Tag: wwe saudi arabia

Former WWE co-president explains why company continued relationship with Saudi Arabia after Jamal Khashoggi murder

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

Former WWE co-president George Barrios has opened up and explained the promotion’s decision to continue its relationship with Saudi Arabia after Jamal Khashoggi’s murder.

Barrios released his book “Sometimes Wrong but Never in Doubt: How a Cuban Kid from Queens Transformed WWE” via Skyhorse Publishing, where he opened up about his time in WWE, which included details about the WWE-Saudi Arabia deal.

In January 2018, WWE announced its ten-year deal with the General Sports Authority of Saudi Arabia to run events in the country. The deal marked its start with the Greatest Royal Rumble.

“Our negotiations dragged on because the Saudis are notorious hagglers. By 2018, despite having made great progress, we were struggling to get the deal over the finish line. Complicating matters was the disappearance of Saudi journalist and dissident Jamal Khashoggi,” Barrios wrote in his book.

On October 2, 2018, Washington Post contributing columnist Jamal Khashoggi was seen entering the Saudi Arabian consulate in Turkey but never exited. The CIA later concluded that Khashoggi had been murdered on orders from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Sanctions were imposed on seventeen Saudis, but not bin Salman. Five individuals received the death penalty, three were imprisoned, and three were acquitted.

“As outraged as I was by what happened, I still defy anyone to argue they understand who was truly at fault. All I know is that on our end, Khashoggi’s disappearance called into question our deal with the Saudis,” Barrios further wrote.

Despite Khashoggi’s murder, WWE decided to run its Crown Jewel event on November 2, 2018, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. While major backlash surfaced and several other companies pulled out of Saudi Arabia, WWE went ahead with its planned event.

“Vince (McMahon), Michelle (Wilson), and I spent a great deal of time debating the pros and cons of moving forward. Vince in particular was deeply uncomfortable with the uncertainty surrounding the events. In my opinion, we couldn’t walk out on the deal. It was too worthwhile for WWE. But Vince kept shaking his head. “This thing with Khashoggi. Doing the deal could be the biggest risk we’ve ever taken with the company. ‘Vince, listen to me”, I said. “I understand how serious this is. But no one really knows what’s going on,” Barrios detailed in his book.

After Khashoggi’s murder, WWE’s stock fell to less than $70 from its previous $93. Unfortunately, the numbers never fully recovered until the promotion signed a new deal with TKO in 2023.

Barrios joined WWE in 2008 and eventually became co-president with Michelle Wilson. However, the two were let go in January 2020. WWE has since then expanded its partnership with Saudi Arabia, with regular two annual events in Saudi Arabia, as well as an upcoming WrestleMania in 2027.

Status of upcoming WWE shows in Saudi Arabia under discussion

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

The ongoing conflicts in the Middle East may have prompted WWE to discuss its upcoming two shows in Saudi Arabia.

Our Bryan Alvarez recently noted that there have been discussions about the two WWE shows in Saudi Arabia this year, as well as next year’s WrestleMania 43 in Riyadh. Alvarez emphasized that although there have been discussions, no decision has been made yet.

Alvarez also made it clear that he was not reporting on anything that had already been cancelled or was getting cancelled in the future, and was instead emphasizing the discussions that took place in WWE about their upcoming show status in KSA.

Earlier this year, WWE successfully held the Royal Rumble 2026 PLE in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on January 31, 2026. Two more unnamed WWE PLEs are also planned to take place in Saudi Arabia later in May and November. Both of these events are set to be followed by next year’s WrestleMania 43.

Mustafa Ali details how Saudi official got him booked on WWE Night of Champions 2023

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Mustafa Ali initially wasn’t supposed to be on the WWE Night of Champions 2023 card — but a Saudi government official ended up getting him booked on the show.

While appearing on a live edition of Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Ali detailed how his match against Gunther at the May 2023 event came to be. Ali had been sent over to do media prior to the show and had a conversation with someone who he didn’t know was a high-ranking Saudi official. That person then requested for Vince McMahon to book Ali.

