Preview: Roman Reigns, Sami Zayn renew their rivalry

• Greg WyshynskiNov 5, 2026, 07:48 AM ET

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  Greg Wyshynski is ESPN's senior NHL writer.

As a service to fans with a general interest in WWE but who might not have watched a match in months, we're happy to provide this guide to WWE Crown Jewel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 7 at noon ET on ESPN Unlimited.

Wasn't Crown Jewel held Down Under last year?

As the Aussies say, "Nah, yeah." Crown Jewel was held in Perth last year partly because Elimination Chamber 2024, which also took place there, was such a success, but also because the 2026 Royal Rumble was held in Riyadh. Thus, WWE didn't want two major premium live events in the same location within months of each other.

The road back to Riyadh has been ... bumpy. On Oct. 7, the U.S. Embassy and Consulate of Saudi Arabia released an alert reminding all U.S. citizens to "exercise heightened vigilance" and warned about potential "airspace closures and travel disruptions" due to the ongoing Houthi-Saudi conflict.

The WWE determined that the Crown Jewel show would go on, but organizers moved the event from the open-air Riyadh Season Stadium to a location called The Venue, a name that shockingly hasn't been used for a short-lived wrestling faction. ("You don't choose The Venue. The Venue chooses ... YOU.")

As a refresher: Crown Jewel has been held since 2018, but only recently began the tradition where the current men's and women's champions from "SmackDown" face their counterparts from "Raw." While their prestigious titles aren't on the line, they are competing for the heralded Crown Jewel Championship.

What does the Crown Jewel champion get?

A comedically large belt. Seriously, this thing is like a giant metal girdle, thanks to the main plate running vertically rather than horizontally. It looks like the heat shield that allows a space capsule to reenter Earth's atmosphere. Or like the door you open to meet The Wizard. If Sami Zayn wins this title, he could probably crouch down and disappear behind it. But he'll have to beat Roman Reigns to do that.

Why are we getting another Zayn vs. Reigns match?

The Miz makes his predictions for WWE's Crown Jewel

The OTC has been slow-walking the World Heavyweight Championship down to the ring for acknowledgment since defeating CM Punk at WrestleMania 42 back in April.

Zayn won the Undisputed WWE Championship -- his first world title -- at Night of Champions in Riyadh back in June by pinning Cody Rhodes, who made the baffling decision to defend it in a triple threat match that also involved Gunther. Zayn lost the title to CM Punk soon after, as Sami ignored the time-tested rule to never put a title up against Punk in Chicago. But Zayn won the title back in September, as Punk ignored the time-tested rule to never put a title up against El Generico in Mexico City.

This battle at Crown Jewel will be the first singles match between Reigns and Zayn since October 2023, which happened during the continued fallout from Zayn's betrayal of The Bloodline. There's a lot of history here. Please recall that Sami was an "Honorary Uce" in The Bloodline before exiting the faction courtesy of a chair shot to Reigns' back.

It was a storyline that gave us one of the greatest collective character breaks in WWE history during the "feeling ucey" promo. It led to Zayn's match against Reigns at Elimination Chamber in his hometown of Montreal, with an underdog entrance that still produces goosebumps to this day.

That history has come up often in the buildup to this match, with Reigns claiming Zayn would have been out of WWE by now if The Bloodline hadn't shared the spotlight with him. He also tried to tarnish Zayn's wrestling legacy by evoking his WrestleMania 38 "Jackass" match against Johnny Knoxville. Respectfully, OTC, that's like trying to diss Tom Hanks' acting career because he was in "Bachelor Party." It's not retroactive embarrassment; it's evidence of his range.

This is a bit of a side quest for Reigns, whose Bloodline is embroiled in a feud with The 946, the ever-expanding faction headed by Royce Keys. These two sides seemed destined for a WarGames match at Survivor Series in Houston at the end of the month.

What about the women's champions?

Chelsea Green is the WWE Women's champion, having won the belt for the first time in a five-way ladder match back at SummerSlam in August. Soon after, she broke her orbital bone and nearly had to relinquish the title due to a lack of ring action. But she beat the 30-day time limit set by "SmackDown" general manager Nick Aldis and kept the belt.

Green will face Liv Morgan, who won the Women's World Championship for the fourth time in a triple threat match against Stephanie Vaquer and Becky Lynch at Money In The Bank last month.

The setup for this match featured the requisite trash talk between Green, who doesn't feel she has Morgan's respect, and Morgan, backed by her man Dominik Mysterio and The Judgment Day. But the intrigue around this match is less about who's in it and more about who might hand the referee a briefcase at some point.

