Why WWE Awkwardly Rescinded Crown Jewel Match Stipulation [Theory]

Fans were left somewhat confused after WWE added a no DQ stipulation to Brock Lesnar versus Roman Reigns only to change it again 20 minutes later.

As WWE shows in Saudi Arabia go, this week's Crown Jewel probably has to be considered a success. The general consensus on social media seems to be that it was the best Saudi show in WWE history. Granted, the bar wasn't that high, but it's still a positive sign that not every show WWE holds in Saudi Arabia is one you can skip without fear of missing anything.

Is It No DQ Or Not?

The show was closed by Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns' Universal Title match. The bout left a few fans confused. Not because of what happened in the ring, but because of what WWE announced and then went back on during the kick-off show. Kayla Braxton revealed that the main event would be no disqualification.

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If you tuned out at that point and returned for the main card, you may have been confused to discover Lesnar versus Reigns wasn't no DQ at all. About 20 minutes after the stipulation was added, Braxton then announced the match had been changed back to a regular singles bout. The reason given was that neither Reigns nor Lesnar was interested in having a no DQ ruling attached to their match.

The Finish Wouldn't Have Worked

While not confirmed, the real reason WWE added the stipulation and then went back on it minutes later may well be because whoever made that decision didn't think about how it would affect the finish. The main event ended with Paul Heyman throwing the belt between Reigns and Lesnar. After interference and a double superkick to Lesnar from The Usos, Reigns used the title to down The Beast and cover him for the win.

All of this had to happen while the referee was down, meaning it wouldn't have worked had the match been no DQ. The Usos could have interfered in the match any time they liked, and the title being used as a weapon wouldn't have been anything special. WWE needed Heyman to offer up the title without overtly favoring either competitor via that closing belt spot, and it simply wouldn't have made sense had the match been no DQ. Clearly someone realized that moments before Crown Jewel went live.