Kevin Owens apparently isn’t too thrilled about WWE’s upcoming trip to Saudi Arabia. There’s been plenty of talk about people backstage being pissed over the Crown Jewel situation, and now Jonathan Coachman has actually put a name to some of that frustration.
Speaking on Two Count Tuesday, Coachman said he heard from one of his connections about what’s going on behind the scenes. He admitted he normally doesn’t give wrestling dirt sheets much credit, but this time he says they’ve got it right. According to Coach, he’s been given names of WWE talent who are furious backstage. The interesting part is that none of them have said anything publicly yet.
“I got one of my connections yesterday, and I rarely put over the dirt sheets, but they’re correct. Because the names that have been given to me that are backstage furious over this — but we haven’t seen one talent, not one, talk about this or address this.”
That’s when Kevin Owens entered the conversation. JD pointed out that WWE has booked Owens vs. CM Punk as a taped match for the Barclays Center next week. He wondered whether that match was originally supposed to happen at Crown Jewel before plans changed because Owens didn’t want to go to Saudi Arabia.
“They booked Kevin Owens vs. CM Punk in a taped match for the Barclays Center next week. So I think that was gonna happen at Crown Jewel, but it’s not happening because they don’t wanna go to Saudi.”
Jonathan Coachman didn’t dance around it. He said Kevin Owens was specifically one of the names he had been given, and he respects Owens for saying something backstage.
“Correct. Kevin Owens was one of the names that was told to me yesterday. So I respect that he’s saying something backstage.”
That gets even more interesting considering what WrestleVotes recently said about talent refusing the trip. According to that report, WWE stars can technically say they’re staying home, but they wouldn’t get paid for the show and there could potentially be some awkward consequences waiting for them afterwards.
“They could say they’re not going, and they won’t get paid, and the rest of their career will be reflective of that. Not the pay, but the stigma — the position that they might find themselves no longer in. They can say, ‘I’m staying home. I’m watching it on my couch. You can figure it out,’ but things may be different when they go back to work.”
And apparently this isn’t just one or two people quietly complaining. WrestleVotes previously said a longtime WWE source described the situation backstage as “absolute disarray,” with people still unsure exactly what’s going to happen with the November 7 show.
Meanwhile, WWE is carrying on like everything is normal. Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority chairman Turki Alalshikh was promoting Crown Jewel tickets on October 26 and pushing Roman Reigns vs. Sami Zayn for the WWE Crown Jewel Championship. Ari Emanuel has also said there’s a team watching the situation every day and looking at alternatives in case WWE eventually has to take Crown Jewel somewhere else.
For now, the show is still scheduled for November 7 at Riyadh Season Stadium. Nothing has officially changed, but if this information is right, Owens is one WWE star who apparently wants nothing to do with getting on that plane.
Do you think Kevin Owens speaking up backstage could encourage other WWE talent to make their feelings known as well? Let us know what you think in the comments.
This transcript was produced exclusively for Ringside News from the original recording. Republishing the transcription in full is prohibited. When using excerpts, provide prominent credit and a link to this article.
