There are only two upcoming WWE main roster premium live events left in 2023: Crown Jewel and Survivor Series. After that, it’s on to The Royal Rumble in late January and the road to WrestleMania. As such, WWE is already hard at work moving around the pieces and setting up the storylines that will carry them through to WrestleMania 40. That doesn’t mean every wrestler is literally involved in a storyline they’ll carry through til April, but it does mean Triple H and company are already thinking about questions like who should hold the key belts at ‘Mania and which main event level superstars will be entered into the Rumble.
That’s why Crown Jewel is giving us 5 title matches with both of the men’s and women’s big belts on the line, as well as The United States Championship. It’s also why I think we’re going to get some actual title changes, as well as some advancements in major storylines that will be primary focuses for WWE over the next six or seven months.
On a more personal note, I also hope Crown Jewel will be a big bounceback pay per view for me. Since I started doing my predictions back at WrestleMania 38, I’ve gone 94-35. Unfortunately at Fastlane, I went a miserable 2-3, which is the same record Austin Theory has at premium live events in 2023. I’ve got to be better than that or I’ll run the risk of slipping down the card and having to tag with Grayson Waller.
Here’s a quick look back at how I’ve done at some recent events…
I wish I could say I was extremely confident heading into Crown Jewel, but there are some tricky matches on here too. Fortunately, anytime there’s a lot of possible outcomes for matches, that typically means we’re in for a lively and unpredictable pay per view. Nonetheless, here’s my best attempt at guessing what’s going to happen…
Sami Zayn Vs JD McDonagh
I’m a big JD McDonagh guy. I’d like to see him be a more regular part of The Bloodline, and I’d like to see him presented as more of a credible threat. Unfortunately, it’s hard to imagine that credibility is going to start on the preshow of Crown Jewel, especially when the crowd will likely be very vocally behind Sami Zayn, who has long been open about his heritage and love for The Middle East.
The Judgment Day is always a threat to interfere and work some shenanigans, but once again, I just don’t really see that happening on the preshow. I think the plan is for Sami Zayn to be a contender for the big belts down the road, and that continued elevation to the main event doesn’t happen if he’s losing at premium live events to the weakest associate of Judgment Day.
Predicted Winner: Sami Zayn
Seth Freakin’ Rollins (Champion) Vs Drew McIntyre For The World Heavyweight Championship
Drew McIntyre has recently gotten some changes to his character. He’s essentially the same guy, but he’s just not going out of his way to be helpful. It’s like he exists in some kind of grey area between face and heel. He’s not going to beat up grandmothers or insult the audience for no apparent reason, but he’s also not going to lift a finger to help other people. He’s looking after number one, and that number one is the best version of the Drew character we’ve gotten since his loss to Roman Reigns at Clash At The Castle more than a year ago.
So, on the one hand, I’d like to see WWE reward that forward progress with a big victory here. Drew has had a lot more notable losses in key spots than wins over the last few years, and at some point, he needs to win a title and/ or beat a major name or he’s going to lose the fresh momentum he’s created over the last month or two. I mean the poor guy hasn’t won at a premium live event since he beat Karrion Kross back at Crown Jewel in 2022. He’s due.
On the other hand, has he really done enough in this build to take the title off Seth Rollins? And should we be concerned about his alleged contract situation? Rollins has held The World Heavyweight Championship since May and defended the belt on five different premium live events since. I definitely don’t think we’re going to see Rollins have a multi-year run like Roman Reigns, but you shouldn’t take the belt off him unless there’s a better story to tell. And while I know there’s a story there with Drew somewhere, we just haven’t seen enough of it yet. So, I think they’re going to keep it on Seth and/ or we’re going to see a Damian Priest cash-in.
Predicted Winner: Seth Freakin’ Rollins
Rhea Ripley (Champion) Vs Nia Jax Vs Shayna Baszler Vs Zoey Stark Vs Raquel Rodriguez For The Women’s World Championship
I don’t have the exact numbers in front of me, but it’s hard to imagine anyone has gotten more screentime on Raw over the last six months than Rhea Ripley. A meaningful case could be made that she’s the main character on the entire show, and while it might be fun to watch her angrily chase the belt at some point, right now I’d prefer to see her continue to look dominant.
If there’s been one complaint about her current title run, it’s been that she hasn’t had enough meaningful feuds with other women on the roster. A lot of her screentime has been in service of handling Judgment Day business and/ or interacting with the top men on the roster. The build to this match has been a good step to alleviate some of those concerns, though. We’ve gotten quite a few segments of just mass chaos, especially involving Nia Jax, who has been presented as a real threat to win the title.
Will she though? I’ve gotta imagine this is going to continue to be Rhea. She’s at the top of the women’s division, and to me, that means she should continue holding the belt.
Predicted Winner: Rhea Ripley
John Cena Vs Solo Sikoa
I don’t like the idea of Solo losing here. I’d like to see him feud with Roman Reigns at some point in the future, and I’d like him looking as vicious and strong as possible when that happens. But poor John Cena also needs a singles win desperately. He’s been so selfless with putting guys over since he’s gotten older, but everytime he puts someone else over, it makes it seem like more of an inevitability that he’s going to lose big matches. That’s not in anyone’s best interests.
