WWE Reportedly Prepares For Crown Jewel With Two TV Shows In One Night Before Saudi Arabia Event

WWE reportedly plans a double TV taping before Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia© NDTV Library

WWE is keeping its weekly TV schedule as planned before the company goes to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for Crown Jewel on November 7, Fightful Select reported. Monday Night RAW goes live from Brooklyn's Barclays Center on November 2, and SmackDown will be taped right after it. Both shows get recorded back-to-back because the talent need to travel to Saudi Arabia next. There were some travel concerns lately, but Crown Jewel is still on the calendar and no changes got reported for the weekly broadcasts. Also, the match card has two announced championship clashes for now.

WWE to Tape SmackDown After Brooklyn RAW

WrestleVotes Radio on Fightful Select said WWE will tape the November 6 episode of SmackDown once RAW finishes on November 2. 

The Brooklyn show will begin earlier than usual, at 6 p.m. ET, so the company can finish both TV shows before the trip to Saudi Arabia.

So SmackDown talent can do their TV work in Brooklyn first and then travel for Crown Jewel. The taped episode airs on November 6, just one day before the premium live event. 

WWE didn't announce any change in this plan, even with the security concerns around the trip. Doing two shows in a single night also saves a separate TV date, which is pretty handy when the whole roster must fly out soon after.

Roman Reigns vs Sami Zayn and Liv Morgan vs Chelsea Green Set for Crown Jewel

WWE has confirmed two Champion vs. Champion matches for the Riyadh show. Roman Reigns, the World Heavyweight Champion, will face Undisputed WWE Champion Sami Zayn, and Women's World Champion Liv Morgan takes on WWE Women's Champion Chelsea Green. Both matches will decide the Crown Jewel champions for 2026.

The men's clash puts Reigns and Zayn in the ring against each other for the first time since 2023, as per the reported match history. Their past in the original Bloodline adds some history to this one, and the two had also fallen out before over their WWE Championship rivalry.

The women's match also have two champions going one-on-one. Morgan reclaimed the Women's World Championship at Money in the Bank, while Green holds the WWE Women's Championship. WWE advertised both bouts under the event's Champion vs. Champion format.

WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H promoted the show with the words, “Champions vs Champions. #WWECrownJewel is LIVE from Riyadh.”

Triple H also confirmed the broadcast details, writing that Crown Jewel will begin at noon ET on November 7, with coverage on the ESPN app in the United States and Netflix internationally.