A date appears to have been set for WWE’s return to Saudi Arabia next month.
Andrew Zarian of the Mat Men podcast reported on Wednesday that WWE is planning to hold its next show in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, February 19. It will be the first time WWE has been to Saudi Arabia since last October’s Crown Jewel event.
The Saudi show taking place on Saturday is a change for WWE. The company’s recent Saudi events have been held on Thursdays.
When WWE’s pay-per-view schedule for 2022 was revealed, there were shows in February and October that were listed as “to be announced.” Those were placeholders for WWE’s two annual Saudi PPVs.
October’s Crown Jewel was the first WWE show to take place in Saudi Arabia since the COVID-19 pandemic began. WWE has held six shows in the country since announcing its 10-year agreement with the Saudi government in 2018.
Here’s the updated WWE PPV schedule for the rest of 2022:
Saturday, January 29: Royal Rumble at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis, Missouri
Saturday, February 19: Saudi Arabia PPV
Saturday, April 2 and Sunday, April 3: WrestleMania 38 at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas
Sunday, May 8: Pay-per-view at Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island
Sunday, June 5: Pay-per-view at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois
Saturday, July 2: Money In The Bank at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada
Saturday, July 30: SummerSlam at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee
Sunday, September 4: Pay-per-view at TBD location
October: TBA Saudi PPV
Saturday, November 26: Survivor Series at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts
Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar are officially set to face off when WWE returns to Saudi Arabia next month.
WWE announced today that Reigns vs. Lesnar will take place at Crown Jewel on Thursday, October 21. The show will air on Peacock/WWE Network starting at noon Eastern time.
Reigns’ Universal Championship will be on the line if he’s still champion when Crown Jewel takes place. Reigns is defending the title against “The Demon” Finn Balor at Extreme Rules on Sunday, September 26.
At SummerSlam last month, Lesnar made his return and confronted Reigns after Reigns retained the Universal Championship against John Cena. It was Lesnar’s first appearance on WWE programming since WrestleMania 36 in 2020.
Lesnar also appeared at last Friday’s SmackDown at Madison Square Garden. After Lesnar challenged him to a Universal Championship match, Reigns responded later in the episode and accepted the challenge. Reigns said he’ll smash Lesnar as soon as he’s done smashing Balor.
Crown Jewel will be the first time WWE has been to Saudi Arabia since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Reigns vs. Lesnar is the first match that’s been announced for the show.
WWE is officially set to make their return to the Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia.
On tonight’s SummerSlam pay-per-view, a video package aired announcing a return to Saudi Arabia in October. While no specific date was announced in the package, PWInsider reported that the show is scheduled for Thursday, October 21st.
The company hasn’t been in the country since Febuary 2020, where they held WWE Super Showdown in Riyadh. In the main event, Goldberg defeated “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt to win the WWE Universal Championship. They were set to return to the country that fall for another event, but the global COVID-19 pandemic delayed plans for a return.
WWE has been consistently putting on shows in the Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia since 2018. The two sides came to a ten-year agreement in 2018 to hold at least two events a year in the country until 2027, which brings in about 100 million dollars in revenue for the company.
It appears that WWE will be holding both King and Queen of the Ring tournaments this year.
Andrew Zarian of the Mat Men Podcast reported on Friday that the King of the Ring tournament will be making its return this October, with the finals set to be held when WWE returns to Saudi Arabia that month. That’s in addition to the first-ever Queen of the Ring tournament that’s also reportedly set for October.
Zarian has reported that the Queen of the Ring finals will also take place in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Arabia show is planned for Thursday, October 21 but hasn’t been officially announced.
October’s show in Saudi Arabia will be the first time WWE has held an event in the country since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. WWE was last in Saudi Arabia for Super ShowDown in February 2020.
WWE’s last King of the Ring tournament prior to this took place in 2019. Baron Corbin defeated Chad Gable in the finals.
As long as COVID-19 regulations allow for it, WWE is planning a return to Saudi Arabia this October for another large scale event, resuming a controversial business relationship.
Mat Men’s Andrew Zarian first reported the news on Monday, saying he had heard Thursday, October 21st as the targeted date. POST Wrestling’s John Pollock tweeted he had heard the same with Dave Meltzer confirming the date — the first there since the pandemic started.
WWE has not publicly confirmed the news, but is expected to this Thursday during their quarterly investors call.
The last Saudi event was February 2020’s Super ShowDown, one of five pay-per-view style events WWE has held there since 2018. That event featured Goldberg defeating “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt for the Universal Championship.
The relationship between the two sides has not come without controversy.
The June 2019 Super Showdown event was to feature a women’s match for the first time in the country as Alexa Bliss was set to take on Natalya. The government rejected the match even though both women flew to the country, but later that year at the Crown Jewel event, Natalya and Lacey Evans made history instead.
Following that show, there was an incident with a plane holding wrestlers, staff and other personnel that remained stuck at the airport for six hours with rumors swirling as to the reasons for that delay. Twenty wrestlers ended up getting back to the U.S. via a second chartered plane.
After that event, WWE and the Saudi General Entertainment Authority signed a long-term partnership through 2027 that called for a second annual large scale event in addition to working toward a media deal that is a common topic on quarterly investment calls.
There have been two subsequent lawsuits by U.S.-based investment groups related to WWE’s dealings with Saudi Arabia, one of which was settled last November for $39 million.
