WWE Crown Jewel is scheduled to take place this Saturday in Saudi Arabia, but recent real-world events have put the scheduled event in question. As reported in The Wall Street Journal, Saudi Arabia shared intelligence with the United States regarding an “imminent threat” of an attack from Iran on the kingdom’s energy infrastructure. The United States military and other forces located in the Middle East are said to be on an “elevated alert level” following the warning.
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“We are concerned about the threat picture, and we remain in constant contact through military and intelligence channels with the Saudis,” a National Security Council spokesperson said. “We will not hesitate to act in the defense of our interests and partners in the region.”
As of this writing, there has been no official statement from WWE regarding the status ofย WWE Crown Jewel. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer noted on Twitter that the show is currently slated to take place.
“The best term regarding Saudi Arabia would be monitoring the situation,” Meltzer wrote. “All plans are for the show at this moment but you can’t control the real world.”
Mike Johnson of PWInsiderย also reported that WWE Crown Jewel is moving forward, but added that WWE itself has “emergency contingencies” ready if anything changes.
“In speaking to several at WWE, we are told that the show is set to still go forward and that the company already has security protocols and emergency contingencies in place for any issues,” Johnson wrote. “They are hopeful all will be fine.”
In the event’s four-year history, WWE Crown Jewel has faced a crisis three times now. In the weeks leading up to the 2018 edition, Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was assassinated by agents of the Saudi Arabian government in Turkey. Despite the American government pressuring WWE to cancel the show, WWE Crown Jewel 2018 moved forward. This led to top stars like John Cena and Daniel Bryan (AEW’s Bryan Danielson) pulling out of the event.
One year later, WWE Crown Jewel was once again subject to hysteria. Then-WWE Chairman Vince McMahon reportedly cut the broadcast feed for the show in Saudi Arabia due to the kingdom still owing WWE millions of dollars for previous shows. After the show ended, the scheduled flight for nearly 200 WWE talent experienced “aircraft problems” on the tarmac, leading to an extensive delay that forced many top stars to miss that week’s WWE SmackDown. Many wrestlers were reportedly in disbelief about the “mechanical issues” due to a heavy military presence on the tarmac, with other talent believing that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman grounded the plane as retaliation towards McMahon.
WWE Crown Jewel is expected to take place on Saturday, November 5th.
