This was the first Crown Jewel held outside of Saudi Arabia, as all previous Crown Jewel events were held in the country's capital of Riyadh. Like many of WWE's events, however, it was still sponsored by Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority via Riyadh Season. The event was John Cena's final pay-per-view and livestreaming event appearance in Australia and outside the United States as an in-ring performer due to his retirement from professional wrestling at the end of 2025.
The event received generally positive reviews, with the Cena vs. Styles bout being universally acclaimed by fans and critics alike, while the main event and the tag team match were also praised.
In February 2025, following the success of the 2024 Elimination Chamber, which was held in Perth, Western Australia, WWE announced that they would be returning to Australia sometime in 2025 for a takeover weekend that would include a PPV and livestreaming event and tapings of Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown.[3] As a result of the Royal Rumble in January 2026 being held as part of Saudi Arabia's 2025–2026 Riyadh Season,[4] on May 2, 2025, the Australian PPV and livestreaming event was announced as the seventh Crown Jewel, also promoted as Crown Jewel: Perth, scheduled for the RAC Arena on Saturday, October 11, 2025, marking the first Crown Jewel to not be held in Saudi Arabia. SmackDown was also confirmed for October 10 and Raw on October 13 at the same venue.[5][6][7] The official theme song of the event was "One Eyed Bastard" by Green Day.[8]
In addition to airing on traditional PPV worldwide, the event was also available to livestream on ESPN's direct-to-consumer streaming service in the United States, Netflix in most international markets, and the WWE Network in any remaining countries that have not yet transferred to Netflix due to pre-existing contracts. This marked the first Crown Jewel to livestream on Netflix following the WWE Network's merger under the service in January 2025 in those areas,[9] and to livestream on ESPN in the United States, as WWE's contract with Peacock to air main roster PPV and livestreaming events expired at the conclusion of Clash in Paris in August.[10][11]
Storylines
The event included five matches that resulted from scripted storylines. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw and SmackDown brands,[12][13] while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown.[14]
In a promo prior to his match at Clash in Paris, John Cena listed wrestlers he wanted to face before his retirement from in-ring competition at the end of 2025, which included former rival AJ Styles.[18] Following his loss at Wrestlepalooza, Cena posted on X about having a match against Styles,[19][20] which Styles responded, saying he wanted the match as well.[21] Triple H subsequently confirmed a match between them for Crown Jewel.[22] According to Fightful Select, the match was built over social media because Cena had no scheduled TV dates before Crown Jewel.[23]
At Night 2 of SummerSlam, Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky competed for the Women's World Championship, though neither won.[24] Afterwards, Ripley and Sky maintained a friendly relationship, much to the dismay of Sky's former Damage CTRL stablemates The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane), but more specifically Asuka, who confronted Sky multiple times, claiming that Sky should end her friendship with Ripley. At Wrestlepalooza, Sky was scheduled to face Stephanie Vaquer for the vacant title, where Asuka stated that she and Sane would help her win, but Sky declined their help; Sky subsequently lost the match.[15] Two nights later on Raw, Asuka confronted Vaquer, stating that Sky should have won the title instead. Ripley then interrupted her, stating that she was tired of Asuka's behavior. This led to a match between Ripley and Asuka being scheduled for later that night, but before that, Sky asked Ripley to call off the match, which Ripley declined, and stated that Sky should be careful with Asuka, which infuriated Sky. Later, Ripley defeated Asuka. Following the match, Asuka spat mist on Ripley before Sky made the save. However, Asuka performed a spinning backfist on Sky, betraying her. After that, Asuka and a conflicted Sane attacked Sky and Ripley.[25] On the following episode, Ripley called out The Kabuki Warriors, with Sky appearing instead. Sky then stated that Ripley was right about Asuka and Sane, but stated they were family and she still loved them. The Kabuki Warriors then appeared on the titantron, and Asuka said that she would forgive Sky if she apologized to her. Sky then left, only for the Kabuki Warriors to attack Ripley, prompting Sky to intervene. Asuka then spat mist on Sky before continuing the attack on Ripley. Later that night, Sane tried to convince Sky to apologize to Asuka, which Sky refused and told Sane to leave her alone. Sky subsequently revealed to Ripley that, after speaking with Raw General Manager Adam Pearce, she and Ripley, in the latter's home country of Australia, would face The Kabuki Warriors in a tag team match at Crown Jewel.[26]
Since early 2025, Roman Reigns was in a rivalry against longtime rival Seth Rollins, who subsequently allied with Paul Heyman at WrestleMania 41, with Heyman betraying Reigns. They subsequently would ally themselves with Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed, forming The Vision. At Night 1 of SummerSlam, Reigns and his cousin Jey Uso defeated Reed and Breakker in a tag team match,[27] and a month later at Clash in Paris, Reigns defeated Reed, however, he was brutally attacked by Breakker and Reed afterwards, taking Reigns out on a stretcher.[28] Almost a month later on the September 29 episode of Raw, Reigns returned, helping The Usos (Jey and Jimmy Uso) defeat Breakker and Reed in a tornado tag team match.[26] On the following episode, Reigns was interrupted by Reed and Heyman. Reigns then challenged Reed to fight him at that moment, but Heyman stopped Reed from doing so. Heyman then challenged Reigns to face Reed in an Australian Street Fight at Crown Jewel, in Reed's home country of Australia, which Reigns accepted.[29]
