WWE talent apparently can say no to going to Saudi Arabia for Crown Jewel, but that doesn’t mean everything will be fine when they come back to work. With the November 7 show getting closer and plenty of uncertainty still hanging over the trip, there’s now some talk about what saying “no” could actually mean.
During a recent Q&A session, WrestleVotes was asked whether there would be consequences for any WWE talent who decided they weren’t comfortable making the trip. The short answer is that nobody is physically forcing them onto the plane, but there could still be a price to pay.
According to WrestleVotes, anyone who stays home wouldn’t get paid for the show. That’s not even the biggest issue, though. He said there could also be a stigma attached to refusing the trip, and a wrestler might come back to find that their position in WWE isn’t quite what it was before.
“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.”
WrestleVotes previously said a longtime WWE source described things behind the scenes as “absolute disarray.” People working for the company don’t know whether Crown Jewel will happen in Saudi Arabia as planned, whether WWE could move the show, or whether everything could suddenly change at the last minute.
Meanwhile, everything looks like business as usual publicly. Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority chairman Turki Alalshikh promoted Crown Jewel on October 26 and told fans to buy tickets, while pushing Roman Reigns vs. Sami Zayn for the WWE Crown Jewel Championship.
WWE and TKO are at least watching what’s going on. Ari Emanuel previously confirmed that there’s a team monitoring the situation every day and figuring out where the show could potentially go if Saudi Arabia is no longer an option.
As of right now, though, Crown Jewel is still set for November 7 at Riyadh Season Stadium. Nobody has announced a move or cancellation, which means talent are still waiting to see exactly what happens. The tricky part is that if this report is right, staying home is technically an option. It just might be an option that follows someone back to work afterwards.
Do you think WWE needs to give talent a clear answer about the trip before Crown Jewel gets any closer? 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.
