WWE Crown Jewel: Perth 2025

This premium live event has, until this year, been a mainstay of the Saudi Arabian WWE shows - which meant it was mostly full of glorified house show and legends matches. Thankfully, this year saw the show move to Perth, Australia, where I was sure the atmosphere and general vibe of the show would be far better. Even better, the matchcard looked full of potential, with some cracking looking matches, including one of the final matches from the legendary John Cena.

The opening bout saw Australian native Bronson Reed take on Roman Reigns in an Australian Street Fight; a match I was sure would deliver some awesome and physical moments. After a great initial ovation for the Australian, it was interesting to see the crowd become almost entirely in favour of Roman. The two men quickly hit all the classics of a street fight - working their way through the crowd, using various weapons, and generally beating the tar out of one another. It's been cool to see Bronson get some high profile matches, especially against an opponent of the calibre of Reigns - it speaks volumes about what they think of him backstage. The inevitable shenanigans, whilst slightly distracting, were at least entertaining and dramatic. The winner was slightly surprising, but undeniably very cool - I'll be keen to see what happens next with both men, particularly Roman.

Next up, it was time to crown this year's Women's Crown Jewel Championship, with Women's World Champion Stephanie Vaquer facing Women's WWE Champion Tiffany Stratton for the honour. I loved the steady, methodical start - it made it feel even more like a big-time match. These are undoubtedly two of the best in-ring performers in the women's division, and I would argue the world. The whole match was super smooth, and the crowd was evidently here for it. If I had one complaint, it would be that it felt a lot shorter than I had hoped for, but either way, this was a very good match, and both Stephanie and Tiffany were great. I kind of knew who was going to win, based on the momentum of the two stars of late, but, regardless, it was good to see two of the best fight.

Following this, it was time for an eternal dream match, and the final match in the epic rivalry between John Cena and AJ Styles. I could not wait for this one. I have absolutely loved watching these two legendary wrestlers battle over the years, and it felt so appropriate for them to do battle one last time. Seeing AJ, who had officially announced his impending retirement in 2026, adorn some of his classic TNA attire was a really nice touch, and helped give the match just a touch more class - not that it needed it. The two men went at it, both looking as on their game as ever. Styles has never really looked like slowing down, but it was nice to see Cena looking strong as well. The match was full of call-backs and homages to many of Cena and AJ's greatest rivals over the years, which was another nice touch. Sure, it was a bit of a greatest hits spot-fest, but I loved it. This match was all about having fun and paying tribute to two of the all-time greats, and that's exactly what they did.

In the penultimate match of the night, Iyo Sky and Australian sensation Rhea Ripley teamed up to face The Kabuki Warriors in a match I was so hyped to see. On their respective days, these are four of the best wrestlers in the world, especially Sky in 2025. A frenetic start was exactly what this one needed, and it's precisely what happened, as Iyo and Kairi were particularly energetic early on. The four women played the crowd well, building up the inevitable hot tag really nicely, until the energy levels were paramount. You could tell that Rhea was full of energy for this one, and she really utilised that - she was on fire. Meanwhile, the Kabuki Warriors were even more physical than ever, with Asuka at her wonderfully brutal and sadistic best.

Finishing the night in the main event spot was the men's Crown Jewel Championship match, with Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes facing World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins. The story coming into this match was very interesting, and utilised the two men's previously established rivalry nicely to build up the stakes. I knew this would be good - the previous trilogy between these two men was evidence enough of that - but this was a tremendous match, built on a solid foundation of storytelling, and growing in momentum and impact as it progressed. I think these two are some of the best modern rivals in the business, and it really showed here. Rhodes and Rollins hit so many massive moves, and often through creative means, especially in the final throws, which were particularly good. I appreciated the way the ending felt like it was part of the larger story, and the fallout will certainly be interesting to see.

Overall, I thought this was a really decent premium live event, and not only was it better than some of the prior iterations of 'Crown Jewel', it absolutely blew away the previous event; 'Wrestlepalooza'. Not every match held any long-term importance, but all of them delivered good quality wrestling and excitement. I think the card played out in a sensible order, and left easily the best, and most important, match for last. My hope is that the next event; 'Survivor Series' will be even better, especially with the expected return of the popular 'War Games' match type. Either way, 'Crown Jewel' was exactly the kind of recovery event the WWE needed to get back on track after the previous misstep.