WWE Crown Jewel 2018 review: What we learned, takeaways, future projections
By Luke Norris
WWE World Cup Semifinals
Rey Mysterio vs. The Miz: Wow, this one actually shocked me a little bit. Trust me, I love The Miz getting to the finals of the WWE World Cup, but I really thought it would be Rey Mysterio here. His comeback has been a pretty big deal, and I thought they’d cap things off with him at least getting to the final two. This was a fun match to watch. Mysterio was flying all over the place as he does but The Miz always seemed to have an answer, and he took advantage of the damage Randy Orton had done earlier to move on.
There's a LOT of fight in @reymysterio! #WWEWorldCup #WWECrownJewel pic.twitter.com/gf6YGypF0X
— WWE (@WWE) November 2, 2018
The innovation of @reymysterio is front and center in the #WWEWorldCup Semifinals! @mikethemiz #WWECrownJewel pic.twitter.com/YSYptZAjwF
— WWE (@WWE) November 2, 2018
The HUGE counter by @mikethemiz has just secured him a spot in the FINALS of the #WWEWorldCup tournament! #WWECrownJewel pic.twitter.com/LanBc5R40X
— WWE (@WWE) November 2, 2018
Seth Rollins vs. Dolph Ziggler: I honestly don’t care how many times these two have squared off recently as I’m always going to be into it. Seth Rollins and Dolph Ziggler are two of the best in-ring competitors in WWE over the last decade, and while they’ve had better matches, this World Cup semifinal was still very solid. The storytelling was strong as Ziggler focused in on the neck of Rollins, which was a factor for much of the match.
Ziggler was in control for quite a while before the two started a great back-and-forth sequence with rollups and aerial maneuvers and just some fantastic spots and wonderful near-falls. Drew McIntyre then made his presence known and wound up costing Rollins the match by pushing him off of the top rope, setting up a superkick from Dolph for the win. Match of the night up to this point. Not a surprise there.
We're at that stage of the tournament where everything hurts just a little more... #WWECrownJewel #WWEWorldCup pic.twitter.com/L4hNwjLCoh
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) November 2, 2018
He may be feeling the effects of this match, but @WWERollins shows true resilience in the #WWEWorldCup Semi-Finals! #WWECrownJewel @HEELZiggler pic.twitter.com/GuOGhVNz1K
— WWE (@WWE) November 2, 2018
Having @DMcIntyreWWE at ringside just PAID OFF for @HEELZiggler, because he's heading to the #WWEWorldCup tournament FINALS to face @mikethemiz! #WWECrownJewel pic.twitter.com/TmKGYdTkfU
— WWE (@WWE) November 2, 2018
What we learned: We learned here that The Miz and Dolph Ziggler will face off in the finals of the WWE World Cup.
An epic rivalry will be renewed in the FINALS of the #WWEWorldCup tournament as @HEELZiggler goes one-on-one with @mikethemiz! #WWECrownJewel pic.twitter.com/4eD9e3O0BP
— WWE (@WWE) November 2, 2018
What’s next: Rey Mysterio losing here can now play right into that Randy Orton storyline I mentioned earlier. Orton can laugh about Rey not being 100 percent for the semifinals because of him and Mysterio can be upset about the same thing.
As for Seth Rollins, I was really shocked that Seth Rollins didn’t get the win in his matchup with Dolph Ziggler. I had predicted that he would get all the way to the finals before losing due to some Dean Ambrose interference. But I suppose that storyline wasn’t in the cards for Crown Jewel. So we’ll get to the all-Cleveland final later on.