So, I think Cena is going to beat Solo here. It’ll probably be in a very protected fashion. It’ll probably involve Jim Uso screwing up and accidentally blowing it for Solo. Maybe he’ll run out and accidentally superkick him. Maybe he’ll accidentally distract the ref when Solo was about to win with a three count. Something weird is going to happen, and that’ll further accelerate the friction between Jimmy Uso and Roman Reigns.
Predicted Winner: John Cena
Iyo Sky (Champion) Vs Bianca Belair For The WWE Women’s Championship
Is Iyo Sky telling a championship story or is she telling a friction within Damage CTRL story? That’s what I have a hard time figuring out. I really like Iyo a lot. I’d buy her as a long-term champion, but sometimes it feels like Charlotte Flair and Bianca Belair are telling a story about trying to win a championship, and she’s telling a story about Damage CTRL maybe breaking up. That distinction matters because, if the real story here is between Charlotte and Bianca, then Iyo needs to lose the title at Crown Jewel, Survivor Series or The Royal Rumble.
I’m also very interested to see what the reaction to Bianca is going to be. Iyo is technically a heel, but she has a history of getting cheered at PPVs, especially at Backlash. Bianca wasn’t getting the best receptions prior to her injury, but now that she’s back, maybe she’ll have the good will of fans again. Or maybe she’ll transition into being the heel some fans are hoping she’ll turn into. I don’t really know, and since I don’t really know, I’m going to default to Iyo holding onto the title.
Predicted Winner: Iyo Sky
Rey Mysterio (Champion) Vs Logan Paul For The United States Championship
Before Logan Paul debuted at WrestleMania 38, I would have been furious with a future version of myself for predicting he would win a legitimate WWE belt, but the dude just gets professional wrestling. I’m not saying he doesn’t have a lot to work on. He does. There’s a lot of distance between where he’s at and where he would need to get to in order to credibly hold one of WWE’s top two belts, but the question I’m asking myself is if The United States Championship would be better served around Logan Paul’s waist. Right now, I think the answer is yes.
Gunther has elevated The Intercontinental Championship to the point where it feels like a big prize almost everyone on the roster would love to have. The United States Championship hasn’t quite had that same momentum. Many of us hoped Austin Theory could get it to that next level, but his run with the belt felt like it was missing something. It’s been nice to see Rey Mysterio get some late career shine, but it feels like he’s got something else going with Bobby Lashley/ The Street Profits and The LWO that doesn’t need the title.
Besides, if Logan Paul does win the title, it sets up a potential clash with LA Knight, and I can already hear in my head how hot that crowd would be. Some people are looking to The Royal Rumble as the potential moment where LA Knight pays off all the crowd support he’s gotten the past six months, but I think what’s more likely is we’ll see him pay off that crowd support by kicking Logan Paul’s ass at WrestleMania 40 after what’s hopefully a six month run of heel greatness from the social media star.
Predicted Winner: Logan Paul
Cody Rhodes Vs Damian Priest
I’m not sure there are two people who have been involved in more Raw main event matches over the last year than Cody Rhodes and Damian Priest. They’ve worked together extensively, but I think Rhodes’ promo to end this past episode in which he accused Priest of being a follower is the most invested I’ve been in their shared storyline.
We all know what Cody Rhodes is going to do. He’s going to go on to WrestleMania 40 and Main Event against Roman Reigns (unless The Rock gets involved). What Damian Priest’s future looks like is a lot more complicated. He fits in perfectly with The Judgment Day from a visual perspective, and he’s really found his niche inside the group as the muscle/ workhorse. He also has a fun, almost brother/ sister relationship with Rhea Ripley. But she’s also clearly the leader of the group, and standing next to her might put some kind of ceiling on his future development. That’s likely why there have been consistent rumors that WWE may have long-term plans to turn him into a babyface. I have no idea if that’s a good idea, but I do know Priest has many of the natural gifts needed to hold one of the two big titles.
The most important priority, however, is to keep Cody Rhodes looking like the biggest babyface on the roster, and that starts by winning big matches at premium live events. So, barring injury or a desire to further some kind of storyline we don’t know about yet, I expect Cody to pick up a pinfall victory here.
Predicted Winner: Cody Rhodes
Roman Reigns (Champion) Vs LA Knight For The Undisputed WWE Universal Championship
I’ll give LA Knight a bit YEAH for being put in the biggest spot of his entire career, but it just doesn’t make sense for either Roman's story or his for the megastar to win the title here. There’s no point in immediately going from never having held a title in WWE to holding the biggest title there is. He already has the crowd. They’re aching for him to take a big step up and win a championship, but at this point, any championship will be a big step up.
Cody Rhodes’ story is that he was able to accomplish everything in WWE except win the WWE title, which no one in his family has ever done. For him, The United States Championship and Intercontinental Championship don’t matter. He even recently won the Tag Team Titles (briefly), and while that was a lot of fun, that didn’t really matter either. That wasn’t where his story was going. But for LA Knight, his story is about gaining respect and progress, and he can do that by beating lesser people who aren’t Roman Reigns. Plus, there’s nothing that helps a babyface become more popular than encountering a little adversity now and again.
Predicted Winner: Roman Reigns
As with all of WWE's premium live events, you can stream in The United States with a Peacock subscription. Or, if you're outside the States, you can check it out on WWE network or wherever WWE streams locally.
