Crown Jewel Will See WWE Referee Make History

Crown Jewel is on the horizon for WWE and the event held in Saudi Arabia will see one of the company’s official break new ground.

WWE’s huge events in Saudi Arabia are great money generators for the company but they have not come without controversy. Many onlookers have accused the Saudi Arabian government of ‘sports washing’ – using sports and other entertainment events to gloss over the poor human rights record in the country, which includes poor treatment of women.

WWE has broken new ground in the country with women competing for the first time on a show there at Crown Jewel 2019 when Natalya defeated Lacey Evans. That landmark was somewhat overshadowed by the travel chaos that engulfed the WWE Superstars afterwards with some suggestions that they were “held hostage” in the Middle Eastern Kingdom.

But Crown Jewel 2022 will see history made again when referee Aja Smith becomes the first African-American woman to officiate at a WWE event in Saudi Arabia.

11+ hour flight. Lucky for me, I hold a great skill where I’m able to fall asleep literally anywhere, sometimes mid sentence.😎 See you soon, Riyadh. Let’s get it!!✈️🙏🏾🇸🇦

— Daphanie LaShaunn💅🏾✨🦓 (@RefBaeDaphWWE) November 1, 2022

There will be two women’s matches on the show in Riyadh as Alexa Bliss and Asuka defend their WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship against the Damage CTRL duo of IYO SKY and Dakota Kai. The Raw Women’s Championship will also be on the line as Bianca Belair defends her crown against Bayley.