WWE Crown Jewel results: Brock Lesnar wins WWE Universal Championship, Shane McMahon best in the world?

Brian Fritz

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WWE Crown Jewel results: Brock Lesnar wins WWE Universal Championship, Shane McMahon best in the world? image

Well, that was ... something.

On a show that was mired by controversy heading into it, WWE Crown Jewel ended with even more — and much different — controversy and head shaking with Brock Lesnar leaving as the WWE Universal Champion and Shane McMahon winning the World Cup tournament and being dubbed "The Best in the World" in quite the display of shoulder-shrugging from the company.

All of this took place on a night that the WWE opted to go forward with this show in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia despite an American resident and Washington Post journalist being murdered earlier this month at the nation's consulate in Turkey. But WWE was hellbent on doing the show considering the massive windfall as it is part of a lucrative 10-year partnership with the Saudi General Sports Authority.

And don't forget that Hulk Hogan served as the host for the event, marking his first on-screen appearance for the company since 2015 when he was fired and removed from the WWE Hall of Fame for making racially insensitive remarks. 

MORE: WWE Evolution 2018 results

Plus, Shawn Michaels made his long-awaited return to the ring — and looking pretty good considering his long time away — while AJ Styles and Samoa Joe once again did their best to steal the show. 

Sporting News had all the WWE Crown Jewel coverage you needed with a live blog that you can check out below.

(All times Eastern.)

WWE Crown Jewel live updates

Degeneration-X beat The Brothers of Destruction

3:44 p.m. FINISH: Kane and Undertaker have both men up for Tombstone Piledrivers but Michaels put a thumb in Kane's eye to break it up. Superkick to Undertaker, another to Kane and then a Pedigree on Triple H makes the pin.

Honestly, not a bad match with all things considered. It didn't drag much except a little in the middle but give them credit, especially to Michaels for looking as good as he did after so many years and Triple H, who worked with basically one arm for most of the match. 

3:40 p.m.: Michaels gets to the corner and tags in the injured Triple H, who somehow hits a Pedigree. Now, Undertaker has Triple H in Hell's Gate but Kane chokeslams Michaels onto them to break the hold. 

3:37 p.m.: Michaels is basically in survival mode but he pushes Taker face-first into the post outside the ring. Now he's back on the top rope exchanging punches with Kane. The Big Red Machine is outside the ring now and Michaels with a moonsault onto both of them but neither catches him and Michaels hits head-first onto the floor and is bleeding over his left eye. Oh man. 

3:33 p.m.: Honestly, this match hasn't been bad at all. I wonder how much this has been ad-libbed with HHH getting injured and Michaels having to work the bulk of this match so far. Doctors are now looking at HHH leaving Kane and Undertaker to work over Michaels, who is all alone.

3:28 p.m.: HBK hits Sweet Chin Music on Taker and all four men are down. But the "Dead Man" sits up and is outside of the ring, ready to inflict damage. He has HBK on the table but Triple H makes the save. Kane then chokeslams him through the other announcer's table.

3:25 p.m.: It looks like Triple H injured his right shoulder taking a bump over the corner to the floor. He cannot throw a punch and looks to be in a lot of pain. But he's got H-B-Shizzle as his partner! (Sorry - had to do that once.)

3:22 p.m.: Old school. 

3:20 p.m.: And more than seven years after The Undertaker retired Shawn Michaels, here are they in the ring again. HBK is moving very good but it's Kane and Taker with the upper hand.

3:17 p.m.: That didn't take long — here comes Shawn Michaels.

3:15 p.m.: And this stats off with Triple H against Kane. 

3:12 p.m.: Epic staring contest. No sure who won.

3:08 p.m.: Fear the reaper.

3:05 p.m.: Well, to no one's surprise Shawn looks to be in great shape although it's weird to see him bald. 

3:00 p.m.: Here comes the main event including the in-ring return of Shawn Michaels. And there is still an hour window left. Oh boy.

Shane McMahon beats Dolph Ziggler in the World Cup tournament finals

2:53 p.m. FINISH: Shane slingshots Zigglers face-first into the top turnbuckle and hits the coast-to-coast FOR THE WIN. 

