John Cena and AJ Styles turned back the clock in one the most spectacular matches of their careers, Seth Rollins rose to the occasion, and Stephanie Vaquer showed there are no limits to how high she can climb. Here are five takeaways as the dust settles on Crown Jewel 2025.
WWE Crown Jewel 2025 took place from RAC Arena in Perth, Australia on Saturday with one of the organization’s best bell-to-bell shows in recent memory. John Cena and AJ Styles turned back the clock in one the most spectacular matches of their combined careers, Seth Rollins rose to the occasion, and Stephanie Vaquer showed there are no limits to how high she can climb on the WWE main roster.
With Crown Jewel in the rearview, here are five takeaways for how WWE navigates the path forward.
1. John Cena’s retirement run hits its groove
It’s hard to capture in words just how special John Cena’s match against AJ Styles and his championship defeat to Cody Rhodes have been in the grand scheme of his career. Simply put, we're looking at two of the best matches of a 23-year, Hall of Fame run, against two opponents with very different trajectories.
The handoff to Rhodes in August was meaningful as a genuine passing of the torch moment. But Saturday's match against Styles? Positioned as two legendary rivals nearing the end of their respective careers — Styles has acknowledged he’s wrapping things up in 2026 — this felt like the one-time faces of WWE and TNA were genuinely giving all they had. The odes to their many respective opponents, from Bray Wyatt to Sting to Samoa Joe and The Undertaker, brought the emotions rushing back of countless rivalries over two decades of wrestling history.
Knowing how good Cena can still be in the ring at age 48, it’s hard not to reflect on the early matches of this year's retirement tour that didn’t quite live up to expectations. It also makes you wonder why one of his final dates was against Brock Lesnar in a squash match just a month ago. With just four dates remaining, Cena has set the bar exceptionally high for just how good the final stretch can be.
2. A win that elevates Seth Rollins
The narrative coming into Saturday’s showdown with Cody Rhodes was that Seth Rollins couldn’t win against WWE’s QB1, and to an extent that Rollins was seen as lesser than his world championship counterpart. Paul Heyman set this one up for Rollins to prove himself, promising no outside interference from The Vision and allowing Rollins to stand on his own.
With a little help from the watch Rhodes gifted him after winning the Undisputed WWE Championship at WrestleMania 40, Rollins was able to vanquish the face of WWE for his first Crown Jewel Championship. The win moves Rollins up the ladder in WWE’s current standing, making him feel a bit more on an equal level to where Rhodes has established himself. Rhodes and Rollins are two opponents who are just natural rivals, destined for a more substantial program down the road and one that WWE can revert to whenever they please. They simply don’t miss when they’re in the ring together.
3. WWE is all-in on Stephanie Vaquer
Stephanie Vaquer’s meteoric rise to the top of WWE has been equal parts unexpected as it has been impressive. You have to search all the way back to 2024 to find Tiffany Stratton’s last loss before her pinfall Saturday at the hands of Vaquer. Now just the second Women’s Crown Jewel Champion, "La Primera" has already won just about every major title she could and established herself right at the top of the women’s roster.
Where she goes next from here is unclear. Vaquer seems destined for a primary spot at WrestleMania 42, and it wouldn’t be a surprise at this point to see her in a main-event slot. While it was natural for WWE to mention Liv Morgan as the inaugural Crown Jewel champion, that also felt like an element of foreshadowing for an eventual Morgan return to the ring. With no clear direction coming out of Crown Jewel, an eventual showdown between the two — both Crown Jewel champions and both having held the Women’s World Championship at various points — makes loads of sense. There’s no question that Vaquer has been absent a real long-term program on the main roster, and whether it becomes a returning Morgan or someone else, she's certainly due for one.
On the other side, a Stratton loss feels like a chance to reset things. She’s flexed between wrestling Jade Cargill and Nia Jax since late April, and there needs to be an injection of something fresh into how she navigates the tail end of the year.
4. Bronson Reed’s win feels more about Jey Uso and Roman Reigns
Coming out of his beatdown of Roman Reigns at WWE Clash in Paris, Bronson Reed was right on the cusp of rising to another level in WWE’s echelon. His opportunity to establish himself as a real force came Saturday at Crown Jewel in yet another one-on-one match against Reigns.
The first half of the match served as exactly what was anticipated — Reigns offered strength, power and a veteran’s mentality, but Reed matched him every step of the way. As the match unfolded, it became evident WWE was on its way to giving Reed his signature victory. Inevitably things devolved into chaos, with Bron Breakker hitting the ring to give Reed the upper hand before The Usos came out to even the score. A Jey Uso spear to Reigns through a table in the ring opened the door for Reed to hit a Tsunami and earn the pinfall victory.
As massive of a moment as Reed pinning Reigns for the win should be, it felt overshadowed by the continued conflict between Reigns and The Usos. In modern-day wrestling, it’s natural to overcomplicate matches like this with unnecessary run-ins. The momentum gained by Reed winning clean would've been substantial compared to what was instead gained by The Usos costing Reigns the match.
Paul Heyman did his best to sell the moment as the referee raised Reed’s hand, but the focus — from the commentators to everything that happened after the trio left the ring — painted Reigns as the center of attention. Yes, Reed and Breakker are positioned as future stars, but that could have been expedited with a slight tweak in how Saturday unfolded.
5. Rhea Ripley’s wonderful return to Australia
Rhea Ripley is WWE’s Swiss army knife — someone the creative team can use in virtually any spot. She was guaranteed to get a massive reaction Saturday in her home of Australia, and the model of utilizing two top stars who don’t have immediate plans in tag-team matches continues to be a roaring success.
WWE having the foresight to recognize Ripley’s hometown welcome as a way to keep the crowd energized led to the promotion’s best card structure in recent memory. Coming out of an emotionally exhausting John Cena match against AJ Styles, an audience would typically need a breather and emotionally check out between that match and the main event. But Ripley’s staying power kept the crowd alive when there understandably would've typically been a letdown.
The path forward for Ripley and odd-couple tag-team partner Iyo Sky opens the door for a variety of different options. The clearest path is to continue this rivalry with the Kabuki Warriors as part of the upcoming WarGames match at Survivor Series next month. With no clear challenger for the Women’s World Championship, Ripley moving straight into a program with Vaquer would also be understandable. That may have to wait for the road to WrestleMania, though.
Category: General Sports