WWE is dismissing allegations stemming from recent claims made by an ex-WWE star regarding last year’s Crown Jewel event.
Jerry McDevitt on behalf of WWE issued the following statement to Forbes:
After the Court appointed a third law firm to be lead counsel, WWE provided all three law firms with specific detailed facts from the persons with actual knowledge of the situation, including the phony allegation about the plane. The first two law firms then dropped their lawsuits to avoid sanction motions, but the third firm chose to ignore the specific facts they had been provided, and instead cited an unnamed disgruntled former wrestler with no knowledge of the facts. WWE is preparing its response to the lawsuit and will be moving to have it dismissed.
The claims were made in one of several recent lawsuits by WWE shareholders, who argue that WWE has made misleading statements regarding their business dealings with Saudi Arabia.
In one of these lawsuits, a former employee identified as CW-2, who performed for WWE from 2012 to April 2020, was initally told that the flight had been delayed. When he spoke to a stewardess, they were quoted as saying that “it seems someone doesn’t want us to leave the country.”
CW-2 also recalled seeing guards wearing “black militia attire” staring at the wrestlers on board.
He was also told by the Senior Director of Talent Relations Mark Carrano that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Vince McMahon had gotten into an argument over payments regarding the last event held in Saudi Arabia, Super Showdown. As a result, McMahaon cut the live feed for the Crown Jewel event, which had made the Crown Prince upset.
A steel cage match has been announced for Super ShowDown later this month.
Baron Corbin and Roman Reigns will battle inside a steel cage in Saudi Arabia. Reigns made the stipulation tonight on SmackDown after Corbin insisted he and Roman Reigns face off one last time. Reigns came out and the two brawled, but Corbin eventually retreated.
Corbin and Reigns have been feuding since December. After beating Reigns at TLC thanks to Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode, Corbin was defeated by Reigns in a falls count anywhere match last month at the Royal Rumble.
Last week, Corbin, Ziggler, and Roode faced Reigns and The Usos in a six man tag team match where the loser would have to eat dog food. Corbin lost the match and as a result had dog food dumped all over him, retribution from December when he did the same thing to Reigns.
Super ShowDown will take place Thursday, February 27 at King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Challenging for the Universal Championship is what’s next for Goldberg.
When WWE returns to Saudi Arabia for Super ShowDown later this month, Goldberg will challenge “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt for the Universal Championship. The announcement of the match was made on tonight’s episode of SmackDown.
Goldberg appeared on SmackDown via satellite tonight and issued a challenge to The Fiend. He said watching the Royal Rumble with his son gave him the itch to get back into the ring. He mentioned that WWE Champion Brock Lesnar already had his hands full — but there was also the Universal title.
Goldberg said his reign with the Universal Championship in 2017 was too short and he never got a rematch for the title. He was then interrupted by a Firefly Fun House news report segment that was hosted by Wyatt, who announced that The Fiend accepts Goldberg’s challenge.
This will be the first time Goldberg has wrestled since defeating Dolph Ziggler at last year’s SummerSlam. Goldberg also wrestled at Super ShowDown in Saudi Arabia last year, with his match against The Undertaker falling apart after Goldberg was knocked out during it.
Super ShowDown is taking place in Riyadh on Thursday, February 27 and will air live on the WWE Network. Lesnar defending his WWE title against Ricochet has also been confirmed for the show, along with The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Big E) defending their SmackDown Tag Team titles against The Miz & John Morrison.
A video that aired during tonight’s Royal Rumble broadcast announced that this year’s Super ShowDown in Saudi Arabia will take place on Thursday, February 27. The show will air live on the WWE Network starting at noon Eastern time.
On commentary, Tom Phillips said the show will be held in Riyadh.
This will be the first time WWE has returned to Saudi Arabia since their post-Crown Jewel travel delays. Crown Jewel 2019 was held at Riyadh’s King Fahd International Stadium on October 31.
Following Crown Jewel and those travel delays, WWE announced an “expanded” partnership with the Saudi General Entertainment Authority. It officially guarantees that WWE will hold two large-scale events in Saudi Arabia through 2027.
WWE’s 10-year partnership with Saudi Arabia began with the Greatest Royal Rumble in April 2018. This year’s Super ShowDown will be the fifth event in the deal.
Last year’s Super ShowDown took place in Jeddah on June 7 and was headlined by The Undertaker vs. Goldberg.
We’re doing polls today on NXT Takeover Blackpool and Impact Hard to Kill, so you can send a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]” target=”_blank”>[email protected]
We’re looking for reports on these shows:
NXT Friday night in Pittsburgh
Dark matches from Smackdown Friday night in Evansville
ROH FROM CONCORD, NC AT 7 P.M. EASTERN ON HONOR CLUB
Marty Scurll & PCO & Brody King vs. Rush & Dragon Lee & Kenny King for six-man titles
Mark & Jay Briscoe vs. Dalton Castle & Joe Hendry
Flip Gordon vs. Flamita
Alex Zayne vs. Bandido
Mark Haskins & Tracy Williams vs. Bateman & Vincent
Rey Hours vs. Andrew Everett
IMPACT HARD TO KILL PPV SUNDAY AT 8 P.M. EASTERN
Sami Callihan vs. Tessa Blanchard for Impact title
Ace Austin vs. Trey Miguel for X title
Taya Valkyrie vs. Jordynne Grace vs. ODB for Knockouts title
Ethan Page & Josh Alexander vs. ? & Willie Mack for Impact tag titles
Eddie Edwards vs. Michael Elgin
Rob Van Dam vs. Brian Cage
Moose vs. Rhino
Ken Shamrock vs. Mad Man Fulton
Raw is a loaded show on Monday from Lexington, KY with Big Show & Kevin Owens & Samoa Joe vs. Seth Rollins & AOP in a fist fight, Bobby Lashley vs. Rusev and Aleister Black vs. Buddy Murphy and Brock Lesnar is on the show.
