WWE’s Crown Jewel situation in Saudi Arabia just got a whole lot more uncomfortable. With the company supposed to bring its roster to Riyadh on November 7, the U.S. government has now ordered non-emergency diplomatic personnel and their families to leave Saudi Arabia as Houthi attacks continue.
The move came on October 21, and the timing couldn’t be much worse for WWE. Reuters reported that the State Department ordered the departures because of increased security threats connected to the Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen.
There were initially even more alarming reports about how far the order went. AFP cited a diplomatic source claiming all American embassy staff and their families had been ordered to leave Saudi Arabia, while families of embassy personnel were also being ordered out of several other Gulf countries.
“All American staff and their families have been ordered to depart from the US embassy in Saudi Arabia.”
Reuters described the confirmed U.S. action more narrowly, reporting an ordered departure involving non-emergency personnel and family members in Saudi Arabia. Either way, the U.S. government is now actively moving people out of the country while WWE is preparing to move an entire wrestling production into it.
That’s not the only problem either. Saudi Arabia was hit by another deadly attack on October 21 when air defenses intercepted a drone targeting a facility at the Shaybah oil field in the country’s Eastern Province. Falling debris killed two foreign workers and injured two others, although officials said operations at the facility weren’t affected.
Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport has already been caught up in the situation as well. The airport began reopening to limited traffic after previous attacks, but international travel has remained heavily disrupted, which obviously isn’t ideal when WWE needs to get wrestlers, employees, equipment and production personnel into Riyadh.
This latest development also comes only two days after the State Department warned Americans throughout the Middle East to prepare for possible flight cancellations, airspace closures and other travel disruptions. Now things have moved beyond simply telling people to be careful, with diplomatic personnel and their families actually being ordered out of Saudi Arabia.
None of this means WWE has canceled Crown Jewel. The November 7 show remains on the schedule, and there hasn’t been an announcement from WWE saying the event is being relocated or called off.
Still, the clock is ticking pretty fast now. WWE has a little over two weeks before Crown Jewel, and with the U.S. pulling diplomatic personnel and families out while attacks continue, the question of whether WWE can safely get everyone into Riyadh and back home is only getting bigger.
What do you think WWE should do about Crown Jewel as the security situation in Saudi Arabia continues to escalate? Let us know in the comments below.
