Roman Reigns turns on Steve Smith in Perth, attacks Bronson Reed with cricket bat to spark 2025-26 Ashes

WWE superstar Roman Reigns turned into Australian national cricket team player Steve Smith during WWE Crown Jewel 2025, held at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia.

Roman Reigns beat his opponent, AusZilla’s Bronson Reed, with a cricket bat, with commentator Wade Barrett comparing the Chieftain to Australian National Cricket Team legends Ricky Ponting and Steve Smith.

Cricket meets WWE at Crown Jewel as Roman Reigns turns into Steve Smith

Australia and England are gearing up for the high-octane 2025-26 Ashes, which is scheduled to start in November. Optus Stadium in Perth will host the first match from November 21-25, and the second Test will be played at The Gabba in Brisbane from December 4-8.

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The third Test will be hosted by Adelaide Oval from December 17-21, and the fourth Test will be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) from December 26-30. The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) will also host the fifth Test from January 4-8, 2026.

Ahead of the series opener, WWE brought its signature live event to Perth. WWE Crown Jewel showcased a stacked card with John Cena and AJ Styles returning to their legendary rivalry for one last time. Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes faced World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins, while WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton faced World Women’s Champion Stephanie Faker.

Another huge match that fans witnessed was between Adelaide-born Bronson Reed, a member of The Vision stable, and The Chieftain, Roman Reigns. There was a lot of hype surrounding the match after the two professional wrestlers brawled on Raw and Reed claimed to be the first man ever to pin Roman Reigns.

Meanwhile, in an action-packed match at WWE Crown Jewel 2025, Reigns brought cricket fever to wrestling as he used a cricket bat to brutally beat Ozila out of the ring.

Upon seeing Roman Reigns’ brutal display with the bat, commentator Wade Barrett said: “He’s like Steve Smith in here,” before comparing the former world champion to Ricky Ponting. In the end, Reigns was unable to get the win as Bronson Reed picked up the biggest win of his career via pinfall.

Read also: ‘You will sink’: Gautam Gambhir recalls ’25-year-old’ Shubman Gill’s chilling warning

Watch: Roman Reigns turns into Steve Smith in Perth, and attacks Bronson Reed with a cricket bat

beating! 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/qytfaTMilR

– WWE (@WWE) October 11, 2025

Chris Woakes predicts England will win the Ashes

Recently retired England spinner Chris Woakes, speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, said England have a great chance of recording an Ashes series win Down Under. He explained:

“Going to Australia is a different beast. Hopefully the guys can go and do well and we have a big chance this time. We have great depth and a great team. The players in the starting XI, if they can stay fit and on the field we have a great chance. Ashes cricket is played with a lot more venom behind it, but these players have played a lot of international cricket and enough to know what it’s about.”

“We’ve been building well over the last few years but haven’t quite gotten over the line in the big series, but it can’t get any bigger than this. We deserve a competitive performance down under and these guys have got that in the locker.”