WWE decided to leave Finn Bálor vs. Gunther off Crown Jewel to give the feud more time to build.
WRKD Wrestling reported that WWE felt the match, which was even promoted on posters, would be better off with a longer build. Four matches were announced for the show, and that was seen as enough.
Bálor and Gunther appeared on posters at a gate of Riyadh Season Stadium in the King Abdullah Financial District, where the show was originally set to be held. It was later moved to The Venue (ANB Arena), also in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
At Saturday’s Crown Jewel, Roman Reigns defeated Sami Zayn for the Men’s Crown Jewel Championship, and Chelsea Green defeated Liv Morgan for the Women’s Crown Jewel Championship. Cody Rhodes defeated Randy Orton in a Last Man Standing match, and Penta and Je’Von Evans won the World Tag Team Championship from Bron Breakker and Austin Theory.
But Gunther is still in Bálor’s sights. On Friday’s SmackDown, taped on Monday at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, Gunther said Bálor was near the end of his career and challenged him to show up. Balor answered the challenge, and the two brawled until Bálor ran Gunther off.
Bálor returned as The Demon on the October 30 edition of SmackDown and laid out Gunther.
The 2026 edition of Crown Jewel had only four matches, one less than the 2025 show in Perth and three less than the 2024 show in Riyadh.