WWE may be getting ready to hit the brakes on making any new long-term commitments to Saudi Arabia. Crown Jewel is still moving forward and there’s still plenty of money tied to WWE’s existing agreements, but a new report claims there haven’t been any meaningful talks about keeping the Riyadh Season relationship going once the current business is finished.
According to Blake Avignon, WWE and TKO still have financial reasons to get through the events they’ve already agreed to. That includes money still owed from previous site-fee commitments as well as a deposit connected to WrestleMania 43 next year.
“#WWECrownJewel is happening because @TKOGrp and @WWE still have money to collect on prior site-fee commitments and need to secure the deposit tied to #WrestleMania43.”
So Crown Jewel going ahead doesn’t necessarily mean WWE is already planning the next round of Saudi shows. In fact, Avignon claims the opposite is happening behind the scenes right now.
“I’m told there haven’t been meaningful talks about renewing or extending the Riyadh Season relationship beyond the current commitments.”
That’s where things get especially interesting considering everything happening in the region. Political and security tensions have been escalating, and Avignon believes TKO executives Ari Emanuel and Mark Shapiro are more interested in finishing the business they already have than signing WWE up for anything else right now.
“With political tensions in the region escalating, it looks like Ari Emanuel and Mark Shapiro are trying to finish the existing business, collect what’s owed, and avoid locking WWE into anything new for now.”
Basically, the claim is that WWE isn’t walking away from a pile of money that’s already on the table, but TKO also doesn’t appear eager to immediately put more WWE events on that table. Once WrestleMania 43 is finished, the company could have a much bigger decision to make.
That doesn’t mean TKO itself is done doing business in Saudi Arabia. Avignon noted that Zuffa Boxing still has a relationship there, so this isn’t being framed as the company completely packing its bags and leaving the market.
“Saudi Arabia still has the @Zuffa_Boxing relationship, so TKO isn’t exactly walking away from the market.”
Instead, Avignon described the situation as WWE essentially getting through what’s already been agreed upon before deciding whether another chapter is worth opening.
“This looks more like WWE finishing the chapter already on the books before deciding what comes next.”
The timing certainly isn’t great for WWE’s Saudi relationship. Crown Jewel is scheduled for November 7 in Riyadh, while recent attacks and travel disruptions have already created questions about how WWE will safely get its wrestlers, staff and production operation into and out of the country.
The U.S. State Department has also warned Americans in the Middle East about potential flight cancellations, airspace closures and further travel disruptions. King Khalid International Airport has shown signs of returning to operation following a lengthy shutdown, but the situation remains anything but normal.
None of this means WWE has decided to pull out of Saudi Arabia once WrestleMania 43 is over. The key part of Avignon’s report is simply that meaningful extension talks apparently aren’t happening right now, which is pretty notable considering how important Saudi events have become to WWE’s business over the years.
For now, WWE appears to still have money to collect and shows to run before it can close the book on anything. Once those obligations are handled, however, what happens next between WWE and Riyadh Season suddenly looks a lot less certain.htt
What do you think about WWE holding off on extending its Riyadh Season relationship beyond the deals already on the books? Let us know in the comments below.
