Love it or hate it WWE will be airing Crown Jewel from Saudi Arabia today starting at noon eastern time.  I think it will be a quicker show than what we saw the last time WWE was in Saudi Arabia.  I believe that most in WWE are kind of in a let’s just get it over with state of mind.  Saudi Arabia is not on everyone’s good side to say the least.  Including John Cena and Daniel Bryan who have told WWE they will not go and perform.  I will be watching today at noon and have my predictions ready.  Since starting this blog, my pay per view prediction record is 11-6.  I am confident I will add a few more wins today.  So, let’s take a look at the matches.

The Bar (c) vs The New Day for the Smackdown tag team championship

This has been a growing rivalry over the past month or so, with The Bar winning the tag team titles at Smackdown 1000.  The Bar has recently enlisted the services of The Big Show to even the odds between the two teams.  On Smackdown Tuesday night, Big E picked up the win in the trick or street fight match, which leads me to believe that The Bar will get the better of The New Day.  The New Day is a team that doesn’t really need the tag team titles, they are over as a tag team with or without the straps.  I think after Crown Jewel we will see a rivalry start between The Bar and The Uso’s.  The Uso’s have been getting some big tag team wins lately and I look for the them to be put in the title picture very soon.  So officially my prediction is for The Bar to retain.

gohomepwb.com pick:  The Bar

AJ Styles (c) vs Samoa Joe for the WWE Championship

With Daniel Bryan refusing to go to Saudi Arabia for Crown Jewel, he was given his WWE championship match Tuesday on Smackdown Live.  Bryan obviously lost, so insert Samoa Joe.  Just when you thought this rivalry was over, like always in WWE, never say never.  I don’ t see Joe winning this match, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he did.  Survivor Series is a couple of weeks away and typically both RAW champion and Smackdown champion go head to head.  Last year we saw AJ vs Brock Lesnar, and it’s a good possibility we see it again.  I think AJ will be at Survivor Series as WWE Champion, so he will be my pick to win today.

gohomepwb.com pick:  AJ Styles

Brock Lesnar vs Braun Strowman for the Universal Championship

This is a tough pick for me because prior to Roman Reigns illness, I was going to pick him to win the match.  I am not sure which way WWE will go here.  If it wasn’t for the heel run from Strowman recently, it would have been easy to go with Strowman.  We know that Lesnar will be competing in UFC very soon.  There is a part of me that thinks Vince McMahon would like to see his title on UFC television, but at the same time I don’t know if he would trust Brock to do the right thing.  Plus if Brock were to lose his UFC fight, it would hurt the credibility of the Universal championship.  Brock was able to get the better of Braun on RAW last week, but I think this will be a case where WWE goes against their mantra of fifty-fifty booking.  I look for Lesnar to win and keep the Universal title until Wrestlemania.  Strowman needs more time to get his popularity back to where it was prior to the heel turn.  So in not an upset pick, but more of a surprising pick, I am going with Lesnar.

gohomepwb.com pick:  Brock Lesnar

DX vs Brothers of Destruction

This match is probably the biggest reason I am watching Crown Jewel.  I think we can all agree that it will be great to see Shawn Michaels in the ring again.  I think we will see all the classics from everyone in the match and since Triple H won at Super Show-Down and DX got the better of Undertaker on RAW, I feel like the Brothers of Destrucion will win today.  But I think DX is more over than Kane and Undertaker.  I think Kane is the weakest link in this match and will somehow be the man who gets pinned in the match.  So I will be going against everything that tells me Kane and Undertaker will win and pick DX.

gohomepwb.com pick:  DX

World Cup Tournament

I was a little more interested in the tournament when John Cena was involved, but I am still looking forward to it.  When John Cena and Kurt Angle were first announced I really thought that a lot of legends were going to be in the tournament.  Although not the case, it is still a star-studded field.  So let’s take a look at the RAW side first.  Kurt Angle vs Dolph Ziggler will be a good match, but I would be surprised if Ziggler wins.  However I would love to see it.  They have enough nostalgia with DX, Kane and the Undertaker that I think Kurt Angle would be respected win or lose the match.  So my upset pick of the night will be Ziggler over Angle.

gohomepwb.com pick:  Dolph Ziggler

The other first round RAW match is Seth Rollins vs Bobby Lashley.  Lashley was a late addition to replace John Cena.  I originally would have had Cena vs Angle in the second round, but now I think Ziggler and Rollins will be the match to watch for in the second round.  They have proven they could put on great matches and I know I would watch it one more time, as I expect to.

gohomepwb.com pick: Seth Rollins

Ziggler vs Rollins in the finals of the RAW side.  Unless we see some type of interference from Dean Ambrose, Rollins will win.  I don’t think we will see that in Saudi Arabia, because I am not sure what fans would think of something like that.  I feel like most, if not all matches will be a clean finish.  So with a clean finish, I have to go with Rollins.

gohomepwb.com pick: Seth Rollins

Now let’s look at the Smackdown side of things.  I am surprised at the first round matches because I would have thought Orton and Mysterio would be in the finals of the Smackdown side.  But that is not the case and Mysterio and Orton will meet in the first round.  A tough pick, but Orton has been on a major push lately and I would be totally surprised if he lost in the first round.  Unlike my RAW upset pick of Ziggler, I think I will play it safe and go with Orton over Rey in this one.

gohomepwb.com pick:  Randy Orton

The other first round match is Jeff Hardy vs The Miz.  The Miz is great on the mic, but has a hard time picking up wins.  I don’t think there will be any change here.  I look for The Miz and Hardy to have a great match but for Hardy to win.  I would not be surprised if Hardy picks up a kayfabe injury in the match that carries over into the second round match with Orton.  But I believe Hardy wins and gets a grudge match with Orton in the second round.

gohomepwb.com pick: Jeff Hardy

Randy Orton vs Jeff Hardy in the second round will be another great one.  I am not sure what to think here, because every time Orton and Hardy wrestle, Orton gets the win.  I would love to see Rollins vs Hardy in the finals.  However, after Shane McMahon told his wrestlers that if they lost in the finals they would be fired from Smackdown.  That immediately let me know who I thought we would see in the finals and that is the viper Randy Orton.  I think Orton will exploit the kayfabe injury Hardy received in his first round match, thus giving Orton an easy win.

gohomepwb.com pick: Randy Orton

The finals of the World Cup Tournament will be Seth Rollins vs Randy Orton in my opinion.  I think it will be a relatively short match, because we had already seen these men wrestle in two prior matches.  Shane McMahon gave me a spoiler with his firing comment on Smackdown.  I don’t think Orton will lose, and as a matter a fact I think he will go after AJ Styles WWE title after he wins the World Cup.

gohomepwb.com pick: Randy Orton

I hope this show is a good one.  There have been a lot of distractions with the tragedy a few weeks ago, and I hope WWE isn’t just going through the motions here.  Let’s hope everything goes smoothly and everyone get’s back safe.

Thanks for checking out gohomepwb.com for my predictions and enjoy the show later today.  Monday morning will be my Crown Jewel review and an updated prediction record.  Have a great weekend!