US Senators Want WWE To Postpone Crown Jewel Event In Saudi Arabia

WWE’s upcoming Crown Jewel pay-per-view is not too far away, but some U.S. Senators are urging WWE to postpone the event due to the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi.

WWE’s Crown Jewel is the second pay-per-view event being held in Saudi Arabia, which is a big deal for WWE, as it seems like a highly profitable venture. Recently, however, a Washington Post columnist named Jamal Khashoggi has gone missing and is believed to have been killed after a trip to a Saudi Arabian Consulate.

Khashoggi had been critical about the Saudi goverment and Mohammed bin Salman in the past, and after heading to the consulate to obtain marriage documents he never left and is believed to have been tortured and killed, though that has not been confirmed.

As a result, several United States Senators have urged WWE to either postpone or cancel the event outright. Senator Lindsey Graham told IJR hopes that President Trump, who has had a good relationship with WWE in the past (he sits on their hall of fame) would “prevail upon them not doing it. There should be a pause … I want a complete rethinking of our relationship.”

Senator Chris Murphy (Connecticut) said “This is a brazen assault on the freedom of the press and a slap in the face to the United States, if this murder occurred as it seems it did, I’d hope that they would be rethinking their relationship with the kingdom especially with respect to events coming up in the next weeks like [WWE Crown Jewel].”

Senator Bob Menendez (New Jersey) said “Private enterprise is private enterprise, different than a governmental entity, but because [Linda McMahon] is part of the president’s cabinet, it falls into the grey area where the administration really should give it some thought and maybe even prevail upon them not doing it.”

At the last event, WWE caught some backlash for their female superstars being left off the card due to being in Saudi Arabia. At the time Paul Triple H Levesque offered the following explanation.

“I understand that people are questioning it, but you have to understand that every culture is different and just because you don’t agree with a certain aspect of it, it doesn’t mean it’s not a relevant culture,” Levesque said “While women are not competing in the event, we have had discussions about that and hope that in the next few years they will be.

WWE Crown Jewel hits the WWE Network on Friday, November 2nd at 12 pm est.