The WWE partnership with the Saudi Arabian government has been riddled with controversy since its inception in 2018. With the Crown Jewel event looming and the country currently at war with the Houthis, the partnership is even more complicated.
The US Embassy has ordered non-essential personnel and their families to leave Saudi Arabia and has put a level three warning on travel to the country, meaning people should restrict travel.
Last weekend, a Houthi missile hit and took out two entire gates at the Riyadh International Airport. 13 people were reportedly killed in the attack, with over 300 more injured.
Despite the violence, WWE is still scheduled to move forward with its Crown Jewel event on November 7. TKO Group CEO Ari Emanuel commented on the upcoming show and said that it was still on, but that the company was monitoring the situation in Saudi Arabia. Why hasn't the company moved the event like other organizations? Money, perhaps.
WWE reportedly could lose millions if Crown Jewel is canceled
According to the Wrestling Observer, should Crown Jewel be canceled, WWE and TKO would be in line to lose anywhere between $70 million and $90 million. That number would represent nearly a quarter of their quarterly revenue.
This WWE Crown Jewel event is part of a massive billion-dollar partnership that began with Saudi Arabia in 2018. The company has run shows in the country every year since then. Sometimes more than one. This year, WWE ran its annual Royal Rumble PLE in the country, while next year, WrestleMania 43 will emanate from the country.
The main events for that show are nearly in place, according to a new report. If plans stay the same, one of the main events will feature familiar WrestleMania main event faces.
As of now, two matches have been announced for this year's Crown Jewel, and both are champion vs. champion matches for the WWE Crown Jewel Championships. The first is Roman Reigns vs. Sami Zayn. Reigns is the current world champion on the Raw brand, while Zayn is the world champion on SmackDown. Both men have a long history together as part of The Bloodline faction. They faced each other at Elimination Chamber in 2023, where Reigns retained his world title in that match.
The other announced match for the event is Liv Morgan vs. Chelsea Green. Morgan currently holds the world title on Raw, while Green is the world champion on the SmackDown brand.
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