Smark Out Moment

Welcome to another edition of Triple Threat from Smark Out Moment, where three of us get together to discuss three questions based on one big topic going down in the week of professional wrestling.

This week, Dallas Allsopp, Greg Coleman and Chris King will be giving their opinions on Crown Jewel 2019, which took place on 31st October 2019.

Crown Jewel was yet another Saudi Arabian show that failed to deliver, even though there were low expectations going into the event. However, were there any redeeming features, or was the event just as bad as fans believed it would be?


ALLSOPP: For me, Cain Velasquez’s performance was poor, but I put this down to nonsensical booking and the fact he needs surgery on his knee. I have no doubt he will come good once his knee has been repaired. Tyson Fury, however, looked unfit and underwhelming in the ring. He didn’t deserve his victory, and hopefully this will be his only WWE match.

COLEMAN: Both men have a place in WWE. Tyson Fury was very impressive, and I was shocked at the amount of bumps he took, given he has a pretty big fight coming up in early 2020. From what I’ve seen of Cain Velasquez’s AAA work, he’s got all the tools to be successful in WWE if they book him better than they have so far. There is no way he should’ve been booked to lose his match like he did. A former 2 time UFC Heavyweight Champion who dominated Brock Lesnar in a legit MMA fight, Velasquez was tapped out by a fighter who probably isn’t even on his level in Jiu-Jitsu. Stop It! If the match was short because of Velasquez’s knee, this should’ve been Lesnar attacking his knee before the bell for a no contest. This would leave Velasquez in a good position to come back healthy and beat Lesnar. This would be a better story and better booking. I’m amazed WWE have no problem giving their American audience non-finishes, but when the Crown Prince opens his chequebook, the finishes are more decisive.

KING: Cain Valesquez's performance was underwhelming in my opinion. I already disliked how WWE built this up as a MMA style fight for the WWE Championship. It didn't make sense to me, and it made me not care for this match, other than Rey Mysterio beating the hell out of Brock Lesnar. I guess if I had to pick one that stood out, I'd say it was Tyson Fury. He didn't look like he should be a professional wrestler, but he did impress me with some of his moves. That knockout punch looked lethal, although I still can't believe they booked Braun Strowman to lose yet again.


COLEMAN: WWE has never shown they believe in Bray Wyatt, and that is sad. It is sad enough that I believe in 10-20 years, their lack of faith in him as a top guy will be looked at as one of the biggest missed opportunities in WWE history. The Fiend character is great, and if booked correctly, he could be legendary. However, WWE has not shown that they are capable of making the most out of Wyatt’s gifts as a character, so expect him to hold the belt until WrestleMania, with Roman Reigns beating him to end an underwhelming reign.

KING: Firstly, I want to explain my theory about this whole storyline. Yes, I know I'm giving WWE's creative writing team way more credit, and I might be wrong, but I think the plan all along was for the Hell in a Cell match to be hated on, which would create buzz and speculation around The Fiend and Seth Rollins. They would allow them to pull the trigger at Crown Jewel. If they book The Fiend as an unstoppable force, I can see him holding the title all the way to WrestleMania. Sadly, I don't have much faith in that.

ALLSOPP: The Fiend has now been established as a monster that cannot be defeated. This was hinted at during Hell in a Cell, but finally confirmed at Crown Jewel when he survived the fall into the electric area. Not only did he get up, but he immediately defeated Seth Rollins to become champion. I hope he becomes so invulnerable to pain that it becomes impossible to pin or submit him for the championship. He could, and perhaps should, have a long championship reign with compelling matches.


KING: There are a lot of rumours and speculation going around that this was something more than mechanical errors, and they had something to do with money, but I'm not buying that. Instead, I'm going to go with what AJ Styles said because he's a reputable source with good morals. Styles said he spoke with the pilot and was told there were mechanical errors, and I believe him over any fake news source. I don't think WWE will end their agreement with Saudi Arabia. They should, but they're not going to as they've received too much money from the relationship. Crown Jewel felt like a really good event, contrary to the last 2 or 3 that were held in Saudi Arabia. If they can find a way to make these events a little bit more special with a few more title changes, I think there would be a lot more people interested in seeing them.

ALLSOPP: If it is to be believed that the issues were a result of Saudi Arabian officials not paying Vince McMahon, I could see Crown Jewel being the final Saudi Arabian show. This is because he cannot afford to disgruntle his stars further, especially with the spectre of AEW hanging over the company. This would be no loss at all, as 95% of all matches on these events have been poor to atrocious.

COLEMAN: Seeing as how they announced an expansion to the partnership, there will be no cancelling of the relationship. I would love to see WWE consider more than their bottom line for once and stop doing it, but billionaires don’t become billionaires by turning down chances to make money.