clash has everything a great match needs to have - proper background, great wrestlers and brilliant in-ring chemistry. However, since the entire show revolves around the World Cup, the WWE Championship match will be stuck somewhere in the middle.
Match no. 7: Randy Orton or Rey Mysterio vs. Jeff Hardy or The Miz
Match no. 8: Seth Rollins or Bobby Lashley vs. Kurt Angle or Dolph Ziggler
The bracket of the World Cup is so tight that it is not easy to predict the winners of the preliminary matches. The only match that could be entirely one-sided would be Kurt Angle's clash against Dolph Ziggler. However, the presence of Drew McIntyre on The Show Off's side would compensate whatever little advantage Kurt has.
The semi-final matches of the World Cup would go in the middle of the event. With two lengthy matches - the SmackDown Tag Team Championship match and the WWE Title match, the victors of round one would have ample time to take a rest.
WWE might even give us the dream match of Kurt Angle vs. Seth Rollins in the semifinals.
Match no. 9: Universal Championship match - Brock Lesnar vs Braun Strowman
Roman Reigns' unfortunate departure from WWE has abated the triple threat match to a regular singles match between Brock Lesnar and Braun Strowman for the Universal title. Even though a new champion will be crowned, this match has not been hyped as much as it should be.
Match no. 10: Brothers of Destruction vs D-Generation X
Shawn Michaels is returning from retirement to team up with his best friend Triple H to take on the team of The Undertaker and Kane.
At WWE Super Showdown, Triple H defeated The Undertaker with the help of Shawn Michaels. However, at the end of the show, Taker and Kane attacked DX. On the next episode of RAW, DX challenged Taker and Kane for a match at crown jewel, which the latter accepted.
The main event - Match no. 11: Final of the World Cup
From a logical as well as a practical viewpoint, it makes sense that the final of the inaugural WWE World Cup tournament gets to close the show. WWE more often gives the gimmick match the opportunity to end the show. Earlier this year, the Greatest Royal Rumble match ended the Greatest Royal Rumble PPV, with Braun Strowman standing tall at the end.
Moreover, the schedule of the wrestlers involved in the tournament is such that the finalists will have to be a part of three matches in a mere time interval of four hours. Hence it is only logical that their first match is in the first hour of the show, their second match comes in the middle section of the show and the final gets to close the event.
Hence, we predict that the Final match of the World Cup will be the main event of WWE Crown Jewel.
