The Intercontinental Championship will be on the line at WWE’s next show in Saudi Arabia.
WWE has announced that Finn Balor will defend his Intercontinental title against Andrade at Super ShowDown in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Friday, June 7. Balor will use his “Demon” character for the match.
Balor dressed as The Demon when he won the Intercontinental title from Bobby Lashley at WrestleMania 35 last month.
Balor and Andrade will both be entrants in Sunday’s men’s Money in the Bank ladder match. They’ve been involved in a feud against each other since the Superstar Shake-up. Balor and the Intercontinental title moved to SmackDown in the Shake-up, while Andrade and Zelina Vega initially went to Raw before going back to SmackDown.
Super ShowDown is taking place at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah and will air live on the WWE Network starting at 2 p.m. Eastern time on June 7. It’s the third show in WWE’s 10-year deal with the Saudi General Sports Authority.
Here’s the updated card for Super ShowDown (Roman Reigns, WWE Champion Kofi Kingston, Universal Champion Seth Rollins, AJ Styles, and Brock Lesnar are also advertised):
Goldberg vs. The Undertaker
Triple H vs. Randy Orton
Braun Strowman vs. Bobby Lashley
Intercontinental Champion Finn Balor defending against Andrade
Another match has been added to the lineup for WWE’s return to Saudi Arabia.
WWE announced today that Braun Strowman vs. Bobby Lashley is set for Super ShowDown in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Friday, June 7. Super ShowDown is taking place at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium and will air live on the WWE Network, with the broadcast starting at 2 p.m. Eastern time.
Strowman was originally announced as one of the participants for tomorrow’s men’s Money in the Bank ladder match, but Sami Zayn is replacing him after defeating Strowman in a falls count anywhere match on this past Monday’s episode of Raw. The story of the falls count anywhere match was that Baron Corbin and Drew McIntyre got involved and helped Zayn win.
Strowman vs. Lashley is the fourth match that’s been announced for Super ShowDown. Goldberg vs. The Undertaker, Triple H vs. Randy Orton, and a 50-man battle royal are set for the show. Roman Reigns, WWE Champion Kofi Kingston, Universal Champion Seth Rollins, AJ Styles, and Brock Lesnar are also advertised.
Super ShowDown is the third event in WWE’s 10-year deal with the Saudi General Sports Authority.
WWE has announced three matches and revealed the name for their next show in Saudi Arabia.
It was announced today that Goldberg and The Undertaker will face off for the first time ever at WWE’s show in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Friday, June 7. The show is taking place at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium and is named WWE Super ShowDown, which was the same name the company used for their event in Melbourne, Australia last October.
This will be the first time Goldberg has wrestled since WrestleMania 33 in April 2017.
Triple H vs. Randy Orton is also official for Super ShowDown in Saudi Arabia, and there will be a 50-man battle royal at the event.
King Abdullah Sports City Stadium hosted a 50-man match at last year’s Greatest Royal Rumble, though that had a Royal Rumble format.
Super ShowDown will be the third event in WWE’s controversial 10-year deal with the Saudi General Sports Authority. It will air live on the WWE Network.
Roman Reigns, WWE Champion Kofi Kingston, Braun Strowman, Universal Champion Seth Rollins, AJ Styles, and Brock Lesnar are also advertised for Super ShowDown.
As expected, the show will be held on Friday, June 7. it will take place at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah and will air live on the WWE Network.
King Abdullah Sports City Stadium also hosted the Greatest Royal Rumble in April 2018, while Crown Jewel took place in Riyadh in November.
The first eight wrestlers have been advertised for next month’s show, with Goldberg the most notable name among them. It’s also advertised that the event will feature Roman Reigns, The Undertaker, Kofi Kingston, Braun Strowman, Seth Rollins, AJ Styles, and Brock Lesnar.
Goldberg was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2018. His most recent match was against Lesnar at WrestleMania 33 in April 2017.
The name of June’s event has yet to be announced.
This will be the third show in WWE’s 10-year agreement with the Saudi General Sports Authority. WWE has received significant criticism for their relationship with the country. Women haven’t been allowed to wrestle in Saudi Arabia, and WWE went on with Crown Jewel as scheduled despite the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.
When asked to confirm the date of the May show, WWE responded that they “haven’t announced” it.
WWE’s 10-year agreement with the Saudi General Sports Authority began with last April’s Greatest Royal Rumble and continued with Crown Jewel in November. Women weren’t allowed to wrestle at either show (though Renee Young was part of the commentary team for Crown Jewel), and WWE went on with Crown Jewel as scheduled despite Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s reported involvement in the planning of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder.