Looking back at the year WWE has had, you get a better sense of how much talent is in the company.
Main roster television and storylines have their problems, but narrowing the list of my favorite WWE matches of the year down to 10 was still incredibly difficult. The company produces so much product and has so many great wrestlers spread across Raw, SmackDown, NXT, and NXT UK. NXT was the standout in what was a transformative year as it moved to airing live on the USA Network, but all four brands were still represented on my list.
Here are my picks for WWE’s 10 best matches of 2019:
With coverage of WrestleKingdom, pro wrestling in Japan and the death of Pampero Firpo, we’ve got another double issue of the Observer this week.
Our lead story looks at the legacy of Pampero Firpo, one of the top stars of the 60s and 70s. We look at his character, the Randy Savage connection, the start of his career in Argentina, how he got started in the U.S. and was a star in week one, his forgotten world title win, the story behind his getting the Pampero Firpo name and the legendary boxing match it came from, his first run with Vince McMahon Sr. in 1960, his second run in 1972, the angle that turned him babyface in Detroit, and his life after wrestling working at the post office.
The issue also covers:
The wrestling scene in Japan, wrestling around the city, the wrestling stores, the advertising, the business from the Tokyo Dome, doing two WrestleMania in two days, why it worked for New Japan and why such a great first show ended up as a handicap. We look at what got over the biggest, probably why main roster PPVs struggle the day after blow away NXT shows, as well as tickets sold outside of Japan for he two shows and growth of the overseas audience.
New Japan’s expansion into the U.S., original booking plans for 2019, how Jericho and Tanahashi were able to do an angle involving the AEW belt, the political issues between AEW and NJPW, New Japan’s 2020 schedule, and the future of the junior heavyweights.
A pension fund suing WWE and why, with the story behind it as well as the launch of the XFL and its new rules, we’ve got DVR numbers for AEW & NXT, a wrestler who may be leaving WWE and contract status, crazy stuff some in WWE have been brainwashed on, lots of new lineups in WWE, Punk vs. Miz, Lesnar gets honored by University of Minnesota, new WWE signing, WWE awards, Ryback’s latest issues with WWE, Canadian ratings for all the top U.S. shows, WWE and Russian television plus a rundown of the holiday season house shows.
Complete rundowns of both Dome shows, with match-by-match coverage, poll results and star ratings.
Upcoming major New Japan events.
WWE’s traditional biggest house show of the year, the holiday event in Madison Square Garden.
Compiled lists of the wrestlers with the most great matches from the past year, the past decade and over the course of a career.
Regarding the Wednesday numbers, we’ve got full details, demos that each side won, how every segment did and what match ended up as the difference maker.
Full coverage of all the WWE and AEW television shows from the past week.
In-depth looks at the ratings of all the major shows, the key demos and quarters for AEW and WWE, what happened head-to-head and what can be learned from them.
Results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week.
ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.
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If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.
SUNDAY NEWS UPDATE
Bryan and I will be back tonight talking Impact, NXT UK, Raw tomorrow, Kendo Nagasaki, Pampero Firpo, La Parka and many other topics with Wrestling Observer Radio.
We’re sorry to report on the death of Kazuo Sakurada, who was the wrestler known in the U.S. and Japan as Kendo Nagasaki. This is not the Kendo Nagasaki who was a legend in the U.K. Sakurada was 71. Early reports have his death attributed to an issue with his pacemaker. Sakurada came from sumo and had a rep as a tough guy. He formed a tag team of Hito & Sakurada in a number of territories, beset known in Stampede Wrestling. He was one of the original trainers of Bret Hart. Just before his 47th birthday he did his nly MMA fight. The Kendo Nagasaki name and gimmick came from Dusty Rhodes. Rhodes and Great Kabuki had a big feud in Georgia, but Kabuki had other commitments and couldn’t come to Florida. So as Gary Hart took Akihisa Mera and made him a headliner, Rhodes took Sakurada and made him a headliner to feud with him in Florida. He became far more famous as Nagasaki and used that name most of the rest of his career, including forming a top tag team with Mr. Pogo in Puerto Rico.
There have been reports out of a return to Saudi Arabia on 2/20. We’re told that it could be 2/20 or could be 2/27 but there is a show scheduled there on a Thursday afternoon but the date we were given was 2/27, with the idea they’d once again have to rush people back for the 2/28 Smackdown TV show in Boston. With the tension in the Middle East right now and the problems after the last show, you can imagine a lot of WWE families not being thrilled with this. That may be why it’s been kept so low-key.
With no UFC or major boxing this weekend, the only thing that made the Google trends was the death of La Parka, since CNN picked up on it. La Parka was the No. 11 most searched for topic on the Internet yesterday in the U.S. with more than 100,000 searches. That is actually an incredible number for anything in pro wrestling other than a WWE PPV show or something major involving a WWE main roster star or historical American star.
Rich Swann suffered an ankle injury at the Impact show in San Antonio so he was questionable regarding tonight’s tag title match where he was to team with Willie Mack vs. Ethan Page & Josh Alexander. There was talk of Mack doing a handicap match.
