Fans accuse Jake Paul of rigging his fights after knockout 'working punch' in WWE debut

Jake Paul made his WWE debut in Saudi Arabia on Saturday night (5 November). However, the The Problem Child soon found himself on the wrong end of social media criticism after he was accused - yet again - of rigging his boxing bouts following a dodgy looking right hand.

The star of the WWE Crown Jewel PPV was actually Jake's brother, Logan Paul, who faced off against legendary wrestler Roman Reigns in the headline bout.

But Jake made a brief appearance to help his older sibling, jumping in the ring to 'KO' the Uso brothers who were supporting Reigns.

The punches that decked the pair were soon being scrutinised on social media, with 25-year-old Paul being called out by several wrestling fans and journalists alike.

One such critic was Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com, who Tweeted (in jest): "If you ever wondered if Jake Paul's fights were fixed, you just saw his working punch," refer to the former vlogger's right hook.

The reaction to his WWE debut follows prior accusations that last weekend's bout with UFC icon Anderson Silva was also rigged.

Knockout shot from @jakepaul!!!#WWECrownJewel pic.twitter.com/upnNjjD1Ao

— WWE (@WWE) November 5, 2022

Thousands of fans blasted the 6-0 boxer, questioning the way in which Silva was knocked down late in the pair's professional bout.

Referencing Paul's knockdown of the 47-year-old, @patrickdduff wrote: "Silva 1000% took a dive, it’s like watching the Zapruder film watching Jake pull short."

Another perplexed user added: "You don't need to throw work punches to throw fights, this is boxing. A long history of fixed fights."

Paul issued a swift and defiant response to accusations of his fights being rigged, ironically enough, during an episode of Logan's Impaulsive podcast.

He said: “I think smart people with intelligence are giving me props and respect."

“Like the WBC President [Mauricio Sulaimán] saying that anyone who says Jake is not a real boxer is just bitter and is a hater. "There are the people who will always be there in my career who are discrediting it. Now, they’re saying it was rigged. It went from, ‘Jake’s going to get knocked out by Anderson,’ to, ‘Oh, that was rigged.’"

Away from Jake's cameo at the event in Saudi Arabia, the star of the Crown Jewel PPV was very much his elder brother.

THROUGH THE TABLE @WWE pic.twitter.com/hmVslclxgs

— Logan Paul (@LoganPaul) November 5, 2022

Logan, 27, filmed himself executing a 'frog splash' off the top rope on his mobile phone - which saw both him and Reigns crash through a table.

The YouTuber's business partner and friend KSI Tweeted out his amazement at the move.

The Brit commented: "What a match bro", alongside Logan's footage of the move.

Do you think any of Jake Paul's fights were rigged? Let us know in the comments.