The U.S. Embassy in Riyadh issued a security alert on Saturday, October 10, telling Americans to avoid King Khalid International Airport after attacks on the airport that day. WWE Crown Jewel is scheduled for Saturday, November 7, at Riyadh Season Stadium in the King Abdullah Financial District, four weeks from now. WWE has not announced any change to the date or location.
The alert, posted by the U.S. Mission in Saudi Arabia on X and on the embassy’s website, reads:
“The U.S. Mission is aware of attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on October 10 and strongly recommends all U.S. citizens avoid this airport and surrounding areas.”
Security Alert: U.S. Mission Saudi Arabia (October 10, 2026)
The U.S. Mission is aware of attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on October 10 and strongly recommends all U.S. citizens avoid this airport and surrounding areas.
U.S. government employees working in… pic.twitter.com/EOYrLzyOXt— U.S. Embassy Riyadh (@USAinKSA) October 10, 2026
The embassy said U.S. government employees in Saudi Arabia now need special authorization to use the Riyadh airport, and it warned of “potential flight cancellations, airspace closures, and travel disruptions.” The State Department’s travel advisory for Saudi Arabia is at Level 3, “Reconsider Travel.”
The attacks
A missile struck a passenger terminal at the airport on Saturday, and the airport was evacuated, the Associated Press reported, citing two regional officials. A hospital source in Riyadh told Euronews that “dozens of people were injured, most of them Saudi nationals.” Euronews also reported, citing Flightradar24, that all flights to Riyadh were diverted or cancelled.
Saturday’s attack came two days after Houthi-claimed attacks on the same airport killed three Saudi citizens, including Saudia pilot Captain Hamoud Ali Alkalthami, according to Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation and Al Jazeera. The Houthis have said the strikes are retaliation for Saudi attacks on airports in Sanaa and Hodeidah, and they have warned airlines to stay out of Saudi airspace. The fighting reignited after the war that the United States and Israel began against Iran at the end of February.
Where WWE stands on Crown Jewel
Bryan Alvarez of Figure Four Weekly reported on Thursday that whether WWE holds Crown Jewel in Riyadh was a “big topic of conversation in WWE.” In September, WrestleVotes Radio on Fightful Select reported that people at WWE who regularly travel to Saudi Arabia for events had been asking whether Crown Jewel would be changed or rescheduled.
WWE President Nick Khan addressed WWE’s Saudi plans at a company town hall in April, ahead of Night of Champions in Riyadh. “We’re only going if it’s safe or if we’re allowed there,” Khan said, in audio obtained by POST Wrestling. “If U.S. citizens are allowed in at this moment in time, it is declared and deemed safe, we’ll all be going there.”
Tickets for Crown Jewel went on sale on October 2, announced by Turki Alalshikh, chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority. As of this writing, the two matches announced are World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns vs. Undisputed WWE Champion Sami Zayn for the men’s Crown Jewel Championship, and Women’s World Champion Stephanie Vaquer vs. WWE Women’s Champion Chelsea Green for the women’s Crown Jewel Championship.
What the Saudi deal is worth
WWE’s partnership with Saudi Arabia began in 2018 as a 10-year deal. In November 2019, WWE announced that it and the General Entertainment Authority had “expanded their live event partnership through 2027” to include “a second annual large-scale event.” Saudi Arabia is scheduled to host three WWE events in 2026.
Wrestlenomics’ Brandon Thurston has estimated that WWE is paid about $50 million per Saudi event, based on WWE’s regulatory filings and a sworn declaration from WWE’s chief accounting officer in shareholder litigation. WWE and TKO do not publish the fee. TKO’s first-quarter 2026 report credited higher WWE live events revenue to “an increase in financial incentive package revenues, most notably for Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia,” and POST Wrestling’s analysis of those numbers put the Riyadh fee in the neighborhood of $50 million. Wrestlenomics estimated WWE had earned about $600 million from Saudi events as of June 2025.
When COVID-19 forced WWE to miss Saudi events in 2020 and 2021, WWE said those events would be added to the end of the deal, POST Wrestling reported. WWE and the General Entertainment Authority have not said publicly how a missed event would be handled now.
WrestleMania 43
WWE announced on September 12, 2025 that Riyadh Season will host WrestleMania 43 in 2027, the first WrestleMania held outside North America. WWE has not officially announced a date. The event is expected in April 2027. Khan said last month on The Varsity that WWE has already worked out the creative for WrestleMania 43, and Jeff Jarrett said in September he believes WWE has had a backup plan since the day it agreed to the Riyadh deal.
WrestlingNews.co wishes everyone injured in the attacks a full recovery.
Analysis:
No wrestler has said anything publicly about Crown Jewel. It is hard to believe many of them are not privately hoping the show is moved to a different location, with the airport they would fly into being hit twice in three days.
The money explains why WWE has not moved it. At roughly $50 million a show, Saudi Arabia is WWE’s most lucrative live events partner by far. If the COVID precedent holds, a canceled show is not lost money. It gets pushed to the back of the deal, which gives WWE room to wait.
The bigger question is WrestleMania 43. The deal runs through 2027, Saudi Arabia is getting WrestleMania, and there is still no official date despite months of talk, speculation and reports. If the war involving Iran is still going in the spring, WWE may have to consider moving WrestleMania to another location.
