WWE is gearing up for Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia with fans knowing from history to expect the unexpected.

The 12th event in the series of blockbuster shows staged as part of a ‘ten-year strategic partnership’ between WWE and Saudi Ministry of Sport, the epic will air from Mohammed Abdo Arena in Riyadh on November 2nd.

Things got messy when Shawn Michaels came out of retirement for WWEWWE

Two top matches are currently slated for the show; a pair Champion v Champion bouts pitting the incumbent male performers from Raw and SmackDown together, while their female counterparts also collide.

At present this means Cody Rhodes will tangle with Gunther, while Liv Morgan will go one on one with the dominant Nia Jax.

Who and whatever else the Saudi crowd will see come Crown Jewel remains to be seen, but it’s rarely far from dull.

As early as a couple of years into the run of megashows, viewers were ‘treated’ to what are generally considered to be some of the worst main events in WWE history.

Regularly grouping together blockbuster stars of yesteryear, the Saudi shows have been a dream on paper, effectively fantasy booking mind-blowing matches – including WWE legend The Undertaker against WCW great Goldberg in 2019.

At Super ShowDown, the veteran pair got off to an emphatic start as Goldberg threw out a couple of his trademark Spears, only to then inadvertently collide with a ring post, giving himself concussion and leaving him a bloodied mess.

An unsteady Goldberg continued through the nine-minute mess to a conclusion that saw Taker win, the Jackhammer specialist later calling the clash ‘the perfect storm of crappiness.’

In fairness, the bar had been set fairly low for the duo the year before when, at 2018’s Crown Jewel, Shawn Michaels came out of retirement after eight years to team with fellow veteran Triple H to meet Taker and his on-screen brother, Kane – then already well into his political career as Mayor of Knox County in Tennessee.

It was arguably always going to be a recipe for disaster, WWE legend Chris Jericho going as far to blast it ‘stupid’ and ‘the worst match I’ve ever seen’ after the blundering affair left Triple H with a legitimately torn pectoral and Michaels bloodied.

It’s said that many of the mega matches and moments presented at WWE’s Saudi’s shows have come, in part, at the request of the hosts themselves, determined as they are to put on the best happenings possible. In 2019, for instance, Tyson Fury appeared at Crown Jewel in a match against Braun Strowman.

WWE has utilised major starpower for its Saudi Arabia eventsWWE

Tyson Fury is among the major names to have appeared at Crown Jewel in prior yearsWWE

While they’ve seemingly had many of their wishes granted given the litany of legends who’ve appeared over the years, there were reportedly times when they haven’t had all their desires fulfilled.

Ahead of the maiden Greatest Royal Rumble show, for instance, it’s said that a request was made for The Ultimate Warrior to appear – despite the fact Warrior had died of a heart attack four years prior.

Perhaps more staggeringly, there was said to have been a call for WWE great Yokozuna to appear.

‘Yoko’ was one of the most dominant performers of the early-to-mid 1990s in the company, a two-time former WWE Champion who enjoyed rivalries with The Undertaker and Bret Hart.

The towering performer died in the UK in 2000 at the age of just 34 following a tragic health battle – some 18 years before the clamour for him to show up and perform for WWE once again.

The Undertaker, Triple H and John Cena were among the legends who did feature at Greatest Royal Rumble, the battle giving the epic its name eventually won by Strowman who outlasted 49 other grapplers to take the honour.

WWEYokozuna died many years before the first major WWE Saudi Arabia event[/caption]

In more recent years, fans have been treated to a higher quality of action from the current crop of WWE stars at Saudi shows, which have improved with passing years, not least with the integration of its female stars.

YouTuber turned grappler Logan Paul has twice main evented, with unsuccessful challenges for the Undisputed title against Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes in 2022 and 2024 respectively.