“I was sent to go do media, like public relations for an upcoming event in Saudi Arabia called Night of Champions,” Ali said. “So I go there — I’m not on the show. I’m just going there as token brown guy. So I’m going there, I’m making everyone happy. Just because it’s, you know, you’re always going to relate to someone that looks like you, right? I do these little events. Obviously, very appreciative of the turnout here [at the podcast episode], but the turnout there was insane. They were expecting 500 people. There was like 3,000 people.

“So the guy’s looking at me like, ‘Oh, this Mustafa Ali, maybe he does the show.’ I was like, ‘It’s the Night of Champions, you have to be a champion to be on the show. I’m not a champion.’ And I didn’t realize I was talking to like the president of the GEA, which is the General Entertainment Authority that basically runs the shows in Saudi Arabia. He goes, ‘You leave it to me, I talk to [Vince].’ I go, ‘No, no.’ He goes, ‘No, no, no, I’m going to request that you’re on the show.'”

Ali said he believes McMahon was not happy about someone telling him what to do, which led to the infamous backstage segment on Raw’s go-home show for the event where Brock Lesnar told Ali to “get a life, kid.”

The Saudi General Entertainment Authority is headed by Turki Alalshikh, who is the person responsible for handling the relationship between WWE and Saudi Arabia.

Ali is now with TNA Wrestling after being released by WWE in September 2023.

“The cookies are going to crumble the way it crumbles, right? I know, when I look at WWE, I know that I knocked on every door, I presented every idea, I never said no for the most part,” Ali said on Insight. “And I did good work, man. I’m never going to look in the mirror and feel like, ‘Oh man, I failed…’

“There was nothing else I could have done. I tried everything, comedy, serious, being the little guy, this guy, whatever the hell. You know what I mean? So I walked away with that. And then when Brock said, ‘Go get a life, kid’ — I quite literally did that. I’m the f***ing man now.”

Triple H visits new WWE Saudi office ahead of Royal Rumble

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Ahead of the Royal Rumble, Paul “Triple H” Levesque stopped by WWE’s new office in Saudi Arabia for a visit.

The office, located in Riyadh, opened in the latter half of 2025, with WWE calling it a key step in strengthening their presence in the Middle East/North Africa region. Levesque tweeted out a few pictures from his visit today and hyped that exciting things are being planned for the future.

“So great to spend some time before #RoyalRumble in our brand new KAFD [King Abdullah Financial District] @WWE office with our amazing GEA [General Entertainment Authority] partners,” Levesque wrote. “Exciting things to come in the future.”

When opening the office, WWE said it would help bring the company closer to its partners.

Saudi official Turki Alalshikh, the chairman of the General Entertainment Authority, is the key person in the government handling the WWE partnership. The controversial relationship between the two sides began in 2018 and has grown recently with Riyadh set to host Royal Rumble 2026 this afternoon and WrestleMania 43 in 2027. This is the first time either of those marquee events is being held in Saudi Arabia.

A temporary outdoor stadium that was built over just a few short weeks is the venue for today’s Rumble.

WWE introduces new Saudi signee at Royal Rumble kickoff event

Posted on by Joseph Currier

During Friday’s Royal Rumble kickoff event in Riyadh, WWE took a moment to officially unveil one of the company’s newest roster additions.

It was announced this week that Saudi powerlifter and arm wrestler Fahd Tuwaiq has signed with WWE and begun training at the Performance Center. Tuwaiq’s first appearance for the company came in Riyadh today, with him hyping up his home country fans for Royal Rumble 2026 and WrestleMania 2027.

“I’m really proud to be here in my country between my people, the best fans in the whole world. Royal Rumble tomorrow will be awesome, will be great,” he said. “Next year, WrestleMania will be here in Saudi Arabia. The Mania in Arabia!”

A video aired during the kickoff show with Tuwaiq calling himself the “first Saudi super heavyweight joined to WWE.” He said he wants to change the world and plans on using WWE as his platform to do so.

“I am champion with arm wrestling and powerlifting. I have been at the Performance Center, this is a top place if you want to be a professional wrestler,” Tuwaiq said. “I want to make my country proud, and I will do so in WWE.”

WWE filed a trademark for the name “Fahd Tuwaiq” back on December 5. It’s not known when he’ll be making his in-ring debut.

