WWE Crown Jewel preview: Rollins-Rhodes, Cena tour stop, more

As a service to fans who have a general interest in WWE but might not have watched a match in months, we're happy to provide this FAQ as a guide to WWE Crown Jewel Perth on Saturday at 8 a.m. ET from RAC Arena in Perth, Western Australia. The premium live event (PLE) will stream exclusively in the U.S. for fans with a subscription to the ESPN Unlimited plan -- either directly or through a traditional pay TV package -- on the ESPN App.

Why is Crown Jewel being held in Perth, Australia?

While Australia itself doesn't have a royal family, it is a constitutional monarchy that recognizes King Charles III as its head of state. We remain hopeful that the Prince of Wales will be the special enforcer for one of these matches.

But more to the point: Elimination Chamber 2024 was a huge hit in Perth, so the WWE wanted a "takeover" weekend in the city. While the previous six Crown Jewel events were held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, this event heads Down Under, where the coveted men's and women's WWE Crown Jewel championship belts will be on the line.

The concept is actually pretty cool: The reigning men's and women's world champions of "Raw" and "SmackDown" battle each other for the WWE Crown Jewel championship belts. Well, not actually belts, as the winners instead get championship rings, something with which Seth Rollins is no doubt unfamiliar as a 39-year-old Chicago Bears fan.

Who is Rollins wrestling in the men's Crown Jewel match?

The WWE World Heavyweight Champion is taking on Cody Rhodes, the Undisputed WWE Champion, continuing a longtime rivalry that vacillates between mutual respect and intense animosity. And they've had some moments together. Remember Hell in a Cell in 2022, when Rhodes wrestled with a torn pec that turned his chest purple? Or WrestleMania 40, when Rollins assisted Rhodes in his war against the Bloodline on both nights before Cody "finished the story" with the championship win against Roman Reigns?

This latest chapter finds Rhodes feuding with Rollins' current stable The Vision, which includes Bron Breakker, Bronson Reed and manager Paul Heyman, who has added "The Oracle" to his ever-growing list of monikers. As usual, Heyman has found a way to elevate an intriguing match -- champion vs. champion, with Rollins 0-3 against Rhodes on PLEs -- into something far more Shakespearean.

Rollins' confidence in defeating Rhodes has been shaken to the point where, during Monday's "Raw," he wanted Heyman to explain the consequences should he lose at Crown Jewel. After initially laughing off the notion, Heyman chillingly said Rollins could lose the faith of his stable and the locker room. But beyond that, should he lose to Rhodes, Rollins would leave Heyman wondering "why I picked you ... over Roman Reigns." He has either motivated Rollins to win the Crown Jewel match or has created quite the dramatic mess if he doesn't. Classic Heyman!

What about the women's Crown Jewel match?

Friends ... it's Tiffy Time. WWE Women's Champion Tiffany Stratton takes on WWE Women's World Champion Stephanie Vaquer. Stratton's had a heck of a year since cashing in her Money In The Bank contract on Jan. 3 to win the title and beating Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania, Trish Stratus at Evolution and Jade Cargill at SummerSlam, among other wins. Vaquer recently claimed her first WWE title at Wrestlepalooza on Sept. 20, defeating Iyo Sky for the then-vacant title.

These two had an in-ring contract signing for this match on Last Friday's "SmackDown" that, in perhaps a first in wrestling history, actually came off without incident. That was until women's U.S. champion Giulia and her manager, Kiana James, sneak-attacked Stratton while offering their services to Vaquer. Something to keep in mind heading into this match, as Vaquer tries to hand Stratton her first big loss of the year. It's one of two women's matches on the card in Perth -- the other being a superstar tag team match.

Who's competing in the women's tag match?

Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky are teaming up to take on The Kabuki Warriors, Asuka and Kairi Sane.

Sorry, make that "Adelaide, Australia's own Rhea Ripley." Not that this information would ever be pertinent to who might celebrate at the end of the match. Just an FYI.

Asuka has been a mentor to both Sky and Sane, which has led to some emotional moments for Iyo as she acknowledges still feeling love for her former stablemates ... and some painful moments, like when Asuka recently commanded a reluctant Sane to attack Sky on "Raw." So there's a nice undercurrent of drama here to go along with what should be a big fight in Australia. But not an Australian Street Fight. That's an entirely different thing, as Roman Reigns and Bronson Reed will discover soon.

What is an Australian Street Fight?

No one knows. Other than that most of the fighting happens Outback.

Like Rhodes, Reigns has been feuding with The Vision (and his former "wise man," Heyman), and? in particular with Reed. This has led to one of our favorite gimmicks in the WWE recently, in which Reed steals the Original Tribal Chief's shoes after defeating him and wears them around his neck like a trophy. He's become known as "Tribal Thief" for these actions, with the popular T-shirt to match. Hey, to the victor go the sneakers ...

Besides the location of Crown Jewel in Perth, we have ourselves an Australian Street Fight because Reed is a native Aussie who got his start in the nation's indie scene. That still doesn't mean we have any idea what the match is.

Other than the potential for Jay Uso and/or Bron Breakker involvement, we'll just have to tune in to find out.

Finally, where are we in the John Cena Retirement Tour?

After his misbegotten heel turn -- a fever dream that included The Rock, rapper Travis Scott and Cena calling his own fans "pathetic" -- the 17-time world champion once again became the face that runs the place around SummerSlam. That's where he was attacked by Brock Lesnar in a shocking return, setting up a match at Wrestlepalooza in which Cena miraculously overcame his tormentor in a rousing upset victory ...

... JUST KIDDING! Lesnar basically sent Cena into the Earth's core with six F-5s in what the WWE itself described as a total annihilation.

With his remaining appearances -- and potential opponents -- dwindling, Cena decided to become his own booker. He asked the WWE universe whether they'd like to see him wrestle AJ Styles one last time, which they heartily endorsed. This led to Cena posting at Styles and WWE chief content officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque on X: "I do not choose my opponents, but I [even through tough times] ALWAYS listen to the fans."

With that, the match was made. On social media. With no build.

Cena and Styles have faced each other dozens of times, in a variety of formats, on and off television. But it's a trilogy of classic matches between the two that built anticipation for this one: WWE Money In The Bank 2016, where Styles upset Cena; their thrilling rematch at WWE SummerSlam 2016, which Styles also won; and Cena's tremendous showing at WWE Royal Rumble 2017, where he equaled Ric Flair's then-record of 16 world championships.

After this, Cena has "Raw" events in Boston (Nov. 10) and New York City (Nov. 17), Survivor Series in San Diego (Nov. 29) and his final match on "Saturday Night's Main Event" in Washington, D.C. (Dec. 13). After that, you can't see him as an active wrestler anymore.