It's official — SHANE MCMAHON IS THE BEST IN THE WORLD. 

Crazy. And he gets the trophy!

This show has officially gone berserk. 

2:51 p.m.: The bell rings and now the referee has sent "RAW" GM Baron Corbin to the back. I think the ref may be biased.

2:49 p.m.: The MIz is selling a leg injury but insists he can compete but the referee determines he cannot due to his injury. The ring announcer is about to announce Ziggler as the winner by forfeit but Shane McMahon says he will take his place. Yes, it's now Shane McMahon versus Dolph Ziggler in the finals to determine who is THE BEST IN THE WORLD. Good grief. 

2:47 p.m.: Before the match, the referee says this will be one-on-one and sends Drew McIntyre to the back. And before the bell rings, The Miz attacks Ziggler from behind.

2:45 p.m.: Remember, this is to determine who is THE BEST IN THE WORLD! (Take that, CM Punk and Chris Jericho.) And there is an extra wrinkle as "SmackDown" GM Shane McMahon announced before the show that anyone from the blue brand that loses to someone from "RAW" will not be welcome back to "SmackDown". 

2:40 p.m.: WWE just announced it will be Lesnar vs. Styles at Survivor Series so that means Lesnar will be WWE Universal Champion until at least December. I'm predicting he keeps the title until WrestleMania 35. 

Brock Lesnar defeats Braun Strowman to win the vacant WWE Universal Championship

2:35 p.m. FINISH: Lesnar delivers a fourth F5 that sends Strowman over the top rope to the floor. He barely gets back in the ring before the count of ten. Strowman tries to fight back but Lesnar hits a fifth F5 and finally pins Strowman. Yes, Brock Lesnar is once again the WWE Universal Champion.

I predicted Strowman but if you read below, I didn't discount the idea of Lesnar winning as many people did. Maybe Lesnar will lose the title back at Survivor Series but I could also see Lesnar keeping the title until next year's WrestleMania so he can have the title when he returns to fight in the UFC. 

2:32 p.m.: Acting "RAW" GM Baron Corbin held the title up in the middle of the ring and, as the bell sounded, he hit Strowman from behind with the title. What?! Lesnar with an F5 but Strowman kicks out. A second one, but Strowman survives. A third one, but Strowman kicks out again!

2:29 p.m.: I don't expect this one to last long. Could this be the night where Braun Strowman wins his first championship?

2:27 p.m.: Well, I wasn't sure if this would go on last, but I'm surprised this one is going on before the World Cup tournament finals. 

AJ Styles beats Samoa Joe to retain the WWE Championship

2:25 p.m. FINISH: Finally, Styles finds an opening and hits the Phenomenal Forearm for the win. Best match of the night so far.

2:23 p.m.: Joe locks on the Coquina Clutch and Styles is in trouble until he grabs Joe's bad left leg to get out of it as they get to the ropes. Nice sequence.

2:21 p.m.: Joe delivers a huge lariat that upends Styles as he lands on his head. These guys always go full throttle, especially against one another.

2:18 p.m.: Joe is lighting up Styles with a series of slaps but Styles ends that with a kick to the head and a moment later a somersault reverse DDT.

2:15 p.m.: All Styles early as he goes after Joe's left knee. They go outside the ring and Joe gets the upper hand and delivers a huge suicide dive that drives Styles into the side of the announcer's table.

2:12 p.m.: So far, this has been a ho-hum show much like the Greatest Royal Rumble event earlier this year in Saudi Arabia. That shouldn't be a surprise either considering the live audience, which hasn't had much exposure to wrestling.

2:08 p.m.: This was originally supposed to be Daniel Bryan facing AJ Styles for the title but Bryan refused to go to Saudi Arabia. So, they did that match on "SmackDown" this past Tuesday with Styles scoring the win and Samoa Joe attacking both afterward to set up this match.

And the live audience is chanting for Joe as he swag walks to the ring.

