Acting RAW General Manager Baron Corbin announced on tonight’s show that Bobby Lashley will be replacing John Cena in the WWE World Cup tournament at Friday’s Crown Jewel event from Saudi Arabia.
The storyline is that Corbin was pleased with Lashley for the beatdown he gave to Finn Balor tonight. Corbin noted that Lashley would be replacing someone who did not qualify for the tournament – Cena. For those who missed it a few weeks back, WWE touted Cena as being the first tournament participant and one who didn’t need to qualify due to his previous accomplishments.
Cena reportedly informed WWE officials earlier this month that he would not be making the trip to Saudi Arabia due to the recent state-sponsored death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. There’s no word yet on when Cena might be back on WWE TV but we will keep you updated.
Below is the updated Crown Jewel card along with a photo & video from the segment with Lashey and Corbin:
Vacant WWE Universal Title Match
Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman
WWE Title Match
Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles
SmackDown Tag Team Title Match
The New Day vs. The Bar with Big Show
WWE World Cup: One-Night Eight-Man Tournament
RAW: Bobby Lashley, WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle, WWE Intercontinental & RAW Tag Team Champion Seth Rollins, Dolph Ziggler
SmackDown: Randy Orton, Jeff Hardy, Rey Mysterio, The Miz
DX (Triple H and WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels) vs. The Brothers of Destruction (The Undertaker and Kane)
WOW. @fightbobby just impressed @BaronCorbinWWE so much, he's qualified for the #WWEWorldCup tournament to determine the best in the world at #WWECrownJewel! #RAW pic.twitter.com/ulUFC9OBYD
— WWE (@WWE) October 30, 2018
.@BaronCorbinWWE was impressed with @fightbobby's performance tonight on #Raw… pic.twitter.com/hwDTCumVHS
— WWE (@WWE) October 30, 2018