Dragon Gate’s Open the Twin Gate title tournament semifinals and finals on Wednesday in Korakuen Hall. The semis have BxB Hulk & Kazma Sakamoto vs. Kzy & Dragon Dia and Yamato & Ben K vs. Masato Yoshino & Susumu Yokosuka.
UFC
Dana White praised this woman to the point he’s flying her into Las Vegas for Saturday’s show and said he’s offering her a job.
Former Olympic wrestler Mark Madsen (9-0) faces Austin Hubbard on the 3/7 show in Las Vegas.
MISCELLANEOUS
The 2019 update of the Wrestling Observer Index is out. It lists almost every issue in our history going back almost 38 years with the major headlines by the week. Besides as a guide for ordering back issues, the Index is also a great way to keep a catalog of past issues and use for historical purposes. It is available for $30 from Grant Zwarych, 151 Hart Ave, Peterborough, ON K9J 5C5 Canada. Virtually every back issue from 1982-1990 are available from him at the prices listed in the Index. Issues from 1991 to present are available from us at $4 per issue. If you are ordering back issues from us, please denote back issues on the envelope to ensure the quickest response. All payments to Grant & us must be made in U.S. funds. For those who have a previous Index, the 2019 supplement is available for $5 per year in Canada, $6 in U.S. and $9 internationally. Or you can get the supplement year(s) you are missing for a minimum $50 back issue order. He also has re-issues of some of the most popular Wrestling Observer publications of the past. He has the 1983-1990 Observer yearbooks and the 1986 Wrestling Observer Who’s Who in Wrestling book. Grant also has pre-Observer publications of mine, both the California Wrestling Report & the International Wrestling Gazette. For more info, you can email [email protected]
In the barely better late than never department, the Los Angeles Times published an obit on Dick Beyer this past weekend. It’s about three-quarters of the way down. They got good response. Wrestling historian Steve Yohe wrote it. It had been talked about for nearly a year.
People were raving about yesterday’s ROH show.
Jason Cade is headed to ROH.
Tickets have been put on sale for Expo Lucha on 8/15 and 8/16 at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia. On the first night, Psicosis, Juventud Guerrera, Super Crazy, Sabu, Damian 666 Bestia 666, Mr. Aguila, Dragon Lee, Laredo Kid, Taya Valkyrie, Black Taurus,Demus and more have been announced. The second show is a legends event with Dr. Wagner Jr., Tinieblas Jr., Octagon, Pirata Morgan, Solar, Solar Jr., Mascarita Dorada, Psicosis, Juventud Guerrera, Super Crazy, Damian 666, Bestia 666 and Mr. Aguila
Road Warrior Animal has been announced for the Qatar Pro Wrestling Superslam show on 2/21 in Doha Qatar. He joins nZo, Brian Pillman Jr., Eric Bischoff, Alberto El Patron, Kevin Nash, Mark Henry, Rob Van Dam and Matt Sydal on the show.
PWA from last night in Sydney, Australia: Michael Spencer & Kai Drake b Velocities-COR in a tag title match, Big Fudge b Sam Osborne, Ricky South b Mat Roes, Rhys Angel & Aaron Jake b Prefects, Jessica Troy b Steph De Lander-DQ, Concrete Davidson & Shazza McKenzie b Gavin McGavin & Edit Night, Bel Pierce b Kingley, Mick Moretti & Jack Bonza b Matty Wahlberg & Carter Deams
Melbourne Championship Wrestling from last night before a sellout of 700+ fans: Adam Brooks b Slex to keep the MCW title, Jett Rouka b Leo Pratt, Tome & Stevie Filip b Mike Burr & Ritchie Taylor, Danny Psycho b Royce Chambers, Avary b Kellyanne to get a women’s title shot, Ugg b Harley Jackson no DQ, Will Ospreay b Dowie James. We were told the Brooks match was great and Ospreay match, with a fractured heel, was off the charts. Ospreay cut a promo acknowledging his injury and needing time off but wanted to wrestle in Australia and also challenged Gino Gambino. They gave Slex a sendoff because he’s moving to the U.S. to wrestle for ROH.
MCW has a show on 1/19 at the Melbourne Baseball Arena in conjunction with the Melbourne Aces baseball team. Wrestling takes place after the game and all ticket proceeds go to Blaze Aid, which is a charity supporting recovery from the bushfires. (thanks to Kevin Chiat)
Defy on 1/31 in Seattle at Washington Hall with Luchasaurus, Marko Stunt, Cima, T-Hawk and Lindaman. It’s notable that AEW is allowing its contracted performers to do shows like this.
Stardom from today in Shizuoka: Starlight Kid b Itsuki Hoshino, Hana Kimura won three-way over Bea Priestley and Zoey Skye, Leyla Hirsch b AzM, Kagetsu & Jamie Hayter & Saki Kashima b Riho & Tam Nakano & Saya Iida, Jungle Kyona & Konami b Giulia & Andras Miyagi (Giulia turned on Miyagi after the match and said she will be bringing two mystery partners for the 1/19 show at Korakuen Hall), Mayu Iwatani & Arisa Hoshiki & Saya Kamitani b Momo Watanabe & Utami Hayashishita & Leo Onozaki (thanks to Shannon Walsh and wrestlingwithdemons.net)
Stardom from last night in Osaka: Konami b Itsuki Hoshino, AZM b Death Yama-san, Kagetsu b Saya Kamitani, Giulia & Andras Miyagi b Starlight Kid & Saya Iida, Hana Kimura & Jungle Kyona & Leyla Hirsch b Saki Kashima & Jamie Hayter & Zoey Skye, Mayu Iwatani & Arisa Hoshiki & Riho & Tam Nakano b Bea Priestley & Momo Watanabe & Utami Hayashishita & Leo Onozaki. Kagetsu announced she would team with Iwatani against Watanabe & Kyona in 1/26 in Osaka in her final match with the company.