The event began with the Australian Street Fight between Roman Reigns and Australian-native Bronson Reed (accompanied by Paul Heyman). Reigns dominated Reed early on, using various weapons including rugby balls, a cricket bat and cricket balls and demanding the crowd to "acknowledge him" before introducing a table. Reed gained control by attacking Reigns with steel steps and a chair, landing several near-falls before missing multiple high-risk moves. Bron Breakker interfered, spearing Reigns and, alongside Reed, delivering a Shield-style powerbomb through the announce table. The Usos (Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso) then appeared to aid Reigns, attacking Breakker and Reed, but were eventually overpowered. A miscommunication led to Jey accidentally spearing Reigns through a table, allowing Reed to hit a Tsunami for the victory. After the match, Reigns reprimanded The Usos for interfering, stating he wanted to prove he could win without help, and told them he did not want to see them until Christmas. The segment ended with Jimmy and Jey arguing in the ring.[30]
Next was the 2025 Women's Crown Jewel Championship match between Raw's Women's World Champion Stephanie Vaquer and SmackDown's WWE Women's Champion Tiffany Stratton. They exchanged offense early on, with Vaquer largely controlling the pace and using aggressive tactics. Stratton gained momentum with a handspring elbow and an Alabama slam, while Vaquer responded with a dragon screw and a corner meteora. After a series of near-falls, Stratton missed a Prettiest Moonsault Ever, allowing Vaquer to capitalize with a spiral tap to secure the pinfall victory and become the second winner of the Women's Crown Jewel Championship. Triple H presented the Women's Crown Jewel ring and championship belt to Vaquer.[30]
After that, John Cena took on AJ Styles. Styles came out wearing blue and white trunks similar to the ones he wore on Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's (TNA) first episode of Impact! on Spike TV that aired on October 1, 2005, nearly 20 years prior.[31] During the introductions, Cena handed a note to Alicia Taylor for her to read as the introduction for Styles, which included references to TNA and the Bullet Club when Styles was in New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Cena gained the early advantage with his trademark offense and an Attitude Adjustment, while Styles countered with moves such as the Ushigoroshi and the rack bomb. Both men traded numerous homages, including Cena using The Miz's Skull Crushing Finale, Rusev's Accolade, Chris Jericho's Wall Of Jericho, Bray Wyatt's Sister Abigail, and Randy Orton's hanging middle rope DDT and RKO, while Styles executed Christopher Daniels' Angel's Wings, Frankie Kazarian's Fade to Black, Samoa Joe's Coquina Clutch, Sting's Scorpion Death Drop, and Shawn Michaels's Sweet Chin Music. In the end, Cena countered a high crossbody into The Undertaker's Tombstone Piledriver followed by an Attitude Adjustment to score the pinfall victory. After the match, Cena and Styles embraced and raised each other’s hands as a show of mutual respect.[30]
In the penultimate match, Australian-native Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky took on The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane) in a tag team match. The match began with Asuka and Sane attacking their opponents before the bell, isolating Sky early on and preventing Ripley from tagging in. Sky eventually fought back and made the hot tag to Ripley, who shifted the momentum with a series of power moves. In the closing sequence, Ripley hit Sane with a Riptide, allowing Sky to follow with an Over the Moonsault to successfully pin Sane to claim the victory.[30]
Main event
The main event was the 2025 men's Crown Jewel Championship match between Raw's World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins and SmackDown's Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. Rollins entered the match wearing the wristwatch Rhodes had previously gifted him, symbolically removing it before the bout began. Rhodes gained early momentum, and Rollins became increasingly frustrated with the crowd’s hostile chants, calling him a "wanker". Rollins targeted Rhodes's shoulder and mocked the mannerisms of both Dusty Rhodes and Stardust. Both men exchanged signature moves and near-falls, including Rhodes hitting a Vertebreaker and an avalanche Cross Rhodes, while Rollins countered with a Pedigree, a Cross Rhodes of his own, a curb stomp, and a coast-to-coast flying headbutt. Late in the match, Rollins retrieved the watch, wrapped it around his fist, and used it to strike Rhodes after a referee distraction. He followed with a curb stomp and another curb stomp but from the middle rope to secure the pinfall victory.[30]
After the match, Triple H presented Rollins with the Crown Jewel ring and championship belt. Rollins cut a celebratory promo declaring himself the greatest of all time before posing with Women's Crown Jewel Champion Stephanie Vaquer, who Rollins warned that his wife, Becky Lynch, was coming for her title.[30]
Reception
The event received generally positive reviews from critics, with the Cena-Styles bout being universally acclaimed. ESPN writer Andreas Hale rated the event a B, stating that the show "stumbled out of the gate with a relatively tame street fight and a far too brief fight between women's champions" and that it was "rescued by an absolutely stellar match between Cena and Styles that put an excellent bookend to their rivalry". He called the event "a memorable bounce-back for WWE after a middling Wrestlepalooza", which had received a negative reception and a C rating from Hale.[32]
Aftermath
Raw
World Heavyweight Champion and 2025 men's Crown Jewel Championship winner Seth Rollins, along with his stable, The Vision (Bron Breakker, Bronson Reed, and Paul Heyman), opened the subsequent episode of Raw, with Rollins talking about his victory at Crown Jewel without assistance from The Vision. Later in the show, Reed defeated Jimmy Uso. Following the main event, Breakker, Reed, and Heyman turned on Rollins and kicked him out of the group.[33]
Rhea Ripley, accompanied by Iyo Sky, defeated Kairi Sane, accompanied by Asuka, only for both Ripley and Sky to be attacked post-match by Asuka and Sane.[33]
↑ WWE.com Staff (May 2, 2025). "WWE returns to Australia this October with Crown Jewel: Perth". WWE. "As previously announced at WrestleMania 41, Undisputed WWE Champion John Cena will travel to Perth in October to make his final WWE appearance in Australia as part of his 2025 Farewell Tour."
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