Dolph Ziggler beats Seth Rollins in the semifinals of the World Cup tournament

2:02 p.m. FINISH: Rollins is up on the top rope when Ziggler jumps on the turnbuckle but Rollins pushes him off. Then McIntyre jumps on the apron behind the referee's back and shoves Rollins off. Ziggler with a Superkick and he advances to the finals.

Another surprise win. Afterward, Byron Saxton interviews Ziggler and asks if he deserves to win considering what just happened. As you can imagine, Ziggler disagrees and says he's ready for the finals against The Miz and will be called THE BEST IN THE WORLD! 

Yes, that's the World Cup finals — Dolph Ziggler vs. The Miz. Who predicted that?

1:59 p.m.: McIntyre jumps up on the apron but Rollins knocks him off. Then a dive through the ropes onto both of them. Back in the ring, Rollins comes off the top rope but Ziggler moves out of the way. He hits the Famouser but Rollins gets his shoulder up at the last second. Rollins with a superplex and another suplex but then gets caught with a Zig Zag and kicks out again. This has been the best action of the show.

1:56 p.m.: They reverses rollup and rollup for more than a minute before Rollins connects with a Ripcord knee but Ziggler kicks out.

1:52 p.m.: McIntyre acts like he might interfere but Rollins gets in his face and threatens him to do something and get Ziggler's DQ'd. Drew steps aside and Rollins climbs back in the ring where Ziggler connects with a big DDT.

1:50 p.m.: Slowly but surely this one is picking up.

1:47 p.m.: Reminder that Ziggler has some support at ringside.

The Miz defeats Rey Mysterio in the semifinals of the World Cup tournament

1:45 p.m. FINISH: The Miz connects with the Skull Crushing Finale but The Miz kicks out. Mysterio comes back with 619 and comes off the top rope but The Miz gets his knees up and rolls him up for the surprise win. Wow — didn't see that one coming.

1:40 p.m.: Finally some action as they exchange punches and kicks until Mysterio gets the upper hand.

1:37 p.m.: This match has ground to a halt with The Miz working over Mysterio's ribs. Exciting.

1:33 p.m.: The Miz goes out of the ring but here comes Rey.

1:31 p.m.: Mysterio is walking slowly to the ring and selling the beating he took from Orton following his first round match.

The Bar beats The New Day to retain the "SmackDown" Tag Team Titles

1:26 p.m. FINISH: Big E is in control against Sheamus but the referee has to dive out of the way before getting caught up between them. The Big Show takes advantage with a Knockout Punch and Sheamus follows up with the Brogue Kick to score the victory.

Yet another pleasantly average match on a show filled with matches like this.

1:23 p.m.: Big E finally gets the tag and he's running wild on both Cesaro and Sheamus. He's about to go for the dive through the ropes but gets caught with a knee to the face first. Blind tag by Kofi and a double team move but Sheamus survives.

1:21 p.m.: Cesaro is working over Kofi now and the crowd comes alive to support The New Day member. 

1:16 p.m.: Kofi doing Kofi things.

1:10 p.m.: Yes, The New Day is riding a magic carpet to the ring. In Saudi Arabia.

Dolph Ziggler defeats Kurt Angle in the first round of the World Cup tournament

1:07 p.m. FINISH: Angle Slam but Ziggler kicks out and its straps down for Angle. Ziggler tries to hit the Zig Zag but can't get it and Angle slaps on the Angle Lock in the middle of the ring. It takes a minute but Ziggler gets out. Angle charges at Ziggler in the corner but misses, then a Zig Zag and it's over. 

Bit of an upset in my mind as I thought WWE would want the optics of Mr. All-America Kurt Angle winning the tournament. But this makes sense with another heel winning to take on the babyface Rollins in the next round. Plus, it was too much to think Angle could do multiple matches.

1:04 p.m.: Angle connects with several suplexes but Ziggler reverses.

1:01 p.m.: And the first suplex goes to Angle.

12:59 p.m.: Two really good amateur wrestlers in this one. I'd really like to see these two have another match some other time regardless of what happens in this one.

12:57 p.m.: Kurt Angle is ready for action and looks to be in great shape.