WWE didn’t mention Saudi Arabia by name on the Crown Jewel broadcast.
Amid controversy, the second show in WWE’s 10-year deal with the Saudi General Sports Authority takes place at King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh today.
Shawn Michaels will make his return to the ring as he teams with Triple H against The Undertaker & Kane. A new Universal Champion will also be crowned, with Braun Strowman facing Brock Lesnar for the vacant title.
With Daniel Bryan not wrestling in Saudi Arabia, AJ Styles will instead defend his WWE Championship against Samoa Joe. John Cena also pulled out of WWE’s World Cup tournament and was replaced by Bobby Lashley. Lashley vs. Seth Rollins and Kurt Angle vs. Dolph Ziggler are set for Raw’s side of the bracket, and Jeff Hardy vs. The Miz and Rey Mysterio vs. Randy Orton are SmackDown’s first round matches.
A stipulation for the World Cup was set up this week as Shane McMahon said he would fire the SmackDown wrestler who makes it to the finals if they lose to Raw.
SmackDown Tag Team Champions Cesaro & Sheamus defend their titles against The New Day. And on the pre-show, Rusev challenges for Shinsuke Nakamura’s United States title.
Hulk Hogan will also make his return to WWE as the host of Crown Jewel. The pre-show begins on the WWE Network at 11 a.m. Eastern time, with the main card starting at noon Eastern.
**********
Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Rusev to retain the WWE United States title
The crowd was still filing in as this match was going on, but they were hot for this match. Rusev fired back with some lariats after Nakamura had control for part of the match. Nakamura cuts him off and lands a running knee. Rusev connected with a machka kick and went for the accolade but Nakamura went to the apron and connected with a knee to the head.
Nakamura went for the kinshasa but Rusev tripped him and applied the accolade. Nakamura went for the ropes, Rusev dragged him back in the middle but in the process Nakamura managed to headbutt Rusev right in the netheregions. That allowed Nakamura to recover and pin Rusev after the kinshasa. Not much of a match, but a clever finish at least.
Hulk Hogan came out to start the show, got a pyrotechnic show and everything. Said it was awesome to be back in the WWE and to be hosting Crown Jewel. And that was it, another pyrotechnic show followed. Judging by Hogan’s promo and the graphics showing they’re in “Riyadh”, WWE is going out of their way not to mention the words “Saudi Arabia” on their broadcast.
World Cup: Rey Mysterio defeated Randy Orton
Mysterio went for a springboard early but Orton cut him off with a big dropkick. He took Mysterio to the top rope and tried to rip off his mask. Mysterio followed with a senton and a springboard crossbody.
Mysterio went for the 619 but Orton grabbed Mysterio and planted him with the draping DDT. He motioned for the RKO but Mysterio countered with a roll up and got the win. This was short and not much of anything.
Orton planted Mysterio with an RKO after the match. He motioned like he was going to leave, but instead slid him out of the ring and planted him face first on the Arabic announcer’s table, apparently landing on a monitor.
Miz was asked about potentially facing an injured Rey Mysterio. He said with the way this tournament is lining up, he feels awesome.
World Cup: The Miz defeated Jeff Hardy
Miz was asked about potentially facing an injured Rey Mysterio. He said with the way this tournament is lining up, he feels awesome.
Miz gained control early, grinding down Hardy. Miz hit a couple of dropkicks in the corner, but Hardy responded with a clothesline and made his comeback. Hary went for a twist of fate but Miz escaped.
Hardy hit whisper in the wind, but got cut off by Miz on the apron. Miz went for the figure four but Hardy cradled him for a near fall.Hardy sends Miz out of the ring, runs on the barricade and jumps off, hitting Miz with a clothesline. Hardy goes for a swanton bomb, but Miz rolls out of the way.
Miz posts Hardy and uses the ropes, but the referee sees it. Hardy goes for a twist of fate, but Miz countered with the skull crushing finale for the win. Kind of clunky overall and the finish was anti-climatic.
World Cup: Seth Rollins defeated Bobby Lashley
Lashley dominated the match early until Rollins escaped from a vertical suplex. Rollins hit two suicide dives to the floor. Lashley cut him off and went for a superplex. Rollins went for a sunset flip, but couldn’t get it. Lashley escaped from a powerbomb attempt, but then Rollins landed the stomp out of nowhere for the win. Another nothing match.
