Our opening match at Crown Jewel, a pay-per-view (PPV) WWE is noticeably not mentioning is in Saudi Arabia in their promotion, was a United States title showdown between champion Shinsuke Nakamura and last-minute challenger Rusev.
Personally, I was more interested in Renee Young being seated at ringside with Michael Cole and Corey Graves. She was dressed in black and had a long-sleeved sweater on with thumb holes to ensure she didn’t accidentally show any arm skin, but her head and face were uncovered. Sadly, I didn’t hear a “this is hope” chant.
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In the ring at King Saud University Stadium on Fri., Nov. 2, it was all Nakamura after an early flurry from the Bulgarian Brute, but there was a Rusev Day celebration during a later comeback. He even got a nice nearfall off a knee strike, and another when Shinsuke leapt right into a superkick.
You never know when the MACHKA will strike!#WWECrownJewel @RusevBUL pic.twitter.com/WY3IcbTyCS
— WWE (@WWE) November 2, 2018
Rusev also managed to counter a Kinshasa into an Accolade, but the champ managed to slip free, and hit a low blow with the back of his head when the challenger tried to reapply the hold.
His finisher connected a short time later, and we’re all still living in the United States of Nak-America.
Get complete Crown Jewel results and coverage of the entire card here.