Could we see Money In The Bank cash-ins at Crown Jewel?

WWE has only had one cash-in attempt outside the United States, when Drew McIntyre unsuccessfully used his contract to create a triple threat match at Money in the Bank in July 2024. But it's not outlandish to believe we could see a second one at Crown Jewel this weekend.

Tiffany Stratton, Green's onscreen bestie, holds the briefcase for a women's title shot. She's tried to cash in for Morgan's title multiple times recently, only to be thwarted by The Judgment Day -- including a hilarious moment when Dirty Dom pulled the unconscious champ out of the ring while Stratton was handing the briefcase to the referee. Stratton had the same issue almost two years ago before successfully cashing in the contract to win the WWE Women's Championship from Nia Jax.

While she's been targeting Morgan's title, the popular theory among WWE fans is that Stratton will pivot at Crown Jewel, cashing in to challenge for Green's title instead and flipping back to heel status in the process.

A championship switch and the shocking betrayal of a friend? Sounds ripe for a series of rematches!

Meanwhile, Penta holds the men's Money In The Bank contract ... and already has a match on the card.

Who is Penta wrestling?

He's teaming with Je'Von Evans to go after the World Tag Team Championship, held by Bron Breakker and Austin Theory of The Vision.

This nastiness also links back to Money In The Bank, where Breakker took out Evans by putting him through the roof of an ambulance during a ladder match before Penta won. (The fact that the WWE has a toy called the "Slambulance" so little kids can recreate ambulance spots is pretty terrific. We've come a long way from a tiny ring that the big rubber wrestlers couldn't even fit in.)

This feud escalated recently when Evans nearly defeated Zayn with help from Penta, but Breakker took out Penta and created enough distraction that Evans lost the match. The Vision then beat the stuffing out of both Evans and Penta, which inevitably led to this tag title match at Crown Jewel.

Obviously, there's more at stake than this match for Penta, who could potentially cash in his contract and take the title off of Zayn after Reigns beats him.

(As an aside: We absolutely love the way wrestlers now get personalized Money In the Bank briefcases. Stratton looks like Ladder Match Barbie, while Penta's says "Dinero en el Banco" and makes him look like Satan's lawyer. OK, Devil's advocate.)

Breakker, by the way, has successfully reignited his aura as an intense heel who spears opponents into the thermosphere. He probably needs to leave The Vision to really level up before, say, the Royal Rumble in February, where Breakker's loss at Money In The Bank could be forgotten with a WrestleMania title shot. Heck, maybe Penta's holding one of the titles if he cashes in at the right time! Or it'll just be around Cody Rhodes's waist again. Probably.

What's Cody Rhodes up to at Crown Jewel?

The American Nightmare is in a Last Man Standing match against his former Legacy stablemate Randy Orton. Please recall that Rhodes successfully defended the Undisputed WWE title against Orton at WrestleMania in April, when many fans hoped to see one last relevant title run from The Viper.

This phase of their feud has seen them roll out some well-worn wrestling tropes. The mentor vs. the former mentee. Cody Rhodes vs. turning heel, which may have finally surpassed John Cena vs. turning heel in sheer longevity. (And please, Cody, if you ever do turn heel, take a note from Cena's turn and, under no circumstances, involve Travis Scott.)

But the biggest trope of all: Will the babyface wrestler be willing to "do what it takes" to defeat his opponent by embracing nefarious tactics?

WWE loves doing this angle. Remember Damien Priest trying to draw out Sami Zayn's immortality? Heck, it wasn't long ago Cody would stare deeply at his own title belt, wondering if it would shatter his personal ethics to hit someone in the head with it. (Spoiler: He usually would.)

For Rhodes vs. Orton, it's the classic "you won't do the thing you need to do in order to defeat me!" bit, this time centered around The Viper's other signature move, the Punt. For the uninformed: Orton literally runs out of the corner and boots his opponent's noggin like he's Dallas Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey trying to kick from 60 yards.

After being attacked by Orton during a recent match on "SmackDown," Rhodes channeled his anger and punted poor Baron Corbin. "Cody just went into the dark depths of his soul!" said WWE commentator Michael Cole, as Orton covered his mouth in shock.

Will Orton "Palpatine" this Anakin to the dark side? Will Rhodes hesitate when given the chance to punt The Viper, reaffirming his good guy status? Or will his lack of killer instinct allow Orton to drop Rhodes faster than the theater count for "Street Fighter?"

There's only one way to find out live: Crown Jewel, Saturday, noon ET on ESPN Unlimited.