Kurt Angle backstage said most people doubt he can win. But people also doubted him when he won the Olympic gold medal with a broken friggin’ neck. He’ll prove tonight that he’s still the best in the world.
World Cup: Dolph Ziggler defeated Kurt Angle
They start off with some mat wrestling. Angle landed a belly to belly and a couple of German suplexes. They meet on the apron where Angle tried to German Ziggler to the floor, but Ziggler laid him out and threw him into the stairs.
Angle drives Ziggler into the turnbuckle and started a comeback until Ziggler laid him out with a DDT. Angle hit the Angle Slam for a near fall. He went for the Angle lock, but Ziggler escaped and hit a famouser.
Angle rolled through Ziggler and applied the Angle lock. Ziggler tried to escape, eventually doing do. He then posted Angle and planted him with the zig zag for the win. This was pretty decent.
The Bar defeated The New Day to retain the SmackDown tag team titles
The New Day came out on what I guess would be a magic carpet, throwing out pancakes.
Things started off with some good back and forth until Cesaro managed to cut off Kofi Kingston. They worked on him forever until Kofi escaped and tagged in Big E, who made a big comeback. Big E planted Sheamus with a uranage and went for the spear to the floor but Sheamus cut him off. Big E tagged in Kofi, who hit a double foot stomp as Big E planted Sheamus with a powerbomb for a near fall.
Kofi took out Cesaro on the outside as Big Show on the apron. Big E avoided the brogue kick but was shoved into the referee. Big Show punched Big E, allowing Sheamus to connect with the brogue kick for the win. A total paint by numbers match.
The Miz was interviewed. Tonight isn’t about happy endings, it’s about beating Rey Mysterio and proving he’s the best in the world. His voice seemed off and mentioned that he injured his throat during the first match. Rey Mysterio said he’s been underestimated by bigger and better.
World Cup semi finals: The Miz defeated Rey Mysterio
Rey controlled early, sliding himself to the floor with a splash. Mysterio started to sell his ribs after the splash. Mysterio went to leap on Miz’s shoulders but Miz instead fell, causing Mysterio to land face first on the mat.
Miz started to work him over, but Mysterio fought back, only to be laid out. In a callback from earlier, Miz slid Rey out of the ring, landing on his ribs.
Mysterio started to mount a comeback, landing a crossbody. Miz is sent into the second turnbuckle as Mysterio goes for the 619. Miz grabs him, smashes his head on the nearby top turnbuckle and lands the skull crushing finale…but Mysterio kicks out.
Miz pelts him with kicks, but Mysterio fights back, hitting the 619. Mysterio takes his time getting to the top rope, and when he goes for the frog splash Miz gets the knees up and cradles him for the win. This was okay overall, nothing special but the finish was pretty good.
World Cup semi finals: Dolph Ziggler defeated Seth Rollins
Dolph got the heat on Rollins after Rollins got distracted by McIntyre on the outside, working on his neck. Rollins came back and they exchanged a number of near falls before Rollins hit the ripchord knee for another near fall.
Rollins hit a suicide dive on the outside, taking out both Ziggler and McIntyre. Back in the ring, Ziggler hit the famouser. Rollins met Ziggler on the top rope and hit the superplex. Rollins tried for the Falcon Arrow, but Ziggler countered with the zig zag.
Rollins goes to the top rope, but McIntyre grabbed his leg. Ziggler connects with a superkick and picks up the win. So it’s heel Dolph vs. heel Miz in the finals. Match was pretty good.
Saxton interviewed Ziggler, saying it wasn’t fair how he got the win and it was an upset. Ziggler dismissed that and said the next time you see him, he’ll be holding his trophy because he’s the best in the world.
AJ Styles defeated Samoa Joe to retain the WWE title
Styles was in control early, taking him to the outside and posting him. Joe lifted him up, however, and drove him head first into the barricade, getting the heat. Joe blasted AJ with a suicide dive, sending ribs first into the announcer’s table.
AJ connects with a kick and hits the reverse DDT. He looks for the phenomenal forearm, but Joe escapes and hits a big powerslam and lariat. Styles goes for an O’Connor roll but Joe catches him in the coquina clutch. Styles grabs him and goes for the calf crusher but Joe quickly gets to the ropes. AJ connects with a pele kick then scores the phenomenal forearm for the win. This was good while it lasted, but they’ve had better matches.
Brock Lesnar defeated Braun Strowman to win the WWE Universal title
Baron Corbin, who came out with the Universal title, hit Strowman in the back with the title before the match started. Lesnar then destroyed Braun Strowman, hitting him with four F5’s, one to the floor. Strowman mounted a brief comeback, but Lesnar laid him out with a fifth for the win. No, it makes no sense to bury someone like this, nor does it make sense for Lesnar to win the title. But this is what they do.
