It looks like WWE pulled the Gunther vs. Finn Bálor match from Crown Jewel at the last minute. It wasn’t announced on Friday’s SmackDown, the last show before Saturday’s PPV in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The match was advertised for the show in Riyadh at one point. In late October, posters of Gunther and Bálor were seen at one of the entrances to Riyadh Season Stadium, where the show was originally scheduled, next to posters of Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton.
In the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer noted that the match was originally planned for the show. Meltzer wrote that if it doesn’t happen, it means WWE made a change and “the people working on the stadium in Saudi still had the old lineup.”
But Friday’s SmackDown, which was taped on Monday at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, opened with a confrontation between the two. Gunther again said Bálor is no longer in his prime, and Bálor went after him and chased him up the ramp. But a match between them has not been announced.
On the October 30 SmackDown, Bálor brought back The Demon and hit Gunther with a Coup de Grâce from the top of a ladder through the announce table. WrestleVotes reported that bringing back the character was meant to set up a future match between the two.
There was a similar situation back in December 2024, with Gunther set to defend the World Heavyweight Championship against Bálor at Saturday Night’s Main Event, but Damian Priest was added and it became a triple threat. So far, their only TV singles match was on the July 29, 2024, edition of Raw, and Gunther won.
Without Gunther vs. Bálor, only four matches are set for Crown Jewel, at least for now, which is one fewer than last year’s show in Perth. Roman Reigns vs. Sami Zayn and Liv Morgan vs. Chelsea Green are for the Crown Jewel Championships, and Rhodes vs. Orton is a Last Man Standing match. Bron Breakker and Austin Theory vs. Penta and Je’Von Evans for the World Tag Team Championship is also set.