Mike Mooneyham, who knew Pampero Firpo, wrote about him (thanks to Chris Cruise)
One of the craziest few days in WWE history included a problem with getting talent out of Saudi Arabia after the Crown Jewel show, the best episode of Smackdown which could change the trajectory of the Wednesday night wars, and the company announcing a new deal with Saudi Arabia.
On 11/4 after the stock price reached an 18-month low of $53.16 per share leaving the company with a $4.182 billion price, the company announced an extension of its deal with Saudi Arabia to confirming two shows per year instead of the originally contracted one (the second these past two years being added) through the original conclusion of the deal in 2027. The company also announced that the Saudi General Entertainment Authority is continuing to work through completion of a new television deal in the Middle East region.
At press time, that announcement stopped the free-fall and it seemed to steady at $55.42 per share on 11/6, upping the value to $4.596 billion. Even at this price, forgetting about the Saudi deal and figuring in more declining network numbers, the value of the television deals makes this a low price based on expected profits over the next five years.
In the aftermath of their delays getting out of the country following Crown Jewel, WWE has announced that they’ve “expanded” their partnership with Saudi Arabia.
Following the historic Crown Jewel event in Riyadh, WWE (NYSE: WWE) and the Saudi General Entertainment Authority (GEA) have expanded their live event partnership through 2027 to include a second annual large-scale event. WWE and GEA also continue to work towards the completion of a media agreement in the MENA region.
This long-term partnership demonstrates WWE and GEA’s commitment to bring sports entertainment to the region and supports Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030.
Prior to the expanded agreement, WWE’s partnership with Saudi Arabia had already been set to run through 2027. There had also already been two events in Saudi Arabia per year in 2018 and 2019, but WWE co-president George Barrios noted on last Thursday’s earnings call that having two shows per year couldn’t be guaranteed going forward.
The 10-year deal began with the Greatest Royal Rumble in April 2018. The first Crown Jewel also took place last year, with Super ShowDown and Crown Jewel 2019 being this year’s events.
When asked by Forbes about issues with Crown Jewel airing live on television in Saudi Arabia, WWE denied that the issues had anything to do with a lack of payment: “WWE was reached for comment and swiftly denied these allegations, confirming to me its strong relationship with its partners in Saudi Arabia. WWE tells me the feed issues were entirely unrelated to any issues with payment. They reinforced that mechanical issues were a cause of the flight delay and Atlas Air, the charter company, issued an apology in that regard as well.”
Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez discussed the post-Crown Jewel travel delays on Sunday’s edition of Wrestling Observer Radio:
A number of NXT talent are being flown to Buffalo for tonight’s SmackDown.
Those in WWE who are in Saudi Arabia have confirmed to us that the talent and production people in Riyadh for Crown Jewel will be flying home in about five hours, which would be 3 a.m. local time at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
Everyone is fine and right now are just passing the time until they can leave.
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WWE released a statement this morning noting that the wrestlers who were in Saudi Arabia will be unable to perform on tonight’s SmackDown due to issues in getting out of the country after Crown Jewel.
WWE claimed that more than 175 people boarded a 747 charter flight that was designed to get them into Buffalo, where the SmackDown crew would be there with time to spare and the others would be able to connect to return home.
WWE claimed due to aircraft problems and technical issues that the talent was stuck in the plane for six hours. The claim was that several talents felt strongly enough that they arraigned their own charter to make it for the show, but due to an unforeseen issue, their charter won’t land until after SmackDown
WWE reported that tonight’s SmackDown will go on featuring those who weren’t in Saudi Arabia, including Daniel Bryan, The Miz, Carmella, Nikki Cross, and Dana Brooke, along with “additional surprises.”
There were other issues involved but Vince McMahon, Kevin Dunn and Vince’s personal staff were out of Saudi Arabia before they surfaced as they left earlier on Vince’s private jet. Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman were able to leave the country immediately on the private jet Lesnar is given for these events.
About 20 people, said to be 12 top stars and eight key people in production, were arranged for a different flight to make the show, but due to other issues, they were not able to arrive in time and are landing in Newark.
A delay in leaving has kept a large number of WWE talent stuck in Saudi Arabia after Crown Jewel.
It isn’t known what is causing the delay. Dave Meltzer reported on Wrestling Observer Radio this morning that it has nothing to do with mechanical problems with the plane, nor is this regarding weather in Buffalo, New York, which is where the SmackDown roster is flying to for tonight’s television.
Meltzer also reported that around 12 wrestlers have been able to leave Saudi Arabia. Vince McMahon is believed to have already traveled home.
At this point, it seems unlikely that those who are still stuck in Saudi Arabia will be able to make it to SmackDown. The flight takes roughly 14 hours to travel from Riyadh to Buffalo.