McIntyre was sent to the back before the World Cup finals started. They fought before the bell rang, with Miz sending Ziggler into the steps. Miz favored his knee heavily. They sold like this was about to be called a forfeit in favor of Ziggler because Miz couldn’t continue. Shane McMahon said no, he would take his place. So after hyping this tournament for weeks, Shane just inserts himself in, everyone seems fine with it and the match starts. Even the announcers couldn’t sell this as making a lick of sense.
Shane McMahon defeated Dolph Ziggler to win the World Cup
Well, duh.
So Ziggler cut Shane and hit the zig zag. Shane fired back with a DDT and slingshotted Ziggler into the turnbuckle. Shane hit the coast to coast. And yes, in case you were wondering who the best in the world is, it is Shane McMahon, who wrestles maybe twice a year and just beat Dolph Ziggler clean in minutes. Raw announcers sold this like it was a heel move. Whatever. These last two matches couldn’t be more destructive towards people that need a boost the most.
Shane celebrated with the trophy as a huge pyrotechnic show followed. A McMahon winning this tournament, which was to crown the best in the world, feels like an allegory for something.
Triple H and Shawn Michaels defeated The Undertaker and Kane
Triple H and Kane start things off. Shawn was tagged in and looked fine. He hit a neckbreaker but Kane came up. After teasing a superkick, Undertaker was tagged in. All four got in the ring as HBK was put in the tree of woe position. Kane threw Triple H into Shawn as both DX members tumbled to the floor.
Back in the ring, Undertaker hit old school on Shawn. He avoided a boot in the corner and tagged in Triple H. Kane was tagged in and they exchanged chops. Shawn came in and took down Kane, then did the kip up. Double suplex spot by DX. Shawn connected with the elbow.
Shawn motions for the sweet chin music but Kane grabs him and lands the chokeslam instead. Undertaker comes back in and gets the heat, looking for his own chokeslam. He takes out Triple H, which allows Shawn to strike with the sweet chin music. Undertaker gets back to his feet and clears out the Arabic announcer’s table.
Triple H grabs Shawn from his doom as he takes out Kane and Undertaker by throwing them into the steps and guardrail, respectively. Well, I think he threw himself and Undertaker into the barricade, but whatever. Kane grabs Hunter by the throat, however, and sends him through the announce table. Undertaker takes out Shawn with a legdrop on the apron.
Undertaker taunts Triple H as he takes Shawn and puts him back in the ring. They work him over some more. Undertaker went for a tombstone on the floor, but Shawn escaped and threw him into the post. Kane’s mask came off at some point as Shawn went to the top rope and hit a moonsault.
Triple H is tagged in as he makes a comeback. He may have hurt his arm at some point during this match. Undertaker reversed a pedigree with the back body drop. Triple H reversed a tombstone and hit a pedigree. Hunter dispatched Kane as Undertaker locked in the hell’s gate. Kane grabbed Shawn but he escaped and hit a superkick, landing on Undertaker and breaking that submission.
Brothers of Destruction go for stereo tombstones but both DX members escape. Shawn superkicks Undertaker, then superkicks Kane, who walks into a pedigree. Triple H pins Kane for the win. This was better than last month’s match. Shawn looked great but honestly this was still a very plodding, long match.
Pyrotechnics display to close out the show. To quote Jim Ross after that Jackie Gayda match, mercifully, Crown Jewel is over.
According to PWInsider, WWE was making production plans at one point for AJ Styles vs. Bryan to take place at the Performance Center and air on the Crown Jewel broadcast — but the idea was dropped in the middle of plans being made yesterday. They wrote that all signs point to Styles going to Saudi Arabia, though no final decision as to how WWE would handle the situation had been made as of last night.
Tonight’s SmackDown at the Phillips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia is the go-home show for Crown Jewel. A segment where Styles will confront Bryan ahead of their advertised WWE Championship match at Crown Jewel is scheduled for tonights’ episode..
For the second straight week, HBO’s “Last Week Tonight” with John Oliver covered WWE’s relationship with Saudi Arabia.
While talking about Crown Jewel being held in Saudi Arabia this Friday, Oliver mentioned reports that John Cena won’t be wrestling on the show and played a clip of The Undertaker’s promo from SmackDown 1000. The crowd went from chanting for Undertaker to booing when he said “Crown Jewel.”
