WWE is expected to announce soon that they will be returning to Saudi Arabia in February as part of their multi-year deal with the Saudi government.
The belief is that the show will take place on February 20 or February 27 and the date depends on what the Saudi government wants to do. Once they have a date locked in then WWE will make an announcement to the talent and presumably in a press release on their website.
If they end up running the show on Thursday, February 27 then it means they will have to rush back to the United States for Friday Night SmackDown in Boston. Last time, most of the WWE crew was stuck because of what the company says were “mechanical issues” with the plane. The mechanical issues may have been legitimate but there are many who feel that other issues were at play since there Vince McMahon is believed to have cut the feed for Saudi Arabia that led to their last show airing on a 40-minute delay.
Several wrestlers said privately around the time of the “mechanical issues” that they were not planning on going back to Saudi Arabia. Now, with the heightened tensions in the Middle East, specifically the recent issues in Iran, there are more wrestlers questioning whether they should fly out for the next show. I was told that at least two more wrestlers have decided against going to the next Saudi Arabia show.
WWE shouldn’t have any issues with lack of talent because plenty will likely fly out and collect a nice paycheck for working on that show but it will be interesting to see if any top names decide to pull out.