Seth Rollins beats Bobby Lashley in the first round of the World Cup tournament

12:53 p.m. FINISH: Lashley goes for a shoulder tackle in the corner but Rollins moves out of the way and follows up with the Curb Stomp for the win.

Yet another simple, quick match and they're rolling through the first round tournament matches very quickly. 

12:51 p.m.: Rollins goes airborne but takes a tough landing on his head.

12:48 p.m.: Feel the power!!! (Sorry New Day.)

12:45 p.m.: Of course, Lio Rush it out with Bobby Lashley hyping him up saying that everyone there is jealous of his man because they'll never look as good as him. Stay safe, Lio.

12:43 p.m.: The Saudi crows pops huge for The Architect. BURN. IT. DOWN.

The Miz beats Jeff Hardy in the first round of the World Cup tournament

12:40 p.m. FINISH: Hardy was in complete control and went for the Twist of Fate but The Miz reversed it into the Skull Crushing Finale for the win.

Decent match with Hardy getting 90% of the offense with all of his vintage moves. So far, every match has been kept very simple with traditional babyface versus heel story-telling.

12:37 p.m.: More high-impact offense with Whisper in the Wind.

12:34 p.m.: The Miz can't connect with a Skull Crushing Finale but Hardy with a big move in the corner.

12:31 p.m.: A-lister sighting.

Rey Mysterio beats Randy Orton in the first round of the World Cup tournament

12:25 p.m. FINISH: Mysterio rolls up Orton out of nowhere to score the victory. Orton is quite the sore loser.

Orton then tosses Mysterio out of the ring and sends him face-first into the announcer's table as the crowd boos. Solid match but it felt like it was just starting to pick up when Mysterio got the roll-up win.

12:21 p.m.: Nice counter by the Viper.

12:18 p.m.: Mysterio in control early on until this happened.

12:12 p.m.: Here we go with the World Cup tournament to determine THE BEST IN THE WORLD!!!! And the winner gets a big trophy too.

12:09 p.m.: Short and sweet comments who never said Saudi Arabia but is ready for Hulkamania to run wild over Crown Jewel. A huge amount of pyro goes off around the stadium as Hogan poses in the ring.


12:07 p.m.: The Hulkster says he's happy to be back in front of all of his Hulkamaniacs. 

12:05 p.m.: As expected, the main card begins with the returning Hulk Hogan is hosting Crown Jewel. 

12:01 p.m.: Well, um, here we go...

11:55 a.m.: Video packing promoting the match between DX and the Brothers of Destruction. Amazing that Shawn Michaels, one of the greatest in-ring performers of all-time, is returning on this show and it doesn't feel like a big deal. 

11:50 a.m.: The kickoff show is going over the World Cup tournament. I predicted that Kurt Angle will beat Rey Mysterio in the finals but here are my predictions for that entire tournament: Angle, Rollins, The Miz, and Mysterio each win their first-round matches. Then, Angle beats Rollins and Mysterio beats The Miz to advance to the finals. Check out the rest of my predictions at the bottom of the page and we'll see how well I do.

11:45 a.m.: Of course we got this.

11:42 a.m.: I'm very curious how many times Hulk Hogan will appear on the show and what exactly he will say. I'm sure he has a carefully crafted script that he will have to stick with.

Shinsuke Nakamura beats Rusev to retain the United States Championship

11:37 a.m. FINISH: Rusev slaps on the Accolade in the middle of the ring and Nakamura is in trouble. Somehow, he slides out and Rusev goes to put it on again but Nakamura lifts his head up and "accidentally" hits Rusev in the crown jewels with his head. He follows that up with a Kinshasa and scores the win to keep his title.

Good, solid match to kick off the show and a creative finish.

11:35 a.m.: Huge sliding kick for Namamura who goes for the put Rusev kicks out. A minute later, Namamuka comes off the middle ropes but Rusev connects with a big kick of his own.

11:30 a.m.: The crowd is still filing in but the ones there are pretty vocal chanting "Rusev Day". Back and forth match early on with Nakamura landing some big kicks but Rusev is back on offense following a big clotheslines and a spin kick.