Roman Reigns vs. Baron Corbin, The Revival vs. The New Day for the SmackDown Tag Team titles, Nikki Cross, Carmella & Dana Brooke vs. SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley, Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville in a six-woman tag match, and new Universal Champion Bray Wyatt appearing on Miz TV have been advertised for tonight’s SmackDown.
Crown Jewel 2019 was the second WWE show to take place in Saudi Arabia this year and the fourth event in WWE’s 10-year deal with the Saudi government. The deal began with the Greatest Royal Rumble in April 2018.
The fourth event in WWE’s 10-year deal with Saudi Arabia takes place today as King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh hosts Crown Jewel.
Former UFC champion Cain Velasquez will have his first match for WWE, and boxing star Tyson Fury will make his pro wrestling in-ring debut.
Brock Lesnar will defend the WWE title against Velasquez, who beat Lesnar for the UFC Heavyweight title ten years ago.
Fury, the lineal heavyweight boxing champion, will face Braun Strowman. The two had a confrontation on the first episode of SmackDown on FOX, and the feud has since escalated, including Strowman attacking Fury’s leg at the WWE Performance Center.
Another high-profile match will feature Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan coaching teams in a five-on-five tag match. Flair’s team will consist of Randy Orton, Bobby Lashley, King Corbin, Shinsuke Nakamura & Drew McIntyre. Hogan’s team will feature Roman Reigns, Shorty G, Ali, Rusev & Ricochet.
The pre-show begins at noon Eastern time, with the main card starting an hour later.
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Humberto Carrillo won a battle royal to face AJ Styles for the United States title later in the show
A bunch of people, mostly the 24/7 geek squad, came out first. R-Truth, Buddy Murphy, Erick Rowan and Andrade came out and got entrances.
Drake Maverick was eliminated first, with Rowan press slamming him to the floor. Heath Slater followed quickly, then Tony Nese, Brian Kendrick and Eric Young.For whatever reason Sunil, but not Samir Singh, was in the match.
Titus O’Neil eliminated Mojo Rawley, followed by Sin Cara. In case you can’t tell, there’s not much to this match. Titus O’Neil was dumped by Apollo Crews. Remember when they were part of a stable? The commentary team sure didn’t. Now there’s an inset commercial for a show I’m already watching.
Erik Rowan and Luke Harper had a staredown, because I guess they are now enemies, but then No Way Jose came in and tried to break it up with dance. Harper killed him with a discus clothesline and Rowan dumped him. Akira Tozawa, who probably should be on the list of people who should leave, tried to intervene and got dumped quickly as well.
A bunch of eliminations followed, including R-Truth, Apollo Crews, Sunil Singh and Buddy Murphy. Harper and Rowan, Humberto Carillo and Cedric Alexander were the last four remaining. Harper and Rowan beat up both of the smaller men. Cedric tried a comeback but was quickly eliminated.
The Bollywood Boyz started to walk away as R-Truth was still recovering on the outside.He suddenly recovers, shoves Samir and rolls up Sunil to win the 24/7 title. All the geek wrestlers that just got dumped came back out again to chase everyone away.
Harper and Rowan continued to work on Carrillo. Harper went to eliminate Carrillo, but Rowan took the opportunity to dump out Harper as Carrillo fought elimination on the apron. Carrillo quickly got back into the ring and eliminated Rowan to win the match. Not much to this at all.
There was an interview with The New Day on the pre-show. They said that despite setbacks in recent weeks, including Xavier Woods being taken down by a torn Achilles tendon, they’ll win the tag team turmoil match tonight. Robert Roode & Dolph Ziggler and Heavy Machinery said the same.
Brock Lesnar defeated Cain Velasquez to retain the WWE title
Yes, it’s kicking off the show.
They started by exchanging some strikes. Lesnar tried or a takedown but instead took Cain to the corner. Cain with some strikes. Lesnar takes him back to the corner. Cain strikes Lesnar with a big kick and takes him down. Cain starts striking Lesnar, but Lesnar puts Cain in the kimura and Cain…submits. Yes, that quickly. I am guessing this was booked to be like an MMA match. Not much of anything.
Lesnar wouldn’t let go of the kimura lock after the match. Mysterio broke it up with a chairshot, but Lesnar immediately dumped him out of the ring and laid out Cain with an F5 on the chair. Rey Mysterio came back with a chair and hit him enough times that Lesnar retreated. My feeling is they’ll do a rubber match but Cain came off like such a nothing here.
The Revival and The Viking Raiders said words about the tag team match.
Anderson & Gallows won a tag team turmoil match
Lucha House Party and Roode & Ziggler starts things off. Heels get the heat on Lince Dorado. Dorado cuts off Roode and tags in Metalik. Dorado tried to take out Ziggler on the outside, but eats a superkick. Ziggler superkicked Metalik and Roode planted him with the Glorious DDT for the elimination.
Hawkins & Ryder came next and cleared house, but Ryder was quickly taken down and pinned with a spinebuster/zig zag combo.
Heavy Machinery came next. Tucker got the better of Ziggler, but Roode quickly cut him off when tagged in. They get the heat on Tucker until Ziggler misses a splash in the corner and tags in Otis, who clears house. He went for the caterpillar on Roode.
Tucker laid out Ziggler on the outside as Otis caught Roode, allowing both of them to hit the compactor for the elimination.
New Day were next. Tucker and Big E had a nice exchange where they looked pretty agile. Heavy Machinery got the heat, but Kofi made a comeback and laid out Otis with the Trouble in Paradise. Big E is tagged back, then tags back Kofi after Tucker missed a crossbody. They hit the Midnight Hour to eliminate them.
