 The Bloodline Interrupted Logan Paul; Ricochet def. Sami ZaynThere were rumblings earlier in the day that Paul vs. Roman Reigns was being booked for Crown Jewel and this opening segment seemed to confirm that, along with how there will be a press conference in Las Vegas on Saturday to make it official. Paul wouldn't be my first choice to challenge for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship, but it's an attraction, if nothing else. Paul and the returning Paul Heyman played their roles well, though the boos for Paul (Logan, not Heyman) were louder than they have been for most of his other appearances. The subsequent match between Ricochet and Zayn was the usual good stuff from the two and Zayn continuing to tease tension with Jey Uso will be worth keeping an eye on. Braun Strowman Attacked Maximum Male Models and Alpha AcademyMax Dupri hinted at a return to his LA Knight persona last week in a WWE.com exclusive video and he once again hinted at it here when he referred to Anaheim being near Los Angeles (LA). Mace and Mansoor coming out dressed in school uniforms was ridiculous and Strowman was a saint for laying them out. Alpha Academy making another appearance was ridiculous since they're supposed to be Raw Superstars, and now we're getting Strowman vs. Otis next week on SmackDown in Strowman's in-ring return. Triple H may as well outright acknowledge the Brand Split is a thing of the past much like he did in 2011. Bayley def. Raquel RodriguezI realize Bayley is a California native, but at the end of the day, she's a Raw Superstar and isn't one-half of the WWE Women's Tag Team Champion. They're a stable, so she technically isn't their manager, either. As noted in the previous paragraph, let's stop pretending there's a Brand Split. That aside, this was a solid match that could have benefited from more time and less interference. Shotzi making the save for Rodriguez afterward was a pleasant surprise. She's much better off as a babyface and hopefully she'll be getting her surname of Blackheart back as well. SmackDown Women's Champion Liv Morgan Crashed Ronda Rousey's Sit-Down Interview with Kayla BraxtonRousey was set for a sit-down interview with Braxton when Morgan crashed it before they could get going. I was curious what Rousey had to say (and thought it was smart to have her speak in a pre-taped environment), but this turned into Morgan talking the whole time and challenging her to an Extreme Rules match. The stipulation was necessary, but Morgan isn't coming off as the best babyface when she brags about beating Rousey twice before and neither of those wins were decisive. Drew McIntyre Called Out Karrion KrossA vignette aired earlier in the episode with Kross and Scarlett recapping Kross' attack on McIntyre last week and this was McIntyre's response. I liked how it wasn't a standard segment but rather McIntyre jumping on top of the commentary desk out of nowhere and calling out Kross. This was a simple progression of their program and left me looking forward to the eventual match. NXT North American Champion Solo Sikoa def. Madcap MossThis stemmed from Moss helping Paul and Ricochet fend off The Bloodline at the start of the show. It was really cool to see the North American title defended on SmackDown, though I'm not sure how much the main roster audience cared. The crowd was quiet for a majority of the match and I can't blame since Moss' appearances have been fairly infrequent in recent months. It was decent enough and gave Sikoa his first win on SmackDown, so it served a purpose in that respect. The Brawling Brutes def. The New Day, Imperium (Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci), and Hit Row (Top Dolla and Ashante "Thee" Adonis) in an Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship No. 1 Contender's Fatal 4-Way Tag Team MatchIf you were wondering where The Viking Raiders were coming off their win over New Day two weeks ago, Erik apparently suffered an injury and will out of action for the foreseeable future, which is terrible timing. Oddly enough, New Day were the only team from last week's Fatal 4-Way tag team match on Raw to be get another chance to become number one contenders, but I'm not complaining because the three new teams were much more interesting. This was an entertaining, action-packed main event and I was happy with the outcome. You can save The Usos against Hit Row and Imperium for down the road. The Usos vs. Brawling Brutes for the tag titles next week should be a blast. Overall ShowPaul's "massive announcement" was heavily hyped coming into this show and it turned out to be the Crown Jewel main event being set in stone. Regardless of what your feelings on it are, the build should certainly be worth watching in the weeks ahead. The rest of this show wasn't nearly as eventful, but it was solid stuff capped off with a thumbs-up main event. The crowd's lack of enthusiasm was telling throughout the two hours, so hopefully next week's episode will be a bit more consistently exciting.
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