John Cena: CM Punk going to Saudi Arabia was ‘awesome,’ made me cry

Posted on by Joseph Currier

John Cena was a huge fan of CM Punk’s controversial decision to wrestle in Saudi Arabia.

After criticizing the WWE-Saudi relationship in the past, Punk traveled to the country this summer to face Cena at Night of Champions. While there, Punk apologized for the tweet he posted in 2020 telling The Miz to “go suck a blood money covered d**k in Saudi Arabia.” Punk said he was cranky when he sent out the post — and it did not actually have anything to do with Saudi Arabia. Punk noted that he was grateful to be in the country.

A new episode of Insight with Chris Van Vliet was released today with Cena appearing as the guest. He reflected on his retirement tour, calling the Punk match something that was “larger than sports entertainment.” Cena got emotional over Punk coming to Saudi Arabia because of how “awesome” it was.

“Gosh, one of the moments in sports entertainment that’s larger than sports entertainment is Phil Brooks going to Saudi Arabia. That sh*t made me cry — like, awesome, awesome,” Cena said. “Accountability, vulnerability, apology, forgiveness. Cultures melding into each other. And then he comes out and does my gimmick. Like, how do you follow what I did? He came up with this crazy idea. I’m like, ‘Dude, you have to do that.’ And he crushed it. He absolutely just crushed it.

“And what a trip for him. Like, redemption, acceptance. He can go there wherever he wants and he can entertain fans who are incredible over there. When we started early on, they didn’t know what was going on. Now, they’re loud and they pack that place and it’s a great place to perform. And they welcome him and he welcomes them. And that’s super cool.”

When asked about his favorite moment of his entire career, Cena pointed to everything surrounding the Punk match in Saudi Arabia because of how meaningful it all was. Cena called Punk his “wrestling soulmate.”

WWE’s business relationship with the Saudi government formed in 2018 and has continued to grow in the years since. On January 31, 2026, Saudi Arabia will host the Royal Rumble. It’s also been announced that WrestleMania 43 will be held in Saudi Arabia in 2027.

Titus O’Neil: I feel safer in Saudi Arabia than most places in US

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE ambassador Titus O’Neil is fully on board with the company’s decision to bring WrestleMania to Saudi Arabia.

Appearing on TMZ’s Inside the Ring podcast, O’Neil responded to the backlash that WWE holding WrestleMania 43 in Saudi Arabia in 2027 has received. O’Neil said he feels safer in Saudi Arabia than a lot of places in the United States — and he doesn’t believe we as Americans have the right to point fingers at anyone.

“I can say this, you know, because I’ve been to Saudi Arabia several times now: I feel safer in Saudi Arabia than I do in most places — or a lot of places — in the United States of America,” O Neil said.

“I think in the United States, we have this mindset that we’re the greatest country in the world. And we are a great country, but people don’t move to the United States because we’re the greatest country in the world. They move because we have the greatest amount of opportunity. And I think that the biggest difference between places like overseas in Japan, Saudi Arabia, Middle East, all those places and the United States are morals and convictions. They actually live by theirs, whether you like them or not. They’re going to pray five times a day. They’re going to stop during the day, and they’re going to do their thing no matter what, who likes it and don’t like it.

“You don’t hear about mass shootings in Saudi Arabia. You don’t hear about mass shootings in China. You don’t hear about mass shooters in Japan. I think if people went over to Saudi Arabia or had a chance to go there, their views would change dramatically. And I’m not saying that they get it all right, but we don’t get it all right either to be pointing fingers at anybody.”

O’Neil said there were a lot of “scare tactics” and “scare verbiage” when he went to Saudi Arabia the first time for WWE, but he saw a group of kids playing on the beach at 1 a.m. one night. When he asked his driver the next morning if people in Saudi Arabia were worried about that, the driver said no because there would be an automatic death sentence if the kids were sexually assaulted, beaten, kidnapped, or brutalized.

“So kids are safe over there, but kids are not safe in the United States,” O’Neil said. “My perspective of us going to Saudi Arabia for WWE — yeah, it’s business, but it’s also changing cultures. When we first went over there, women were just now, they were just now getting introduced and being able to drive. Things are changing over there.”

