Let’s hope the plane ride is better than last time around. Here are our Crown Jewel predictions and prognostications.
Roman Reigns (c) vs. Brock Lesnar – WWE Universal Championship Match
| Name | Prediction | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| BETONLINE.AG | Roman Reigns: – 300. Brock Lesnar: +200. | Roman Reigns |
| Matthew Byer | This is certainly the match with the best storyline heading into Crown Jewel and certainly the one with the most intrigue. The outcome is very hard to predict due to the fact that Paul Heyman’s loyalties are so much in question. Will he stay with the Tribal Chief or side with the Beast Incarnate? Whatever the outcome there won’t be a clean finish to the bout. I’ll go with Heyman remaining loyal to The Head of the Table, but Lesnar winning the match, but not the Universal Championship. | Roman Reigns |
| John Powell | WWE is pulling a Hulk Hogan with Reigns. Look for Lesnar to lose here via shenanigans but win a place in the Royal Rumble and force a rematch at WrestleMania. | Roman Reigns |
| Bob Kapur | This is the best story going on in professional wrestling today, and kudos to Paul Heyman for driving this. I don’t see Reigns losing the title for a long time, and I believe Heyman will be the reason here. | Roman Reigns |
Becky Lynch (c) vs. Bianca Belair vs. Sasha Banks – SmackDown Women’s Championship Match
| Name | Prediction | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| BETONLINE.AG | Becky Lynch: -220. Bianca Belair: +175. Sasha Banks: +300. | Becky Lynch |
| Matthew Byer | Logically it should be The Boss winning the SmackDown Women’s Title since she is the only one of the three competitors actually drafted to SmackDown. However, when has logic entered into WWE’s booking decisions? Thus look for The Man to retain her title and this situation to continue for a little while more. | Becky Lynch |
| John Powell | The WWE’s women’s division has as much depth as a kiddie pool. Same old faces squaring off against the same old faces. Back to Stardom I go. | Becky Lynch |
| Bob Kapur | The Becky Lynch heel turn has been interesting, despite the fans not wanting to boo her. But I can see them trying to double down on it here by stealing the win from Belair. | Becky Lynch |
Seth Rollins vs. Edge – Hell in a Cell Match
| Name | Prediction | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| BETONLINE.AG | Edge: -500. Seth Rollins: +300. | Edge |
| Matthew Byer | Hell in a Cell matches are really very tame compared to the 1990s and early 2000s and just don’t generate the amount of excitement they used to. In all honesty it may be time to give this type of contest a rest for a good long while. While both Rollins and Edge will give it their all the outcome is a bit predicable as Edge has to win after the home invasion by Rollins. Otherwise it will be very difficult to get the audience to believe in Edge as a serious competitor going forward. | Edge |
| John Powell | This should be the match of the night. Edge needs this win and some revenge as Rollins crossed the line. | Edge |
| Bob Kapur | This could be a great one if they give it time and actually let the intensity play out. Storyline-wise, Edge should get the win to give Seth his comeuppance. But Seth, as the current generation, would be better served with the win. I think they go with heart over head, and Edge gets the win. | Edge |
Goldberg vs Bobby Lashley – No Holds Barred Match
| Name | Prediction | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| BETONLINE.AG | Goldberg: -400. Bobby Lashley: +250. | Goldberg |
| Matthew Byer | As this is the revenge match look for Goldberg to win it quickly after some hard spears and blows by both wrestlers. | Goldberg |
| John Powell | Goldberg has admitted his knee is not 100% heading into this match so look for this to be brief and brutal. | Goldberg |
| Bob Kapur | The whole build-up to this one has been a head-scratcher since there’s no way they’ll actually let Goldberg murder Lashley. Unless they do. I could see some cheesy finish here where Lashley “dies” and they have to use the paddles or something to revive him. | Goldberg |
RK-Bro (c) vs. AJ Styles & Omos – Raw Tag Team Championship
| Name | Prediction | Winners |
|---|---|---|
| BETONLINE.AG | RK Bro: -500. AJ and Omos: +300. | RK Bro |
| Matthew Byer | At some point Orton will turn on Riddle leading to their inevitable feud. Will it happen here? Maybe, but probably not since AJ Styles and Omos were not the most exciting RAW Tag Team Champions in the past. | RK Bro |
| John Powell | Not sure how the WWE humanoids can stand RKO Bro but…look for them to hold onto their straps while AJ and Omos break up. | RK Bro |
| Bob Kapur | The way they’ve booked Omos has been nearly perfect to showcase him as a monstrous threat. I hope they don’t screw it up by having him take the fall here, just to get a big moment at Crown Jewel. But I think they will. RKO on the big man and the champs retain. | RK Bro |
King of the Ring Finals
Bok KapurThe KotR should be a meaningful achievement, so they shouldn’t give it to a comedy character like Woods. But I fear the worst tendencies of the writers to prevail, and Woods wins it.Xavier Woods
| Name | Prediction | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| BETONLINE.AG | N/A | N/A |
| Matthew Byer | Typically the winner of the King of the Ring tournament has been a heel rather than a babyface. However, as that can’t happen this year unless Woods or Bálor turn heel which at this time doesn’t seem likely. Who wins? It will likely be Xavier Woods as this may be an experiment by WWE Creative to see if Woods can be a singles main event player like his fellow New Day members. | Xavier Woods |
| John Powell | Finn Balor has never caught a lucky break with the WWE except when he won the Universal Championship. It really doesn’t make sense for Xavier Woods to be running around with the gimmick when he is part of a tag team. | Finn Balor |
| Bob Kapur | The KotR should be a meaningful achievement, so they shouldn’t give it to a comedy character like Woods. But I fear the worst tendencies of the writers to prevail, and Woods wins it. | Xavier Woods |
Queen’s Crown Finals
| Name | Prediction | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| BETONLINE.AG | N/A | N/A |
| Matthew Byer | I’ll go with Zelina Vega in a bit of an upset. | Zelina Vega |
| John Powell | Doudrop’s character is a joke but I can see the WWE doing a Hacksaw Jim Duggan King like angle here. | Doudrop |
| Bob Kapur | The QotR should be a meaningful achievement, so they shouldn’t give it to a comedy character like Doudrop. But I fear the worst tendencies of the writers to prevail, and Doudrop wins it. | Doudrop |
Big E (c) vs. Drew McIntyre – WWE Championship Match
| Name | Prediction | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| BETONLINE.AG | Big E: -1000. Drew McIntyre: +550. | Big E |
| Matthew Byer | McIntyre has been on quite a lengthy losing streak when it comes to main event matches and could use a win. Big E is very early in his WWE Title reign and could use a win to solidify him as champion. Something has to give so look for some kind of disqualification finish to keep both competitors looking strong coming out of this bout. | Big E |
| John Powell | Big E is so very week. Yelling during his promos, humping everything in sight and knowing only five moves…but the WWE humanoids like him so… | Big E |
| Bob Kapur | I don’t typically like face vs. face title matches, because it’s conflicting for fans who have to see one of the favourites lose. I think they’ll change this one up by having Drew be more villainous here, setting up a big heel turn for him. But it won’t be enough. Big E retains. | Big E |
Mansoor vs. Mustafa Ali
| Name | Prediction | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| BETONLINE.AG | Mansoor -1400. Mustafa Ali: +600. | Mansoor |
| Matthew Byer | Is there any doubt Mansoor is going to win again in his home country? | Mansoor |
| John Powell | A no-brainer. | Mansoor |
| Bob Kapur | It’s Saudi Arabia, so look for hometown boy Mansoor to get his annual win. | Mansoor |