B-Team are next. Astonishingly this didn’t last long, but at the same time it lasted long enough for a Bo Dallas resthold sequence. Kofi took out Bo Dallas with a trust fall then Big E pinned Axel with the Big Ending.
Revival were next and isolated Kofi, working him over. Kofi hit the SOS but still couldn’t tag in. Kofi then pinned Dawson with a cradle out of nowhere. Dash and Dawson were not happy about that and beat up both men, laying out Kofi with the shatter machine.
Gallows & Anderson came out next and went for the magic killer but Kofi escaped. He tried to tag in Big E, but Big E was taken out and Kofi ended up getting pinned with the magic killer.
The Viking Raiders are the last team in. Anderson clips the leg of Erik as Gallows gets the heat in the ring. Both tag out as Ivar does his hot comeback. The two work over Anderson and go for a double team, but Gallows cuts them off. They went for the magic killer on Ivar but Erik breaks it up. Erik went to suplex Gallows but Anderson clipped Erik’s leg then landed the magic killer on him for the win. They are the best tag team in the world despite being in a very long, nothing happening match.
Mansoor defeated Cesaro
Mansoor went for a handshake, but Cesaro refused. Mansoor hit a standing moonsault for a two count. Cesaro punched Mansoor as they went for a clean break. Mansoor dropkicked Cesaro out of the ring and went for a suicide dive, but Cesaro hit an uppercut as he left the ropes. Mansoor is clearly very athletic and knows where he needs to be for everything.
Cesaro wore down Mansoor in the ring with a chinlock, then went for a sleeper. Mansoor countered with one of his own, but Cesaro countered with a back suplex. Cesaro went for something on the top rope, but Mansoor cut him off with a big dropkick.
Mansoor made his comeback, taking Cesaro out of the ring with a hurricanrana and wiping him out on the outside with a tope con hilo. He follows that up with a tornado DDT. Cesaro shoved Mansoor into the ref, attacked Mansoor’s throat and rolled him up but only got a two count.
Mansoor hit a springboard neckbreaker but Cesaro put his foot on the rope. Mansoor tried to follow with something on the top rope, but Cesaro cut him off, grabbed him on the apron and hit a gutwrench suplex. Cesaro planted him with an uppercut and a crossface, but Mansoor countered with a pin attempt.
Cesaro cut off Mansoor on the top rope and went to gutwrench Mansoor off there, but Mansoor countered with a sunset flip powerbomb. Mansoor then hit the moonsault for the win. Honestly this was one of the best matches WWE has put out in this country. Cesaro is consistently one of the better wrestlers WWE has and Mansoor showed a ton in this match, he definitely has something.
Mansoor after the match says he woke up this morning and looked in the mirror, saying that this was his most important match. He admitted he was scared, but then he stepped into the ring in front of this crowded and remembered anything is possible. This was the most important victory in his life. He cannot wait what we do next. We dreamed that one day there would be a Saudi star in WWE.
Seth Rollins backstage says this ends tonight. The Fiend brought out the worst of him. There has always been mind games, but this is different. It is uncomfortable and unsettling. No matter what happens tonight, he didn’t pick this fight. He didn’t start it but he will finish it. He will be Universal champion after tonight, no matter what it takes.
Tyson Fury defeated Braun Strowman by count out
Tyson Fury got an incredible entrance, with tons of pyro and “It’s Your Thing” by the Isley Brothers playing in the background. Fury came out in a Saudi outfit. It was here where I felt Braun’s chances of winning evaporated.
They locked up, with Braun getting the advantage with a wrist lock. Fury did the slowest kip up I’ve seen in some time. Braun quickly got the advantage, but missed a charge in the corner after Fury dodged and posted himself. Braun tackled Fury on the outside and went for a running pounce but Fury cut him off with a boot to the chest.
Braun went for a powerslam but Fury escaped, did a drop toe hold into the ropes then followed with a boot for a two count. Braun tackled Fury into the corner then punched him in the chest. Fury sat up like the Undertaker but Braun tackled him back down. Fury cut off Strowman with a boot, but Strowman came right back with the world’s strongest slam.
Strowman hit the running shoulder tackle on the outside and then hit another one. He threw Fury into the ring, but Fury punched him as he was coming back to the ring. Braun sold it like was knocked out as the referee counted to ten. This looked bad in a few spots, but otherwise this was harmless and not really much of note.
After the match, Strowman was unhappy and laid out Fury with his powerslam finish. Fury got up immediately after and no sold it. Oops.
They aired a WWE 2K20 commercial. I wrote about that here.
All the 24/7 geeks are running around backstage. R-Truth avoids them, but runs into both Bollywood Boyz. R-Truth said he had an escape plan. His escape plan was running into the door he came out of. Ha ha ha. Samir Singh covered him and won the title again.
AJ Styles defeated Humberto Carrillo to retain the United States title
Styles immediately jumped Carrillo at the bell and got the heat on him pretty quickly. Carrillo came back with a handspring elbow, but AJ plants him and hits a big brainbuster for a two count.
Carrillo came back with a cool springboard armdrag and a moonsault. Styles cut him off with the pele kick. Both men wind up on the apron. Humberto hit a kick and a palm strike and followed with a dropkick. Big corkscrew moonsault to the floor by Carrillo. Carrillo went for a hurricane but Styles went for the Styles Clash, but Carrillo escaped.
