Hiya!

Forgive me if I’m wrong but wasn’t WWE‘s Night of Champions all about pitting the champions from RAW and Smackdown against each other? That’s how I remember it anyway. If I’m right, then why did the WWE restructure their Crown Jewel pay-per-view exactly like that… but with less champions? Ehh, maybe I shouldn’t think about it too much. Let’s just try to enjoy the show. We do have a lot of ground to cover so I shouldn’t be dawdling about it, right?

The first match of the night had Roman Reigns facing off against Bronson Reed in an Australian Street Fight. Why is it an “Australian” Street Fight? Is it because Bronson Reed is from Australia? Is it because they used cricket bats and rugby balls during the match? Seems unnecessary as it’s still just a Street Fight/No DQ match in essence.

Anyway, despite the liberal use of unique weaponry, not many of the highlights featured them. Rather, it was the standard stairs, chairs and tables which enhanced the action. Speaking of which, some of the highlights saw Reigns hitting a samoan drop on Reed through a steel chair and Roman moving out of the way from Bronson’s spear attempt only for the Oxzilla to hit a chair he himself set up in the corner and Bron Breakker coming out from the live crowd to hit a spear to Roman.

Speaking of which, this was the start of the finish of the match. Breakker and Reed started to assault Reigns by powerbombing the OTC through the announcer’s table. Reed then set up a table in the corner of the ring. Jimmy and Jey Uso then rush out to try to save their cousin. They then pummel Reed and then perform a superkick party to Breakker. The Usos seem to be in control and hit their 1D finisher on Bron. They then climb the turnbuckles but Reed shoves Jimmy off his perch while Breakker grabs Jey and gorilla presses him and into a gutbuster. Breakker then spears Jimmy through the ring barricade. Reed then sets up for his tsunami finisher to Jey but Reigns finally gets back up and hits the Oxzilla with a superman punch. He connects with another superman punch and then sets up to spear Bronson through the table but Breakker distracts Reigns long enough for Reed to recover. Jey tries to spear Reed but he gets out of the way and spears Roman instead! Breakker then takes out Jey Uso with a spear while Reed hits a tsunami on Reigns to get the pinfall victory.

This was a good match but nothing I would call exceptional. This felt pretty standard for a No DQ/Street Fight/Extreme Rules match. The big mess in the end with Bron Breakker and The Usos got involved was fun but it never really came off as upping the ante. There are storyline implications because of Jey mistakenly taking out Reigns but I just wish there was more carnage.

The next match of the night saw Tiffany Straton, the Smackdown Women’s Champion, taking on Stephanie Vaquer, the RAW Women’s Champion, for the Women’s Crown Jewel title. Early on, this came off as a very evenly matched bout between two champions. Highlights included Vaquer locking in a modified abdominal stretch while wrapping Staton’s leg around hers, Tiffany hitting her signature cartwheel into alabama slam as well as a suplex into a backbreaker move to Stephanie and Vaquer blocking a senton attempt with her knees.

The finish came when Stratton hit a rolling senton slam on Vaquer to set her up for her Prettiest Moonsault Ever finisher. Tiffany leapt off the top rope but Stephanie rolled out of the way. Vaquer then hit an ugly looking corkscrew moonsault to get the pinfall victory and become the Women’s Crown Jewel Champion for 2025.

The match itself was good but, based on their caliber, this should have been a fantastic match. I guess one of the biggest problems is there felt like a general lack of chemistry between the two. That could also be the reason why the match was shorter than expected. Honestly, I was kind of disappointed on how… normal this came off.

The next match of the night had John Cena taking on AJ Styles. While there are no stakes involved, this was probably the most anticipated match of the night because it was one of John Cena’s final matches in the WWE… allegedly. First off, before the match John Cena handed the ring announcer a piece of paper. It turns out this was the introduction he wanted to do for AJ Styles. Honestly, if John Cena really wrote this himself, this was a great introduction. I love the liberal references to AJ Styles major points of his career. Kudos if it was really him.

I mentioned there were no stakes involved but, in a way, I kind of liked it. This was just a fight between two big name WWE Superstars who have good chemistry in the ring and can put on a fantastic match. Thankfully, this didn’t disappoint. It certainly helped that the live crowd was super hot for this. I do disagree to the “this is awesome” chant so early on, though. Wait for something truly awesome to happen first, live crowd!

Still, I can’t deny, when things did get going, the action was indeed awesome. I have to mention all the homages John Cena did as he copied the finishing moves of a myriad of WWE Superstars he’s fought against over the years. It was fun to see him “steal” these moves because, in a way, he’s telling a story about how long he’s been in the WWE. Also, John Cena cannot obviously face off against everyone but these little hints at his previous opponents are a nice way to pay tribute to all of them. By the way, AJ Styles also got in on the act, which was also fun!

The finish came after AJ Styles hit his angel’s wings trademark to Cena. The two go through the dueling yay/boo punches. Both men go for their finishers but they’re unable to connect with them. Cena hints at a Pedigree but Styles reverses it into a kind of backwards piledriver from an alabama slam position. Styles went for another Styles Clash but Cena reverses it into Randy Orton‘s draping DDT and then hits an RKO for a 2-count. John Cena decides to go for the trifecta and loads up Orton’s punt kick. Styles dodges the punt and hits Cena with an Attitude Adjustment for a 2-count!

Styles then attempts to ape Cena’s “you can’t see me” taunt but Cena reaches up and slams the Phenomenal One with a chokeslam. Cena then hits a drop toe hold, sending Styles into the middle rope. Is he actually going to try a 619? He tried but Styles got up and nailed Cena with a clothesline instead. Styles hits a 450 splash but he’s unable to capitalize. Styles then starts tuning up the band for Sweet Chin Music which connects but he only gets a 2-count. Styles then hits his Phenomenal Forearm finisher but he only gets a 2-count again!

