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WWE Announces Roman Reigns Will Face Brock Lesnar At Crown Jewel

By TJR Staff • Published 17th September 2021
Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns face off

The next clash between WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar will take place at Crown Jewel on Thursday, October 21st as announced by WWE.

Crown Jewel will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at 1 p.m. ET/8 p.m. GMT and will air on WWE Peacock in the United States and WWE Network everywhere else.

As noted by WWE in the article, Reigns will face Lesnar on October 21, but the Universal Championship may not be on the line if Reigns fails to defeat Finn Balor at Extreme Rules.

“Roman Reigns will go head-to-head with Brock Lesnar at WWE Crown Jewel, but whether that contest will be for the Universal Championship depends entirely on what happens in The Head of the Table’s title match against “The Demon” Finn Bálor at WWE Extreme Rules.”

Lesnar returned to WWE television as a surprise at SummerSlam on August 21. It was Lesnar’s first appearance in WWE since WrestleMania 36 in 2020. Reigns defeated John Cena in a very good back and forth match for the Universal Championship. As Reigns celebrated to bring SummerSlam in Las Vegas to a close, some familiar music hit as Brock Lesnar showed up with a full beard and a shaved haircut that had a ponytail as well. It was a unique look for the “Beast Incarnate” Lesnar, who made his intentions known by having a staredown with Reigns.

Last week on Smackdown in Madison Square Garden, Lesnar made his first appearance on Smackdown in nearly two years. Reigns was in the ring with The Usos and his “Special Counsel” Paul Heyman bragging about how he runs WWE when Lesnar showed up. The fans chanted “HOLY S**T” at the sight of Reigns and Lesnar facing off even though they have wrestled several times in the past. It’s still a big match in the eyes of the fans.

When Heyman asked Lesnar why he wants to go after the Universal Title, Lesnar asked Heyman: “I’ve got a question for you, Paul? Why didn’t you tell Roman I was going to be at SummerSlam?” The fans in MSG started a “YOU F**KED UP” chant at Heyman while Reigns wasn’t happy about it. Heyman insisted to Reigns that he didn’t know Lesnar would be at SummerSlam and Reigns ended up leaving the ring.

Lesnar made it clear to Heyman that he wanted a shot at Reigns for the Universal Title. Reigns and The Usos tried to get some cheap shots on Lesnar, but he was able to fight them off with clotheslines and German Suplexes for both Usos while Reigns left up the aisle.

Later on Smackdown, Reigns accepted Lesnar’s challenge after Reigns beats Finn Balor. That led to “Demon” Finn Balor showing up to face off with Reigns to end Smackdown.

Reigns commented on the Lesnar match at Crown Jewel today.

The last WWE event in Saudi Arabia was Super Showdown on February 27, 2020 when Bill Goldberg defeated “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt to become the Universal Title. It was not a booking decision that a lot of fans liked.

Reigns is expected to be on Smackdown tonight in Knoxville as he prepares to defend the WWE Universal Championship against “Demon” Finn Balor at Extreme Rules on September 26. Will have a full review of Smackdown on TJRWrestling later this evening.