November 14, 2022 Observer Newsletter: WWE Crown Jewel, NJPW Battle Autumn
The story of WWE’s Crown Jewel show was the performance by Logan Paul, in his third match, put in a long main event with Roman Reigns for the Universal title.
While Paul lost, of course, when Wade Barrett said that this was the best third-match wrestler he had ever seen, I was thinking the same way. Paul will never be a full-time pro wrestler even though he clearly loves it, but if he for whatever reason decided to be, he could be a world champion level guy in not all that long a period of time. He is comfortable talking, not the best yet but he can get better. His athleticism and look is there. While Reigns was tremendous in making him look good before beating him, Paul did not look the slightest bit green. Granted, this was likely laid out and practiced heavily, but there was not the hesitation or mechanical movement you get from someone inexperienced and the entire match went without any noticeable issues. It wasn’t just main event worthy on a show with a strong undercard, this was right up there with the best main roster matches of the year.
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Dave Meltzer is the founder and lead writer on the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the weekly constant when it comes to news and reviews in pro wrestling and mixed martial arts for more than 40 years. Dave also co-hosts Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and had had bylines for The National, Yahoo Sports, MMA Fighting and others.