WWE to make history with Crown Jewel 2021 in Saudi Arabia

Bengaluru, October 18: Despite all the controversies, WWE is heading back to Saudi Arabia, this month to continue their decade-long partnership with the country’s sports authority.

Another Wrestlemania-caliber PPV is waiting in the name of Crown Jewel, where two of the biggest stars of the WWE collide in a rematch. Universal Champion Roman Reigns will defend his title against Brock Lesnar in a much-anticipated matchup in the main event slot.

Plus, history will be made this Thursday at the WWE Crown Jewel 2021 pay-per-view in Saudi Arabia when Mustafa Ali will face Mansoor in a singles match. This will be the first time ever that two Muslims will have a match against each other in a WWE PPV event.

Real-name Mansoor Abdul Aziz Al-Shehail, Monsoor is a hometown hero for Saudi fans, who is also billed in the WWE as the first Saudi wrestler. As for Ali, he was born and brought up in Chicago, Illinois but his father is a Pakistani while his mother belongs to New Delhi, India.

though i wish some of the circumstances were different, i’m still thankful that for the first time ever two muslims will have a singles match on a wwe ppv. i’m thankful that for one night, @KSAMANNY and i get to be what we wanted to see growing up. pic.twitter.com/9Ym22RCNap

— Mustafa Ali / Adeel Alam (@AliWWE) October 17, 2021

Taking to Twitter, Ali promoted his matchup on his own.

“Though I wish some of the circumstances were different, I’m still thankful that for the first time ever two Muslims will have a singles match on a WWE PPV. I’m thankful that for one night, Mansoor and I get to be what we wanted to see growing up.”

Mansoor came up with the following reply.

“The choice was yours. See you tomorrow.”

The choice was yours. see you tomorrow.

— Mansoor (منصور الشهيل) (@KSAMANNY) October 17, 2021

It should be noted that the promotion has never offered a fair and square build for this matchup and Ali was upset about it. Following Supersized Smackdown, he took out his frustrations with a tweet.

“Just a reminder, this match is also taking place at #WWECrownJewel despite not being promoted at all at the end of #SmackDownOnFS1”

Hopefully, WWE reserves enough screen space to continue Ali vs. Monsoor feud on this week’s Raw from the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California which also serves as the go-home edition for the Crown Jewel PPV.

The #SmackDown Women's Champion following #WWECrownJewel will be...... pic.twitter.com/9tR88aKXkP

— WWE (@WWE) October 16, 2021

Speaking of the PPV, for the first time ever, WWE will also conduct two separate women’s division matches on a Saudi Arabia PPV event. Smackdown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch is booked to defend her title against Bianca Belair and Sasha Banks in a Triple Threat.

Plus, the finale of the inaugural Queen’s Crown tournament will take place at the PPV where Zelina Vega will compete against Doudrop or Shayna Baszler.

WWE Crown Jewel 2021 takes place this Thursday, October 21 from The Mohammed Abdu Arena on the Boulevard in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Currently, the match card stands as follows:

Universal Title Match: Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns (c)

WWE Title Match: Drew McIntyre vs. Big E (c)

Triple Threat for the SmackDown Women’s Title: Sasha Banks vs. Bianca Belair vs. Becky Lynch (c)

RAW Tag Team Titles Match: AJ Styles and Omos vs. Randy Orton and Riddle (c)

No Holds Barred Match: Bobby Lashley vs. Hall of Famer Bill Goldberg

Hell In A Cell Match: Seth Rollins vs. Hall of Famer Edge

Queen’s Crown Tournament Finals: Zelina Vega vs. Doudrop or Shayna Baszler

King of the Ring Tournament Finals: Finn Balor vs. Jinder Mahal or Xavier Woods

Monsoor vs. Mustafa Ali