“I think the WWE itself just turned heel,” Oliver said. “Do you know how clearly deeply bad something has to be to get wrestling fans to boo a wrestling event at a wrestling event?”
Oliver said WWE was pushing ahead with Crown Jewel despite the serious concerns of some of their wrestlers and own fan base. A parody video of what Oliver said WWE’s marketing should be then aired, advertising that no women’s wrestlers would be there, that Cena would be on the show if he’s willing to take a major PR hit, and ended with “If you care about human rights, WWE’s got two words for you — suck it.”
In an interview with TMZ Sports, Ronda Rousey defended WWE’s decision to move forward with Crown Jewel taking place in Saudi Arabia.
In her defense of the decision, Rousey spoke about the positive impacts she thinks the event could have. She discussed being an Olympian and how she believes sports can bring people from different cultures together. She wasn’t asked about and didn’t mention the promotion WWE did for Saudi Arabia on the Greatest Royal Rumble broadcast or the specifics of WWE’s 10-year deal with the Saudi General Sports Authority.
“I’m a two-time Olympian, so I’m an idealist when it comes to sport. And one of my favorite memories from the 2004 Olympics was — I was in the gym and I was on the treadmill and I was cutting weight and I was running and right next to me was a boxer from Iraq and he was running next to me. And it was the beginning of the Iraq war, and nowhere else in the world would some man from Iraq and a little girl from Venice Beach be respecting each other and sharing space,” Rousey said.
“I think that sports is where we really find that common ground with each other, and I think that pulling out of the Crown Jewel would be the wrong move — because I think that this is an opportunity to be able to share our cultures and define what we have in common. And in times, especially when — times of adversity between two countries, that’s the absolute wrong time to be able to pull away. I think that’s the time for us to be able to find what we have in common and be able to understand each other more.”
Later in the interview, Rousey expressed optimism that, despite her and the rest of the women’s division not being able to wrestle at Crown Jewel, women will be able to wrestle in Saudi Arabia in the future.
“I think if we have WWE become big in Saudi Arabia, and WWE is the company that is having all-women’s pay-per-views — I mean, if you have the WWE Network, you can see Evolution and you can see Crown Jewel, you know. So if you’re going to buy the all-men’s pay-per-view, you’re going to have access to the all-women’s pay-per-view. And so it’s just exposing people to all the different things that our culture has to offer,” Rousey said.
“And I think that those are just the baby steps of how you get people to start demanding those kinds of things. They’ll be like — yeah, the women can’t compete in Saudi Arabia right now. But if the Crown Jewel is a huge success and WWE really takes off in Saudi Arabia, they are going to be demanding to see the women soon.”
While noting that they faced a “very difficult decision” after Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered at Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Turkey, WWE officially confirmed yesterday morning that Crown Jewel would go on as scheduled in Riyadh on November 2.
WWE hasn’t given an update on whether or not John Cena and Daniel Bryan will work Crown Jewel. Dave Meltzer wrote in yesterday’s Daily Update that Cena is still off the show as of now.
Rousey’s full interview with TMZ Sports is available to watch below:
The company’s statement: “WWE has operated in the Middle East for nearly 20 years and has developed a sizable and dedicated fan base. Considering the heinous crime committed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, the Company faced a very difficult decision as it relates to its event scheduled for November 2 in Riyadh. Similar to other U.S.-based companies who plan to continue operations in Saudi Arabia, the Company has decided to uphold its contractual obligations to the General Sports Authority and stage the event. Full year 2018 guidance is predicated on the staging of the Riyadh event as scheduled.”
WWE has avoided mentioning Saudi Arabia on television over the past two weeks. Crown Jewel is set to take place at King Saud University Stadium, with Triple H & Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker & Kane, the eight-man World Cup tournament, Braun Strowman vs. Brock Lesnar for the vacant Universal Championship, AJ Styles defending the WWE Championship against Daniel Bryan, and The New Day getting their Tag Team title rematch against Cesaro & Sheamus announced.
UPDATE: On today’s earnings call, WWE didn’t elaborate further on their decision. Vince McMahon said they weren’t going to talk about it a lot and called it a “very sensitive subject.” He deferred to the statement that WWE issued.
Ahead of Crown Jewel, WWE’s deal with Saudi Arabia continues to receive more mainstream attention.
An 18-minute segment on the suspected murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi aired on HBO’s “Last Week Tonight” with John Oliver on Sunday night. Oliver covered the United States’ relationship with Saudi Arabia and the relationship U.S. businesses have had with Saudi Arabia during the reign of Mohammad bin Salman.