Styles went for the Styles Clash again but Carrillo made it to the ropes. Carrillo tweaked his knee and Styles immediately honed in on it, landing the calf crusher. Carrillo escapes and takes down Styles with a kick. He went for a moonsault, but Styles avoids it. Carrillo lands on his feet, but tweaks his leg. This gives Styles the opportunity to get the advantage and lay out Carrillo with the phenomenal forearm for the win. Pretty fun match. Carrillo is great, but so are many others who have been put in this position.
Hulk Hogan says that after 35 years he’s going to put this thing with Ric Flair to rest. He says he made his team train and drink sand when they were thirsty. That’s not very healthy.
Natalya defeated Lacey Evans
Both women were covered head to toe, including wearing t-shirts over their gear.
The crowd was into this from the start. Lots of camera shots to women in the crowd. They chain wrestled for a bit. Natalya went for a sharpshooter but Evans escaped. Nattie threw Lacey to the outside but Lacey clipped her leg. She landed a springboard elbow for a two count.
Lacey hits a springboard moonsault, then posed on the top rope, but Nattie suddenly sprung to life, took her down and started a comeback. She went for the sharpshooter and sure enough that was it. Perfectly fine.
Nattie and Lacey shook hands after the match and posed with women in the crowd. Both were emotional in a moment that clearly was important to them.
Michael Cole and Corey Graves pushed hard how special this moment was, with Cole saying “if you push and push and push enough, change is going to happen”. Maybe the Saudi government will be so moved by this they’ll free the women they’ve imprisoned for protesting the right to drive.
Team Hogan (Roman Reigns, Shorty G, Ali, Rusev and Ricochet) defeated Team Flair (Baron Corbin, Bobby Lashley, Shinskue Nakamura, Randy Orton and Drew McIntyre)
Nakamura and Shorty G start things off. They start what was a pretty fun exchange before Nakamura tags in Corbin. Ali and Corbin exchange some stuff before Bobby Lashley and Rusev are tagged in. Lashley quickly tags out to McIntyre.
Corbin shoved Ali, who was going to the top rope, all the way to the floor and into the barricade. All of Team Flair got the heat on Ali for a very long period of time until he hit a DDT on McIntyre. He finally tags out to Ricochet, wearing new Liger-esque attire, who made a comeback. Corbin distracted Ricochet long enough for McIntyre to cut him off. He tagged in Orton, who continued to work him over.
After also being worked on for a long time, Ricochet cuts off Orton and tags in Reigns, who makes the hot comeback. Everyone came in the ring to do their thing. Ricochet got backen out by the claymore kick. Rusev cleared everyone and cornered Lashley. The two went to blows.
Lashley dumped Rusev to the floor but walked into a superman punch by Reigns. He sent Lashley to the outside and did a big flying splash, taking out all of Team Flair. Reigns went to finish Orton but walked into an RKO for a two count. Orton motions for the punt kick, but Shorty G and Ali distracted him. Ricochet and Gable took out a lot of Team Flair and Reigns hit the spear on Orton for the win. This felt like an okay Raw match but it wasn’t anything you needed to go out of your way to see.
The Fiend Bray Wyatt defeated Seth Rollins to win the WWE Universal title
The red lighting is still here. Talk about not getting it.
They start off with some back and forth. Seth already goes for the stomp but the fiend avoids it. Wyatt threw Rollins into the crowd and they both wind up on top of equipment boxes. I can barely see what anything is because of this stupid lighting.
They went back outside of the ring where Rollins stomped on Wyatt, who proceeded to no sell it and laid out Rollins on the apron. Wyatt tried to do a running charge into the barricade but Seth dodged, sending Wyatt into the barricade himself. Seth took out a table and attacked Wyatt with the cowl of the announce table.
Rollins sets up multiple tables on the outside as he pelted Wyatt with steel chair shots. He then took out the sledgehammer. He set up Wyatt on the chair and was about to hit Wyatt with the sledgehammer but Wyatt came back to life and attacked him, throwing Rollins over the Arabic announce table.
Rollins set up the Fiend on the announce table, but once again Wyatt came back to life and pushed Rollins off the turnbuckle into the tables that Rollins had set up earlier. Wyatt removed the ring mats on the outside and went to plant Rollins with the Sister Abigail but Rollins cut him off with an enziguri. He hit a stomp on the concrete, but Wyatt kicked out.
Using a chair, Rollins took Wyatt back into the crowd on top of what I guess was a platform but Wyatt planted him with a STO. Wyatt dragged Rollins to the entrance and yet again. Seth stomped him, only for Wyatt to no sell it. This is so dead as a finish. Another stomp. Another. More. Again. One more time.
Seth superkicked Wyatt, causing him to fall into an electrical area. A bunch of pyro exploded. Officials came out with fire extinguishers. Seth made his way to the area and tried to clear it. But suddenly, Wyatt emerged and latched onto the mandible claw on Seth, taking him to the floor. He then wiped out Rollins with the Sister Abigail and pinned him to win the title.
This was way better than their match last month, but that’s low praise as aside from a few cool bumps, there wasn’t much here. The lighting is a huge distraction and hurt the match as well.
The lights went out. The fiend then appeared on stage with the Universal title, then disappeared. The show ended with a big fireworks display.
This was marginally better than previous shows in the country, with Mansoor vs. Cesaro being a real good match. But other than that and Styles/Carrillo, there wasn’t much here.
