WWE’s Crown Jewel plans may have changed in a big way. After days of growing security concerns in Saudi Arabia, a new report claims the company is no longer planning to hold the premium live event in Riyadh.
According to TRNBCKL, WWE is planning to relocate Crown Jewel from Riyadh, where the show had been scheduled for November 7. The report says the decision is tied to the current security situation in the region, although the company hasn’t finalized a new location yet.
The report comes after a rough stretch for Riyadh. King Khalid International Airport has remained closed after multiple attacks hit the Saudi capital. A missile strike on October 10 killed 12 people and injured more than 300 others, while another projectile hit the airport the following day, resulting in another death and additional injuries. Saudi aviation authorities later announced the airport would stay closed through October 17 as inspections and recovery efforts continued.
Those developments had already started raising red flags inside WWE. Ringside News previously reported that several WWE talent and staff members were growing concerned about traveling to Saudi Arabia as the security situation continued to worsen. The U.S. Embassy also issued a security alert warning Americans about potential disruptions involving airports, airspace and commercial flights.
Despite everything going on, WWE had continued promoting Crown Jewel for Riyadh, and there had been no official indication that the show was moving. Another major event, Canelo Alvarez’s scheduled October 31 fight in Riyadh, was also still expected to go ahead after Turki Alalshikh said Canelo had no plans to pull out.
If this latest report is accurate, however, WWE appears to be taking a different approach. Instead of waiting to see how things develop, the company is preparing to move Crown Jewel elsewhere, though where that will be remains unknown.
WWE has not officially confirmed the report, so for now it should be treated as unconfirmed. Still, with Crown Jewel less than a month away, any decision to relocate the event would likely need to be announced sooner rather than later.
Do you think WWE should move Crown Jewel to another country, or wait to see if the situation in Riyadh improves? Let us know in the comments below.