O’Neil said WWE doesn’t care what color fans are, what religion they practice or don’t practice, or where they come from. He believes holding WrestleMania in Riyadh is a chance to show what unity can look like and how other cultures embrace what WWE does.

“So if there’s ever a platform for us as a company to take and utilize, to show what unity can look like, to show what good business looks like, to show what other cultures look like, and how they embrace what we do, no matter where they are and what they come from, and how they dress — Saudi Arabia is definitely one of those places, in my opinion,” O’Neil said. “I think if the WWE brass and TKO brass didn’t feel that way, the decision would not have been made.

“So for anyone that — first and foremost, most of the people that are complaining about the show being over there, would never book a ticket to go over there anyway. Watch the show on TV, it’s going to be a spectacle. Saudi Arabia does nothing small, and WWE does nothing small. So get ready for a hell of a show and a hell of an experience on a global stage that’s going to show everyone why this business, and particularly TKO and WWE, do it better than anyone in the world.”

The Saudi WrestleMania is the first time WWE’s biggest event has ever been held outside of North America. WWE and the Saudi government have been business partners since 2018. That controversial relationship has grown to the point where Saudi Arabia is hosting the Royal Rumble in 2026 and WrestleMania in 2027.

It’s been five years since O’Neil last competed in the ring. When asked about potentially wrestling again at some point, the 48-year-old O’Neil left the door open to the possibility if WWE wants him to. But he’s enjoying everything he’s doing outside of the ring right now. He was recently featured on the Bravo reality show “Kings Court” and has hopes of breaking into Hollywood like his friend Dave Bautista has.

WWE Royal Rumble 2026 date revealed

Posted on by Josh Nason

The date for this January’s WWE Royal Rumble is now official.

Announced on Friday during an event to confirm that WrestleMania will head to Saudi Arabia in 2027, it was also revealed that the Rumble will take place on Saturday, January 31 in Riyadh.

A start time was not revealed, but is assumed to be beginning at an early start time for U.S. fans given past WWE shows in the country.

It will be the first-ever Rumble held outside North America and the first outside the United States since the inaugural one in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, in 1988.

A discussion of the Rumble heading to Saudi Arabia was first revealed in May 2024 and later became more real this past January with the first report that the deal was done and then later confirmed.

WWE/TKO and the Saudis are currently in a partnership that began in 2018 with two annual events with the exception of 2020 and 2021 (one each). Events like the Greatest Royal Rumble, Crown Jewel, King & Queen of the Ring, Elimination Chamber, and Night of Champions have also been held in the country.

A date was not revealed for WrestleMania in 2027, but was said to be taking place during Riyadh Season which runs from October through March.

WWE announces Saudi Arabia will host WrestleMania 43

Posted on by Joseph Currier

A few days after the news accidentally got out, WWE officially confirmed that WrestleMania is coming to Saudi Arabia.

WWE held a press conference in Las Vegas on Friday with Paul “Triple H” Levesque and Saudi official Turki Alalshikh announcing that WrestleMania 43 will be held in Saudi Arabia in 2027. It will be the first time WrestleMania — WWE’s marquee event dating back to 1985 — has ever been held outside of the United States or Canada.

An exact date for the two-night event was not announced, but it was said that the show is being held as part of the Riyadh season festival.

In the announcement, Levesque positioned this as the next step in the WWE-Saudi relationship and an opportunity for WWE to show how much of a global brand it has become. He called the fans in Riyadh some of the best WWE fans on the planet.

“We could not be more excited for this opportunity,” Levesque said. “This is an opportunity to show the world what I think most people already know: that WWE is a global brand that reaches every corner of the world and excites fans from everywhere.”

WWE legends Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker were in attendance at today’s press conference, along with current stars Charlotte Flair, Bianca Belair, Liv Morgan, Stephanie Vaquer, Logan Paul, and Seth Rollins.

Levesque stated that WWE president Nick Khan was the “driving force” behind the deal for Saudi Arabia to host WrestleMania.

The Saudi government has become one of WWE’s closest partners since their controversial business relationship began in 2018. Next year, WWE Royal Rumble will be held in Saudi Arabia on January 31, 2026.

Las Vegas is hosting WrestleMania 42 in 2026 before the event comes to Saudi Arabia in 2027.

