Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman Announced for WWE Crown Jewel

WWE set up what's likely to be the main event when it returns to Saudi Arabia on Nov. 2 for a WWE Network-exclusive show called Crown Jewel.

Acting Raw general manager Baron Corbin announced Monday that Roman Reigns will put the Universal Championship on the line in a Triple Threat match against Brock Lesnar and Braun Strowman.

Reigns and Strowman wrestled to a no-contest at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view on Sunday. Lesnar returned to wreak havoc, forcing his way into the cage and attacking both wrestlers until they could no longer compete.

The fact that Hell in a Cell was merely a prelude to Crown Jewel shouldn't come as a surprise.

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported in August (h/t Wrestling Inc's Marc Middleton) WWE was going back to Saudi Arabia for another major show, with Nov. 2 the targeted date.

In July, Pro Wrestling Sheet's Austin Kellerman looked at WWE's revenue from the second quarter of 2018 and estimated the Greatest Royal Rumble resulted in $40 million or more for the company. Based on that, WWE is clearly going to pull out all of the stops for the return trip.

However, Monday's announcement is frustrating for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, Crown Jewel is just five days after the all-women's Evolution PPV on Oct. 28. At a time when the focus should firmly be on Evolution, WWE will be devoting a lot of its programming to the event in Saudi Arabia.

In addition, WWE continues to minimize the importance of its regular PPVs in service of one-off events such as Crown Jewel. Strowman cashed in the Money in the Bank briefcase and battled Reigns in a Hell in a Cell match just to set up the addition of Lesnar in the feud and a future match down the road.

By going down this route, WWE shouldn't be taken aback when fans continue to respond negatively to PPV main events.