Cody Rhodes loses and 5 smart booking decisions

WWE is heading to Saudi Arabia for the second time in 2024 and this time, Crown Jewel 2024 will feature two champion vs. champion bouts to crown two unofficial title holders.

World Heavyweight Champion Guenther will take on WWE Champion Cody Rhodes in a colossal battle between two of WWE's biggest stars, while WWE Women's Champion Nia Jax will face Women's World Champion Liv Morgan for the first-ever Crown Jewels -To identify champions. WWE's latest pay-per-view from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is part of a huge 10-year deal that WWE is looking to extend beyond 2028 when the current deal expires, and the company has another strong card in store put together this year's event. It also features a pivotal six-man tag team match between both sides of The Bloodline.

Most previous events in Saudi Arabia have revolved around some kind of gimmick, be it the Greatest Royal Rumble or the King and Queen of the Ring tournaments. This time around, WWE is hoping the lure of a clash between its top champions will help draw in fans and pave the way for a successful path to Survivor Series in just a few weeks.

Will that happen? As always, this depends on WWE's ability to make smart creative decisions at Crown Jewel 2024.

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Nia Jax defeated Liv Morgan

WWE has struck gold with Jax, who is in the midst of the best of her career and is shaping up to be an epic villain who will only be killed by an up-and-coming fan favorite, likely soon-to-be babyface Tiffany Stratton.

However, it will likely be at least a few months away, meaning Jax should continue her streak of dominance regardless of who she faces during that time. Morgan, her Crown Jewel opponent, is a very different kind of champion, one who usually needs help to win and rarely, if ever, tramples on his rivals.

Morgan can certainly bounce back from a loss to fellow player Jax and remain a heat magnet. On the other hand, it wouldn't look good for Jax to lose to Morgan, given the huge differences in their characters and the way they're booked. Although it would be surprising if this game ended cleanly given that it's two paragraphs apart, that's exactly what needs to happen.

After all, Jax shouldn't need help, and Morgan's cowardly nature doesn't need victory.

Randy Orton defeated Kevin Owens, but Owens stood his ground

Kevin Owens recently betrayed not only Rhodes but also Randy Orton, and at Crown Jewel the two stars will face off in a battle of former friends.

Given Owens' recent heel turn, he is expected to face Rhodes in a blockbuster WWE Championship match at either Survivor Series or Rhodes' upcoming return Main event on Saturday evening. That would probably mean Owens would triumph over Orton in Saudi Arabia, but that certainly doesn't have to be the case.

The main premise of Owens' appearance is the belief that he is the good guy in the situation, but there is also the added layer of his desire to become WWE Champion again. He's the focus of Rhodes' current character arc, and yet his own arc is just as compelling as he returns to his evil ways.

As one of the best villains in WWE history, Owens should back up his heel turn – which has worked out beautifully so far – with a loss to Orton that left the former Universal Champion completely infuriated. After the match, Owens was scheduled to attack and destroy Orton in order to “get his heat back” and prevent Orton from helping Rhodes later that night. More on this shortly.

Bronson Reed destroys Seth Rollins

Bronson Reed was one of Triple H's best hires, going from an overlooked midcarder to a highly entertaining wrecking machine on Raw.

Reed's memorable feud and matches with Braun Strowman really helped him develop into one of the red brand's top acts, and now he finds himself in the biggest rivalry of his career with Seth Rollins. The two stars have been involved in a handful of exciting installments in recent weeks, and their intense rivalry feels like it will span many months and games.

It's questionable whether Rollins will ultimately lose this feud, but Reed can still get a huge boost by getting at least one significant win over the former world champion. Given the way feuds like this are usually booked, Reed should get the first win without any underhanded tactics, leaving fan favorite Rollins to overcome the odds to ultimately win the rivalry.

If Reed loses at Crown Jewel, WWE really doesn't have many options after that. But if Reed wins and does it in a convincing way? Then WWE can easily continue this exciting rivalry while Rollins seeks revenge.

Cody Rhodes loses to Gunther in controversial fashion

WWE really pushed themselves into a corner with Rhodes vs. Gunther, didn't they?

That's because none of the stars should be losing now or any time soon. Although Rhodes hinted in a recent promo that there will be a decisive winner in this dream fight, this is one of those fights where a resounding loss to one of WWE's biggest stars could do more harm than good.

Gunther vs. CM Punk is reportedly slated for Survivor Series, while Rhodes vs. Kevin Owens is also a possible direction for that show. Two games of this magnitude suggest that all four stars involved should enter the event with as much momentum as possible.

It's unfortunate that WWE is in a booking crisis because Gunther and Rhodes could use a decisive win at Crown Jewel. So the “end” here is a controversial ending with no clear winner, perhaps because Owens – angry about his loss to Orton – intervened to cost Rhodes the fight.

And since Orton was taken out earlier in the night, that would prevent The Viper from helping Rhodes.

Roman Reigns' bloodline is failing

WWE is staging a surprise Bloodline match at Crown Jewel, where Roman Reigns and The Usos Solo will challenge Sikoa's new version of the faction – a match that looked like it was destined for Survivor Series.

In all likelihood it's still the case, with Reigns, The Usos, Sami Zayn and maybe even another star like Bron Breakker taking on Sikoa, Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa and Jacob Fatu in a WarGames match. This begs the question: If The Bloodline's babyface side shines at Crown Jewel, what's the point of a WarGames match? There is none.

No, instead Reigns' Bloodline should lose in Saudi Arabia, especially after Reigns and Rhodes already defeated Sikoa and Fatu at Bad Blood last month. It's important that Sikoa's roster is portrayed as equal to Reigns' group because, let's face it, Reigns' stable did a lot more star power and significantly more successes under his belt.

For this feud to be worth continuing at Survivor Series and beyond, it's imperative that the new-look Bloodline beats the old version – and that either Sikoa or Fatu is the one who comes out on top at Crown Jewel.