WWE ventured into Saudi Arabia the same year after signing a contract with the country through 2027. According to the contract, they will be holding two Premium Live Events per year. In 2023, Night of Champions was the first live event, which left the upcoming Crown Jewel to take over Saudi Arabia.
Over the years, Crown Jewel has been very controversial since its launch back in 2018. The very first event received a lot of negative reviews due to the random bookings made for the show. Various wrestlers even refused to work because of the location and recent criminal history surrounding the country. Due to the unavailability of talent, some legendary wrestlers stepped up to perform.
Shawn Michaels and Triple H
vs. The Undertaker and Kane – 5 years ago at WWE Crown Jewel. pic.twitter.com/hdkZJ1L2ic— Wrestling News (@WrestlingNewsCo) November 2, 2023
The main event of the very first Crown Jewel featured a tag team match between D-Generation X and the Brothers of Destruction. Shawn Michaels came out of retirement during a segment with Triple H challenging The Undertaker and Kane to a tag team match. Everyone wasn’t happy with Michael’s decision to come out of retirement, and his performance in the match proved it.
In a throwback post to the match, people went all out hating on the match, still showing their disappointment after all these years. “I’m pretending that this match never happened”, said a user on the post. “It was a disaster”, and “It was just sad to watch, unfortunately”, said other users.
The show overall wasn’t memorable for the fans due to a lot of disappointing decisions throughout the show. Over the years, Crown Jewel has been delivering extremely well, involving various storylines and being a must-watch for fans.
Shawn Michaels regrets being in the DX vs Brothers of Destruction match at Crown Jewel
Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker gave the WWE Universe two epic clashes back in 2009 and 2010. They delivered two instant classics in successive WrestleMania matches which eventually saw Michaels hanging up his boots. His decision was called to be perfect by the fans which was instantly turned into a disappointment after his 2018 return for Crown Jewel.
So I’m watching D-Generation X vs Brothers of Destruction from Crown Jewel 2018.
As bad as it is, you can’t deny Shawn Michaels still got it. In fact, he is so good it makes the other three men look older than they are.
He should consider having one more match in WWE. pic.twitter.com/ARbhkLcWXg
— Just Alyx (@JustAlyxCentral) December 21, 2022
Despite Michaels being optimistic about the match back in 2018, he regretted his decision years later. During an interview with the New York Post, The Heartbreak Kid talked about the pathetic bout and even apologized to everyone. He stated, “I had no idea that from Mark’s standpoint he was looking at it as that might be one he could walk away on. That’s something that I think to myself now, ‘Oh my goodness I wish that I’d have known that”.
The match truly was one to forget, but Michaels was the one who made it watchable for the fans in attendance. After Triple H tore his pectoral muscle and Kane‘s mask accidentally fell off, Shawn carried the whole match himself. People were glad to see The Heartbreak Kid perform again after all these years but were disappointed with the overall performance of the match.