Styles then sets up for his Styles Clash finisher but Cena gets out of it and goes for his Attitude Adjustment finisher. Styles manage to worm out of the move with elbows but Cena grabs him again and hits his finisher for a 2-count! Cena then sets up for an avalanche version of his Attitude Adjustment but Styles manages to toss Cena down to the mat. Styles then goes for a crossbody but Cena rolls through and hits a Tombstone Piledriver before connecting with his Attitude Adjustment to get the pinfall victory!

I would normally complain about the number of times they kicked out of finishing moves. For this, I’ll make an exception! This was an excellent match and, honestly, I’m a big upset this isn’t John Cena’s final match as this would be a perfect note to close out his career. Props to AJ Styles as well as he did a great job standing toe-to-toe with John Cena. Easily the match of the night and probably the match of his retirement tour.

The next match of the night saw The Kabuki Warriors, Asuka and Kairi Sane, take on the team of Rhea Ripley and IYO SKY. Is it weird how much I love this feud? Logically, I shouldn’t as it’s taken out Rhea Ripley, IYO SKY, Asuka and Kairi Sane from any title picture. Still, when a feud works, it works! There was some really fast paced wrestling when the Japanese WWE Superstars were in the ring. That didn’t mean Rhea Ripley didn’t get to show her stuff. Highlight include SKY hitting a suicide dive to Asuka, some traditional heel tag team tricks from the Kabuki Warriors (gotta love the classics!), Sane hitting a double stomp on a prone SKY, SKY hulking up before hitting a flapjack to Asuka allowing The Genius of the Sky to finally get the hot tag, Ripley hitting Sane with a Razor’s Edge and SKY following that up with a missile dropkick and SKY taking out the Kabuki Warriors with a springboard moonsault to the outside.

The finish came after SKY hit Sane with her Over the Moonsault finisher but Asuka managed to break up the count. Ripley then sets up Sane for a Doomsday Device but Asuka pulls on SKY’s leg, causing her to fall from the top turnbuckle. Sane tries a rollthrough for a 2-count. Rhea hits a big headbutt and goes for her Riptide finisher. Sane manages to get out of the move and blind tags to Asuka. Asuka ties Ripley in a reverse DDT, which allows Sane to hit her InSane Elbow but SKY breaks up the pin. Everyone takes out everyone with big kicks. Both Asuka and Ripley start striking at each other and Rhea lifts The Empress of Tomorrow into an electric chair before slamming her headfirst into the corner. Ripley goes for an avalanche Riptide but Kairi saves her partner by tagging herself in. Ripley then tries to hit Asuka with a big boot but Sane shoves Asuka out of the way, eating the strike instead. Ripley then hits her Riptide and SKY follows it up with her Over The Moonsault finisher to get the pinfall victory.

There were some problems with the match. Things like some moves not looking like they connected. It also felt like it should have been shorter. The finish felt kind of weird as Asuka didn’t try to save Kairi Sane in the end. I’m also surprised Rhea Ripley didn’t do more, considering she’s in her home country. Still, the action was pretty good overall.

The final match of the night saw Cody Rhodes, the top guy of Smackdown, taking on Seth Rollins, the top guy of RAW. This is all to see who gets to be crowned this year’s Men’s Crown Jewel Champion. Although these guys have fought against each other numerous times, history has proven they can put together a good match. So, yeah. I was excited. Some highlights of the match saw Cody hitting a delayed front suplex, Seth hitting a double footstomp as Rhodes was laid out the ringside barricade, Rollins turning Rhodes’ cody cutter attempt into a sitout powerbomb, Seth performing a wicked looking dragon screw, Cody hitting a vertibreaker to Seth, Rollins doing a Cross Rhodes on its creator and Rollins connecting with a coast-to-coast flying headbutt while Rhodes was tied up in a tree of woe!

The finish came after the aforementioned coast-to-coast flying headbutt. Seth tried to hit Cody with a superplex but the American Nightmare fought out of it. Seth manages to bounce back and connect with a spanish fly and an uranage for a 2-count. Seth climbed to the second rope but Cody stunned him with a punch and then hit an avalanche version of Cross Rhodes for a 2-count! Dueling yay/boo strikes between the two with Cody getting the upper hand. Rhodes then goes for a pedigree but The Visionary gets out of the hold and grabs his watch, which he set up in the corner. Rhodes accidentally kicks Rollins into the official. Rhodes then tried for Cross Rhodes but Rollins used this opportunity to strike Cody with the watch while the referee was stunned. Rollins then hits his Curb Stomp and then a Curb Stomp from the 2nd rope for the pinfall victory. This makes Seth Rollins this year’s Men’s Crown Jewel Champion.

This was a great match and, if it weren’t for the awesomeness that is John Cena vs. AJ Styles, this would have been the match of the night. I loved the in-ring storytelling, with Seth Rollins desperate to finally get a victory over Code Rhodes. The action was also pretty good but maybe they could have shaved off a couple of minutes to make things tighter. That’s just a minor gripe for a truly great match.

All-in-all, Crown Jewel: Perth can be considered to be a great pay-per-view. The only weak match, if I can call it that, would be the Women’s Crown Jewel match between Stephanie Vaquer and Tiffany Straton. Then again, maybe my expectations for that was just too high. Besides that, all of the other matches were a whole lot of fun. The John Cena vs. AJ Styles is a must-watch, by the way. Honestly, if you like professional wrestling, you owe it to yourself to see it. That in itself makes Crown Jewel: Perth a must watch.

Byee!

What did you think of this year’s WWE Crown Jewel pay-per-view? Let me know in the comments section below!