Crown Jewel Thursday
WWE鈥檚 next Saudi Arabia show, Crown Jewel, takes place Thursday with a 1 p.m. start time, on the WWE Network.
The card has the feel of a throwaway card as only six matches have been announced, although tonight鈥檚 Smackdown is the last episode of the show before the PPV, so expect another match or two to be added.
The main event will pit Brock Lesnar defending the WWE championship against his old UFC nemesis Cain Velasquez.
Would WWE pull the trigger and have Velasquez win the title?
If so, look for the bout to be quick.
Seth Rollins defends the Universal title against Bray Wyatt in a Falls Count Anywhere match.
It is anyone鈥檚 guess in terms of which direction WWE will go with this match.
Braun Strowman will face undefeated former boxing heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.
This will be yet another case of WWE having one of its performers lose to someone from a different professional sport.
In a 10-man tag match, Team Hogan will take on Team Flair with Hogan鈥檚 quintet consisting of Roman Reigns, Rusev, Ricochet, Ali and Shorty G while Flair has Randy Orton, King Corbin, Lashley, Shinsuke Nakamura and Drew McIntyre on his team.
Those are the big four matches on the card although there will be more.
Smackdown on FX1
Due to the World Series, Smackdown will air tonight on FX1 instead of on Fox.
If Fox executives have been unhappy with the show鈥檚 ratings so far, they can鈥檛 be looking forward to tonight鈥檚 numbers as FX1 is seen on far fewer outlets.
AEW in Pittsburgh recap
All Elite Wrestling held its Dynamite TV show in Pittsburgh Wednesday, and the 鈥渁ction鈥� actually began Tuesday.
I was contacted by someone involved with the event and was asked if I knew anyone who would be interested in being seat fillers.
Not only did the show not sell out, but AEW was giving away free tickets and placing people in unsold seats that were in direct line of the main camera.
That said, several readers who were at the show shared their feelings.
Corey Swetz, who is a diehard WWE loyalist, went to the event with his good friend Scott Brownfield.
鈥淲hen the opportunity presented itself, I was certainly open to checking AEW out in person to see what all the hype is,鈥� Swetz said. 鈥淚 think many fans have been quick to turn on WWE for the cool, shiny company.
鈥淚t was a little surreal to see a wrestling promotion besides WWE put on a show of this magnitude (in Pittsburgh).鈥�
Jeremy Silbaugh also attended and shared his thoughts.
鈥淚t was far from a packed house, but I had a blast,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 saw way less kids there (than a WWE show) but I thought it was more focused on wrestling than storylines.
鈥淭hey have a long way to go to be competition for WWE, but they will have a loyal following if they keep this type of action going.鈥�
Derek Reeves went to the show with his younger brother TJ.
鈥淚t was nonstop action, all of the matches were great and the energy from the fans didn鈥檛 stop,鈥� Derek said. 鈥淚t is like a mix of big-time wrestling with a little bit of local indy wrestlers and it is a mix that works.
鈥淚 think WWE is in trouble if AEW keeps going like they are.鈥�
While I won鈥檛 put that cart before the proverbial horse any time soon, it is important for AEW to continue to get out to different areas and build its brand.
Hopefully, however, it doesn鈥檛 have to fill seats with comp tickets like they did Wednesday.
WWE 鈥淪pecial鈥� on Fox
Sunday at 5 p.m., Fox will air a show on WWE that has so far simply been named WWE Special.
New Day鈥檚 Woods injured
Xavier Woods was sent home form WWE鈥檚 tour of Australia over the weekend when he suffered an injury to his Achilles.
The severity of the injury has not been announced as of yet, but if it is ruptured, Woods will be out at least six months.
On this day 鈥�
In 1998, undefeated WCW champion Goldberg defeated Diamond Dallas Page to retain the title at the Halloween Havoc PPV.
The match is considered the best during Goldberg鈥檚 career.
Ironically, those watching the PPV did not see the finish.
The PPV ran out of time and WCW showed the match the next night on Nitro, leading to WCW鈥檚 last win against WWE in the Monday night ratings battle.
Also on the Havoc card, Hogan defeated The Ultimate Warrior it what many consider the worst PPV match of all-time.
How bad was it? Search online for opinions on it, including former WCW head Eric Bischoff.
Email questions/comments to Bill at powerhousehughes@gmail.com or tweet them to me @BillHughes_III.