With Crown Jewel 2019 coming up this Sunday night, the go-home show of Monday Night Raw has given us an indication of what talent is booked for the pay-per-view and who is not currently scheduled. Of course, the card is always subject to change and WWE may end up making alterations to this lineup, but at the moment, the men and women in this breakdown are not currently advertised as being part of this event.
In some cases, this may be justified, or even a purposeful plan to set up a surprise. In other cases, it may be ridiculous. That is up to you to decide as we take a look at which superstars aren’t being promoted for this show.
The Entire Women’s Division
Per usual with the Saudi Arabia shows, no female superstars have been permitted to perform, meaning the entirety of the women’s division in WWE will be sitting this out.
Here’s hoping the next time, that will change.
From the Raw Men’s Division
— Aleister Black: You would think Black would want someone to pick a fight with him. However, he’s on the list of people not allowed to perform due to the religious nature of some of his tattoos.
— The Ascension (Konnor & Viktor): Nearly every tag team on the main roster is fighting for the World Cup, yet The Ascension still couldn’t be the 10th to round out the match. That’s how little WWE prioritizes them.
— The Authors of Pain (Akam & Rezar): WWE is keeping AOP out of the tag team turmoil match to avoid having to be stuck with either booking them as the winners or having them lose.
— EC3: For the life of me, I don’t know why EC3 wasn’t chosen to be in the 20-man battle royal. Was that an oversight or a purposeful neglect situation?
— Kevin Owens: KO has turned down competing in Saudi Arabia in the past. We can assume he did the same here.
— The Miz: While The Miz has been instrumental in the Team Hogan and Team Flair feud, his absence from this event is curious. Why wasn’t he one of the people in the battle royal? That’s very interesting and it might just be that he turned it down this time or WWE didn’t want to use him that way and had nothing else in mind for him to do.
— Rey Mysterio: While he isn’t officially booked for the card, we can assume Mysterio will be ringside for the WWE Championship match.
— Samoa Joe: Samoa Joe is still dealing with a broken thumb injury.
— The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford): Much like AOP, The Street Profits are being protected. Their absence from Crown Jewel is just to avoid them losing the tag team turmoil match.
— The Usos (Jey Uso & Jimmy Uso): The Usos have been MIA since the DUI situation and it is unknown when they’ll be returning, let alone which brand they’ll be on.
From the SmackDown Men’s Division
— Big Show: While technically still listed as a member of the SmackDown roster, Big Show is much more of an ambassador than an active wrestler.
— The Colons (Epico Colon & Primo Colon): Just like The Ascension, The Colons are being ignored for the tag team turmoil match, which isn’t surprising. What’s truly shocking is that WWE hasn’t just released them.
— Daniel Bryan: Since Bryan turned down working for the Saudi shows in the past, we can assume he did the same here, too.
— Drew Gulak: I’m very perplexed about Gulak’s lack of inclusion in the battle royal. I had thought he would be a guarantee.
— Elias: For the time being, Elias is still out of action with an ankle injury.
— The Hardy Boyz (Jeff Hardy & Matt Hardy): Matt Hardy could be called upon to wrestle, but WWE has kept him on ice with Jeff’s knee injury.
— Jinder Mahal: Mahal suffered a ruptured patellar tendon injury in a match against Ali on June 15th and will be out several months.
— Lars Sullivan: The Freak will be out of action until 2020 due to a knee injury.
— Sami Zayn: For cultural and political reasons, the Saudi Arabian government does not want Sami Zayn on their shows.
— Sheamus: The Celtic Warrior has been out of action quite some time due to injuries, and WWE has not given a timetable as to when or if he will be returning to the ring.
— Xavier Woods: Woods recently tore his Achilles tendon and will be out of action for nearly a year or so.
Do you think these men and women or any others not on this list should have been booked on the card in some fashion? How would you have utilized them if given the opportunity? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!
