Roman Reigns defeated Sami Zayn to win the Men’s Crown Jewel Championship, then gave the WWE Champion the acknowledgment he had demanded.
Reigns pinned Zayn after two consecutive spears in the main event of WWE Crown Jewel in Riyadh, ending a 24-minute match in which Zayn repeatedly came close to defeating the World Heavyweight Champion.
Afterward, Paul Levesque entered the ring to present Reigns with the Crown Jewel Championship, but Zayn stopped the ceremony and approached his opponent.
Zayn offered Reigns his hand and demanded his respect, pointing out that Reigns had needed everything he had to beat him. Reigns initially hesitated and then knocked Zayn’s hand away.
Instead, Reigns embraced his former Bloodline stablemate.
The two then shook hands, with Zayn raising Reigns’ arm before Reigns returned the gesture and held Zayn’s hand aloft to a strong reaction from the crowd.
The moment followed a match in which Zayn had enjoyed heavy support from the Riyadh audience and survived several of Reigns’ biggest moves.
Zayn scored near falls with the Blue Thunder Bomb and Helluva Kick. He appeared to have Reigns beaten after another Helluva Kick when referee Chad Patton was down, but replacement referee Charles Robinson arrived late enough for Reigns to kick out.
Robinson was then inadvertently taken out by Zayn, who retrieved his WWE Championship belt. Reigns stopped him from using it with a Superman Punch and spear, but Zayn kicked out when Patton recovered to make the count.
The closing sequence saw Zayn counter a Superman Punch with an Exploder into the corner before Reigns cut off a Helluva Kick with another Superman Punch. Zayn answered with a Superman Punch of his own, only for Reigns to spear him.
Reigns followed with a second spear and scored the pin at 24:09 to become the 2026 Men’s Crown Jewel Champion.
Levesque then completed the presentation, returning Zayn’s WWE Championship before giving Reigns the Crown Jewel title belt and ring, along with his World Heavyweight Championship and Ula Fala.
Reigns closed the show by asking Saudi Arabia to acknowledge him, with fireworks going off as he stood with the Crown Jewel Championship.
