Things behind the scenes in WWE aren’t looking good as Crown Jewel gets closer. With the company still scheduled to head to Saudi Arabia on November 7, people within WWE are said to be dealing with “absolute disarray” as they wait to find out whether the show will actually happen there.
During a recent Q&A session, WrestleVotes shared what he was told by a longtime WWE source about the mood backstage. According to him, there’s a lot of uncertainty right now because people involved with Crown Jewel simply don’t know whether they’re going to Saudi Arabia, whether the show could be moved, or whether plans could suddenly change.
WrestleVotes said the person he spoke with has been around WWE for a long time and has a strong understanding of what’s happening inside the company. From what that source described, the uncertainty is affecting the people who actually have to prepare for the trip.
“This is a guy I was talking to Saturday night — very knowledgeable, been in WWE for a long time, and has a good pulse on what’s going on there. It is absolute disarray within the people who work there. Everything, including going into this PLE, not knowing if it’s happening or if it’s gonna move. Waiting on a moment’s notice to see if things are changed.”
The bigger issue, according to WrestleVotes, is that many of the people involved don’t really have control over what happens next. Any decision about whether WWE goes ahead with Crown Jewel in Riyadh would have to come from much higher up, leaving talent and staff waiting for answers while the security situation continues to develop. He added that there is also real concern about potentially putting WWE talent and employees on planes and sending them into the region under the current circumstances.
“It’s really from the top down where these decisions are gonna be made. The fact that everything going on with Saudi Arabia is chaotic and dangerous, and the potential of talent being sent over there in planes — God forbid something happens to them — the situation is really scary. It’s a very helpless feeling to not have any safeguards in place.”
That paints a much more uneasy picture backstage than the one being presented publicly. Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority chairman Turki Alalshikh promoted Crown Jewel on October 26 and directly encouraged fans to buy tickets, including pushing Roman Reigns vs. Sami Zayn for the WWE Crown Jewel Championship.
At the same time, WWE and TKO clearly know the situation could still change. Ari Emanuel previously confirmed that a team has been monitoring things daily and looking at possible alternatives if Crown Jewel ultimately cannot take place in Saudi Arabia.
For now, WWE Crown Jewel remains scheduled for November 7 at Riyadh Season Stadium. There’s been no official announcement about moving or cancelling the show, but if this report is accurate, the people expected to actually make the trip are still waiting to find out exactly what they’ll be doing.
Do you think WWE should make a decision on Crown Jewel as soon as possible, or is waiting to see how the situation develops the only realistic option right now? Sound off in the comments.
