You Still Got It, Shawn Michaels
If you didn’t watch WWE Crown Jewel, you missed HBK coming out of retirement.
It was a controversial night when WWE returned to Saudi Arabia for Crown Jewel. Although I’m sure the company would like to quickly sweep this debacle under the rug due to all the bad press it has received, the event still had some noteworthy moments. Now it’s time to dissect all the Good, the Bad and the Meh from WWE Crown Jewel.
Starting off with the Good:
Shawn Michaels’ performance gave me everything I wanted and needed from HBK. If the main event of Crown Jewel was a test to prove who’s still got it, then Shawn Michaels was the only one who passed. He looked sharp in the ring, even if he was a hair slower (but what do you expect from a 53 year old?). When Michaels hit his patented moonsault, it was still as breathtaking as ever. You have to applaud The Showstopper for doing his best to not just make a return to the ring, but to do it with style.
The World Cup Tournament up until the finals (more on that fiasco later) was entertaining and unpredictable. It was great to see Kurt Angle and Rey Mysterio; both looked comfortable being back in the ring, which relieved the concerns that I’m sure I share with many fans whenever their favorite part-timers return on a big stage. I also enjoyed Miz and Ziggler’s promo work throughout the tournament. It would have been nice to see them duke it out for the cup until that all got blown up in spectacular fashion.
Thank the lord there was no propaganda on the show this time around. The broadcast was mercifully void of any blatant Saudi Arabia self-promotion, outside of WWE mentioning the arena. It wasn’t glorified in any way that I noticed, at least on the American WWE Network broadcast. Given that they were contractually obligated to put on a show in such a volatile political climate, this was probably the best way WWE could have handled things.
Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman for the vacant Universal Championship was the first time in a long time where I actually applauded a Brock Lesnar win. In this case, it wasn’t because I wanted Lesnar to win, but because I’m a fan of a good story. Was Braun Strowman already a good guy in the eyes of the smart fans watching the show? Sure. But if you want to turn him face, you won’t do that by handing him a quick win over Brock less than two weeks after Reigns relinquished the title. Then there would be no story to go on after that. Now, with a screw-job finish, Strowman is the good guy and the rightful champion in the minds of everybody. And hopefully, down the road, we can see Brock Lesnar get these hands!
There’s Meh, and then there is Meh:
AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe for the WWE Championship felt more by the numbers than a Great Khali match. It was like they took the leftovers of their match at Hell in a Cell and microwaved them for about 30 seconds. The suicide dive by Joe was great, and who doesn’t love a good old-fashioned AJ Styles knee workover, but it didn’t feel as intense or personal as their previous bouts and AJ ended up winning quickly without much hoopla. It was just okay.
The Bar with the Big Show vs. The New Day – Let me just start off by saying that the New Day’s entrance was incredible! That part was must see. The match itself was decent. Neither team ever disappoints in the ring, but this felt like act one of a rivalry when we should be on act 15. The ending was a throwback to the classic Jeri-Show strategy: Big Show hits a sneaky knockout punch and the bad guys win. Overall, nothing major to report here.
Degeneration X vs. The Brothers of Destruction was by far the obvious headliner of the show, touted as a once-in-a-lifetime event. While I felt only HBK stood out, the match itself delivered an entertaining enough bout for the worldwide audience. If this is Kane and Undertaker’s goodbye tour, though, and I say this as a longtime fan, then I would get to the final curtain sooner rather than later. The Brothers of Destruction haven’t quite yet reached the end of their drawing power as an act, but they’re sorely lacking what they once had in the ring. There were some botches and miscues that made the match tough to watch at times.
Speaking of tough to watch, Triple H tearing his pec right at the beginning of the match while taking his signature corner bump did not look like fun! I’m still not quite sure how he finished the match, but the COO is definitely tougher than nails for hanging through such a competitive match. You have to give the man props when it’s due; he’s a warrior. All in all, it was a fine WWE main event that gave me the last dose of Attitude Era nostalgia that I need to see for a while, especially from these four.
Then there’s this mess, this was Bad:
Whether Shane McMahon winning the WWE World Cup is part of a bigger plan to turn Shane heel or not, this was pure crap. It defied all good wrestling logic and eliminated all relevance to the hard work WWE had done to make this tournament seem important. I seriously can’t crap on this enough. This finish would have been right at home on an episode of WCW Monday Nitro. Booking like this just makes me roll my eyes. Even if there’s a long-term plan, this was a terrible way to execute it.
The return of the Hulkster was just sad. Hulk Hogan has been on the outs with the WWE since some racist remarks he made in the past went public. The WWE rightfully left Hulk out in the cold so he could deal with his own mess, but now Vince McMahon apparently felt like enough time had passed to forgive his behavior. I’m not here to make the choice for you about whether they should or shouldn’t have brought him back, but it’s hard to argue that shoving him in front of an overseas pay-per-view show that’s being swept under the rug anyways is not just cowardly, it’s cheap. If WWE plans to use the Hulkster, it should at least be upfront about why he’s worthy of getting his job and Hall of Fame accolades back. And as of this writing, no official press release or interview has been made by WWE about it. That gets a big thumbs down from me.
Overall, the show ended up feeling like an above-average house show with a few surprises mixed in, and was still better than I expected. I’m definitely burnt out on these over-hyped shows headlined by a few legends, though. It’s time for WWE to get back to the business of putting over the stars of tomorrow. I’ll give Crown Jewel a C+.
Let me know what you thought. Follow me on Twitter: @CTGibbon
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