Update on WWE WrestleMania in Saudi Arabia

Posted on by Joseph Currier

On Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer shared the latest on WWE WrestleMania coming to Saudi Arabia.

News broke last night that Saudi Arabia will host WrestleMania in 2027. An official announcement from WWE has not been made yet, but Meltzer reports that he first heard last month that it was “for sure” that Saudi Arabia would be getting WrestleMania. At that time, there were rumors that there could potentially be two WrestleManias in 2027 with the United States and Saudi Arabia each hosting one. But Meltzer presumes WrestleMania 43 in Saudi Arabia will be the only WrestleMania that year.

Meltzer notes that Saudi official Turki Alalshikh — the Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority — is the key person behind this, and Saudi Arabia is putting up “a ridiculous amount of money” to get the event.

“They’re putting up an incredible amount of money — a ridiculous amount of money,” Meltzer said. “And the idea is to present the most star-studded show ever, you know, by far. Everyone, anyone, money is no object. Any name you can imagine, obviously they’re going to be after. I presume it’s the only WrestleMania of that year, but when I first heard — one of the ideas was to do a two WrestleMania year one year so that way it keeps the American fans not upset about Saudi Arabia. But I think perhaps the deal is also that as Saudi Arabia has become more and more normalized, it appears that the outrage that probably would’ve been there even a year ago or two years ago, probably won’t be. I hardly saw any today, but we’ll see.”

Meltzer said that, because WWE had other commitments, they originally wanted 2028 to be the year for the Saudi WrestleMania event. It ended up being 2027 because that’s what Saudi Arabia pushed for, with that year marking a celebration of the 300th anniversary of the first Saudi state being formed.

The controversial WWE-Saudi Arabia business relationship began in 2018 and continues to grow. As was announced earlier this year, Saudi Arabia will host the Royal Rumble in January 2026. WrestleMania 42 will then be held in Las Vegas a few months later.

CM Punk apologizes to ‘all of Saudi Arabia’ for past ‘mean’ tweet

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Ahead of competing in Saudi Arabia for the first time ever, CM Punk is apologizing for a “mean” tweet he posted five years ago.

Punk received a largely negative response from the Saudi fans today at a pre-Night of Champions kickoff event hosted by WWE. One of the fans in the crowd was a man named Mohammed who asked Punk to apologize for his 2020 tweet where he told The Miz to “go suck a blood money covered d**k in Saudi Arabia.”

“This guy wants me to apologize for a mean tweet I wrote six years ago. Hey, listen, legitimately had nothing to do with Saudi Arabia,” Punk responded. “I woke up and I was crabby and I wrote a mean tweet to The Miz. And I apologized to The Miz. And sir, what’s your name? Mohammed? Mohammed, I sincerely apologize to you and all of Saudi Arabia.”

Punk sent out that tweet during his seven-year absence from wrestling. Last year, Miz said he and Punk had a really good conversation and buried the hatchet in 2023 prior to Punk’s WWE return.

“I am not perfect by any means,” Punk said at today’s kickoff event. “Sometimes as human beings, we screw up. The beautiful thing is, everything is a lesson learned. And now here I am and you have invited me to your country and I am grateful to be here. Thank you very much.”

After Punk finished his promo at today’s event, he spoke privately with the fan Mohammed and the two hugged.

Punk is challenging John Cena for the Undisputed WWE Championship at Night of Champions in Riyadh this Saturday. During the build to the PLE, their has storyline referenced Punk’s seeming reluctance to wrestle in Saudi Arabia, with Cena choosing Saudi as the location for the match in an attempt to prove that Punk is a hypocrite.

Both Punk and Cena will be on SmackDown in Riyadh today on the eve of Night of Champions.

WWE’s Saudi events are part of a long-term partnership the promotion has with the government of Saudi Arabia. The business relationship between the two sides began in 2018 with WWE receiving approximately $50 million for each PLE.

WOL: WWE prepares for Saudi Arabia amid Middle East uncertainty

Posted on by Josh Nason

Image: WWE

Just when WWE thought everything would be clear sailing for this week’s trip to Saudi Arabia, the United States attacked several Iran-based nuclear facilities, leaving a lot of uncertainty around the world.