And here's the broadcast team including Renee.

11:26 a.m.: Time for the first match of the show. This was added on Thursday and the broadcast team calling the action ringside in Riyadh includes Michael Cole, Corey Graves, and Renee Young. She is wearing a simple black long-sleeved shirt but is not wearing a hijab (women's head covering)

11:22 a.m.: Both John Cena and Daniel Bryan were originally scheduled to be a part of this show but pulled out. Instead, it will be Bobby Lashley in the tournament taking Cena's place. Bryan got his WWE Championship match against AJ Styles on "SmackDown" and lost with Samoa Joe hitting the ring and attacking both Styles and Bryan afterward. So, it will be Styles vs. Joe for the title now. Both Cena and Bryan voiced concerns about the show and refused to go with WWE have to make the changes. 

11:15 a.m. ET: Coachman, Booker T and Otunga discuss Roman Reigns having to step away from WWE and vacating the WWE Universal Championship due to the return of his leukemia. Obviously, best wishes for Roman in his battle and hope that he is healthy soon. Now, it will be Strowman versus Lesnar for the vacant championship and while Strowman is the obvious pick to win, I wouldn't totally discount Lesnar winning the title once again and him returning to the UFC as WWE Universal Champion. 

Drew McIntyre is in Saudi Arabia for the show so maybe they could do an angle to include him in the championship match or he could get involved in some way. 

11:02 a.m. ET: And here will go with the kickoff show with Jonathan Coachman, Booker T and David Otunga. This is obviously pretaped from a WWE studio in front of a green screen. No mention of Crown Jewel taking place in Saudi Arabia which is the same thing WWE has been doing for the past few weeks on "RAW" and "SmackDown".

10:58 a.m. ET: Almost forgot that this show also marks the return of Shawn Michaels to the ring after retiring more than seven years ago at WrestleMania XXVI. Shawn recently downplayed his "coming out of retirement" and compared him doing the show (teaming with Triple H vs. Kane and Undertaker) as more of a "cheat day".

10:55 a.m. ET: Welcome to live coverage of WWE Crown Jewel. The kickoff show will begin in a few minutes and the main card beginning at 12:00 p.m. ET. There are plenty of interesting elements to this controversial show in Saudi Arabia from Hulk Hogan's return to how Renee Young will be used on the broadcast to how will WWE cover the country considering that they used Greatest Royal Rumble earlier this year as an infomercial for the nation. And that doesn't even address WWE doing this show at all following with the politics surrounding it. 

WWE Crown Jewel lineup 

— Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman for the vacant WWE Universal championship

— AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe for the WWE championship

— Degeneration-X (Triple H and Shawn Michaels) vs. The Brothers of Destruction (The Undertaker and Kane)

— The Bar (Cesaro and Sheamus) vs. The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston, and/or Xavier Woods) for the "SmackDown" tag team championship

— WWE World Cup tournament featuring four "RAW" superstars and four "SmackDown" superstars; participants include:

  • Kurt Angle vs. Dolph Ziggler
  • Seth Rollins vs. Bobby Lashley
  • Jeff Hardy vs. The Miz
  • Rey Mysterio vs. Randy Orton

— Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Rusev for the United States championship (kickoff show).

WWE Crown Jewel predictions

— Braun Strowman defeats Brock Lesnar to become a first-time WWE Universal champion.

— AJ Styles holds off Samoa Joe to remain WWE champion.

— Triple H does the heavy lifting as DX beats The Brothers of Destruction.

— The Bar remain "SmackDown" tag team champions with a win over The New Day.

— Kurt Angle beats Rey Mysterio in the final of the WWE World Cup.

— Shinsuke Nakamura holds onto the WWE United States championship against Rusev.

Brian Fritz

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Brian Fritz is a contributor with The Sporting News covering the NBA and NFL who previously worked at BasketballNews. He is a 20-year veteran of sports talk radio in Orlando, Florida, after graduating from the University of Central Florida. He now resides in Durham, North Carolina.