There’s apparently a whole lot of pissed-off people inside TKO right now, and the reason is pretty simple — they don’t want to keep getting sent to Saudi Arabia while missile and drone attacks are happening. WWE got Crown Jewel finished, but behind the scenes, some workers are reaching their breaking point.
According to Ben Fowlkes of Uncrowned, multiple people working under the TKO umbrella are increasingly frustrated with the company continuing to hold events in Riyadh despite the ongoing conflict involving Houthi forces in Yemen. One anonymous TKO employee didn’t dance around what they believe is keeping these shows alive — money.
“Why are you still even having these shows at this point? I think the answer is, if they chose not to do the show, they would lose out on millions and millions of dollars.
“From what I’ve heard, if we don’t do the shows in Saudi Arabia or [United Arab Emirates] or Doha or wherever we are going, then our fourth-quarter earnings will be off and our shareholders aren’t going to get their money. So it’s all about greed. They don’t care about anybody’s well-being. The level of greed with this company is so gross.”
Those are the employee’s allegations, and TKO had not responded to Uncrowned’s request for comment when the report was published. The timing obviously hasn’t helped. WWE held Crown Jewel in Riyadh on November 7, and according to the report, the WWE wrestlers had already left the country when another missile attack hit Riyadh’s financial district the following day.
Saudi Arabia had already been dealing with repeated attacks throughout October. That included a cruise missile strike at King Khalid International Airport on October 10 that killed 13 people and injured more than 300. Other sporting events have been postponed amid the situation, which has left some TKO workers asking why their company can’t do the same.
“All [TKO executives] talk about is if the State Department says it is OK to fly there. The rest of us are like, ‘If the State Department has to think about it at all, let’s just postpone.’ That’s what all the other sports are doing. Why can’t TKO?”
TKO CEO Ari Emanuel addressed the situation before Crown Jewel and said the company was keeping a close eye on everything. At that point, the plan was still to go ahead unless circumstances changed.
“Right now, everything is still set [for WWE Crown Jewel]. This weekend coming up in Abu Dhabi, we have a UFC fight. We have, in the middle of November, a Frieze art show. So, so far, so good — nothing’s been cancelled.
“We have a whole team kind of working on this, and kind of when — and if that doesn’t happen, where we can move it. It’s a daily monitoring.”
But apparently the bigger problem for some workers isn’t just whether the shows happen. It’s that they feel they aren’t being told enough about what happens if things suddenly go wrong. With UFC Fight Night scheduled for Riyadh on December 5, one source said workers haven’t received the kind of safety and backup information they want.
“Not one email has gone out saying, ‘Here are the details and the plans for December 5th.’ That’s crazy. They don’t tell you anything. They just throw it at you. How about a backup plan? How about a safety letter? ‘Hey, if x happens, we go do y. We’ll all meet here. We’ll do this. We’ll do that.’ Nothing.”
And that frustration apparently goes well beyond one upcoming show. According to Uncrowned, production crew members traveling for WWE and UFC can also be asked to work events for other TKO properties, including Power Slap and Zuffa Boxing. One employee absolutely unloaded on how they believe workers are being treated across the company.
“They don’t f***ing care about you one bit. People are just getting tired of the way they’re getting treated. They get treated like s and everybody’s tired of it. The lack of communication, the greed, the lack of appreciation, people are just sick of it.”
TKO President and COO Mark Shapiro has tried to reassure employees. During a company town hall, he said TKO would “not hesitate” to cancel or postpone events if there was danger or further escalation. Shapiro also acknowledged that losing those events would hurt TKO financially, although he maintained that business comes second to employee safety. He also spoke about the company’s strong year financially.
“We want to have the year we all envisioned. We’ve all worked so hard for that year. [20]26 is shaping up to be that year.”
But judging by what some employees told Uncrowned, those assurances haven’t exactly made everybody comfortable. The report says people inside the company are now discussing who actually has to make these Middle East trips and whether they can get out of going. Some are apparently considering waiting until it’s time to travel and then simply refusing.
“Everyone is talking about the Middle East shows. Who has to go, who can get out of going. Some people say they are waiting until the time to fly comes and telling [executives] that they won’t go. But I don’t know how many will follow through with that. This is a company that can fire you for no reason or any reason. Everyone just can’t believe this is a choice that they are being forced to make — fly into a war zone or risk getting fired before Christmas.”
There’s no indication that TKO has actually threatened to fire workers who refuse to travel, so that part represents the fear expressed by the anonymous employee rather than a confirmed company policy. And according to another source, the frustration over Saudi Arabia has become part of a much bigger issue with how some current and former employees view life inside TKO.
“We’ve come to the realization, this is what it is. We’re going to either have to accept it or leave, because nothing’s going to change at this point. But it’s time to get called out. People think it’s fine and you get taken care of. People realize the fighters get paid s***. I mean, that’s obvious. You guys have covered that aspect of it. People know, and the fighters are starting to speak up for themselves, but it doesn’t stop with them. That’s the message I want to get across. Everyone across the whole company gets treated like s***, whether you’re a fighter or a camera guy.”
So Crown Jewel being over hasn’t made this problem disappear. TKO still has events planned in Saudi Arabia, and some of the people expected to help make those shows happen are apparently getting tired of wondering whether they’ll have to choose between making the trip and protecting their jobs.
What do you make of TKO employees considering refusing future Saudi Arabia trips over their safety concerns? Let us know what you think in the comments.