Josh Nason covers that topic and more on Sunday’s Wrestling Observer Live, available for free by clicking below or listening on either Spotify or Apple Podcasts, also for free.

Josh covers eleven-ish topics in less than an hour, including:

All that and more awaits. Just click here to listen or stream on Spotify/Apple Podcasts.

WWE Raw episode to take place from Saudi Arabia this November

Posted on by Joseph Currier

For the first time ever, an episode of WWE Raw is set to be held in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi official Turki Alalshikh issued a press release today hyping the events that will take place during Riyadh Season this fall. Among them are WWE Crown Jewel 2024 and an episode of Raw. The press release states that the shows will happen on back-to-back days, which means that Raw will be taped on Sunday, November 3 before then airing on Monday, November 4.

The press release says:

The WWE Crown Jewel & Raw show, set to take place over two consecutive days, this event will be one of the global events hosted by Riyadh Season this year, carrying on its annual tradition featuring a stronger lineup of wrestlers within the most powerful, comprehensive, and diverse entertainment season in the world.

WWE’s controversial business partnership with the Saudi government began in 2018 and includes Saudi Arabia hosting two WWE PLEs per year. A SmackDown episode was also held in Saudi Arabia prior to King & Queen of the Ring this May.

The November 4 Raw episode will start the build to Survivor Series, which takes place from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on Saturday, November 30.

WWE reveals date for Crown Jewel 2024

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE has already confirmed when its next show in Saudi Arabia will be taking place.

On Saturday, WWE King & Queen of the Ring was held in Jeddah. It was announced during the broadcast that Crown Jewel 2024 will take place from Riyadh on Saturday, November 2. The event is set to stream live on Peacock/WWE Network.

Aside from 2020 (due to the COVID-19 pandemic), Crown Jewel has taken place every year since 2018. WWE entered into a long-term deal with the Saudi government that year, receiving an estimated $50 million for every show it holds in the country. WWE currently holds two shows per year in Saudi Arabia.

During an earnings call earlier this month, TKO executive Mark Shapiro said WWE still has a “very, very strong relationship” with Saudi Arabia despite Vince McMahon no longer being involved with the company. Shapiro credited WWE President Nick Khan for maintaining the relationship.

Saudi Arabia is hoping to host either WrestleMania or the Royal Rumble in 2026 or 2027.

Here’s an updated look at WWE’s PLE schedule for the remainder of 2024. The full schedule has not been announced yet.

  • Saturday, June 15: Clash at the Castle (Glasgow, Scotland)
  • Saturday, July 6: Money in the Bank (Toronto, Canada)
  • Saturday, August 3: SummerSlam (Cleveland, Ohio)
  • Saturday, August 31: Bash in Berlin (Berlin, Germany)
  • Saturday, November 2: Crown Jewel (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia)

WWE & Saudi Arabia discussing hosting WrestleMania or Royal Rumble in 2026 or 2027

Posted on by Josh Nason

A week after news broke that Saudi Arabia was hopeful to host a big-name WWE PLE in the future, the main man behind that push has provided targeted dates for either WrestleMania or the Royal Rumble.

Speaking to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour Wednesday, General Entertainment Authority chairman Turki Alsheikh said they are speaking with WWE about hosting either WrestleMania or the Royal Rumble in either 2026 or 2027 — both of which would be unprecedented considering the history of both shows.

Last week, Alsheikh told ESPN that an “enhancement” to their deal will be announced this month, expected to be next week when WWE returns to Saudi Arabia for King & Queen of the Ring. WWE has yet to comment publicly on any talks.

As part of a contract that was signed in 2018, WWE brings two yearly PLEs to Saudi Arabia: one of which is Crown Jewel that is specific to that country. WWE is believed to take in $50 million per event as part of that deal.

TKO, the parent company of WWE and UFC, has embedded themselves even further with Saudi Arabia and recently announced a new deal that will see them host another UFC event in addition to sponsorship of UFC’s debut show (UFC 306) at The Sphere in Las Vegas.

In its 40-year history, WrestleMania has been held twice on foreign soil, both times in Toronto, Canada. The very first Rumble event was held in Hamilton, Canada, in 1988 but has taken place stateside ever since.