Brief clips from April’s Greatest Royal Rumble were played, with Oliver saying that audiences from around the world were treated to “wall-to-wall propaganda.” Oliver later brought up WWE returning to Saudi Arabia for Crown Jewel on November 2. He did John Cena’s “You can’t see me” taunt and said “which I guess in this context means you don’t see these human rights abuses right here.”
Dave Meltzer noted on last night’s Wrestling Observer Radio that he was told that Crown Jewel will go on as scheduled unless the State Department or Donald Trump tells the company they can’t go.
The full “Last Week Tonight” segment on Saudi Arabia is available to watch below (WWE is mentioned at 6:55 and 17:00):
WWE has noted that Crown Jewel should be listed on their schedule.
**********
Original —
The Crown Jewel event on November 2 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia has been removed from the WWE website’s calendar of events.
At this point WWE has not made a statement related to the show, but it was known dating back a few days that backup ideas were being talked about in the event such a decision was forced.
The event page for Crown Jewel is still up on WWE.com, though references to Saudi Arabia have been removed.
There are a number of huge ramifications of the show not taking place, if that is even the case, as perhaps it was just removed until a final decision is made. They were likely to have tomorrow as a soft deadline as they would either be promoting the show hard on television Monday or having to go with whatever new plan was in place. The Daily Beast had mentioned an idea of doing a third show in Manchester, England on November 4, since they are already taping shows on November 5 and November 6, and the arena doesn’t have a date on the Sunday. It would give the United Kingdom its first worldwide-airing pay-per-view since 1992.
But there are many key questions, both regarding the show and future of the deal with Saudi Arabia.
A spokesman for Glenn Jacobs (WWE’s Kane and the mayor of Knox County, Tennessee) has noted that Jacobs still plans to wrestle at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia.
In an article that was published earlier this afternoon, Jacobs’ spokesman Rob Link told the Knoxville News Sentinel that Jacobs’ plans to wrestle at the event have not changed. “Mayor Jacobs won’t speculate on Mr. [Jamal] Khashoggi’s disappearance,” Link said. “However, he and his family are in the mayor’s thoughts and prayers.”
WWE issued a statement on Thursday noting that they are “currently monitoring the situation” following Khashoggi’s disappearance and suspected murder. Khashoggi, a columnist for the Washington Post who has been a frequent critic of the Saudi government, disappeared after entering Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul, Turkey on October 2.
Saudi officials have denied the allegations that are being made against them and have said that Khashoggi left the consulate shortly after he arrived.
Kane & The Undertaker are scheduled to face Triple H & Shawn Michaels at Crown Jewel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on November 2. The Independent Journal Review ran an article today that quoted senators urging WWE to rethink the event, and Dave Meltzer reported that “there have been backup plans that are being talked about internally if the show doesn’t take place.”
Several United States senators, including Chris Murphy of WWE’s home state of Connecticut, have urged WWE to rethink the Crown Jewel show on November 2 in Saudi Arabia.
“This is a brazen assault on the freedom of the press and a slap in the face to the United States, if this murder occurred as it seems it did.”
Murphy is a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Lindsey Graham, a senator from South Carolina, said, “There should be a pause,” in regard to the company’s business dealings with Saudi Arabia.
Graham has suggested a complete rethinking of the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia based on news reports on the death of Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist believed to have been violently murdered over being critical of the kingdom.
Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey told IJR that he believes, because of the relationship between Donald Trump and Linda McMahon, that Trump should think about pressuring WWE not to do the show.
“Private enterprise is private enterprise, different than a governmental entity,” said Menendez. “But because (Linda McMahon) is part of the president’s cabinet, it falls into the grey area where the administration really should give it some thought and maybe even prevail upon them not doing it.”
Ahead of their scheduled return to Saudi Arabia, WWE has issued a statement concerning the suspected murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
“We are currently monitoring the situation,” WWE said in a statement today.
Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and columnist for the Washington Post who was a prominent critic of the Saudi government, disappeared and is believed to have been killed after entering Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul, Turkey on October 2 to obtain paperwork that he needed in order to marry his fiancee. The New York Times reported that Turkish security officials have concluded that Khashoggi was assassinated “on orders from the highest levels of the royal court.” Saudi officials have denied the allegations.
WWE Crown Jewel is set to take place at King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh on Friday, November 2. Following April’s Greatest Royal Rumble, this will be the second event in WWE’s 10-year agreement with the Saudi General Sports Authority.
