WWE is unhappy that some of its non-wrestling employees have spoken about not wanting to travel to Saudi Arabia for Crown Jewel, Dave Meltzer said on Thursday’s Wrestling Observer Radio.
“I heard that WWE wasn’t thrilled that some of the employees, non-wrestlers, did actually talk about not wanting to go because they want that united front,” Meltzer said. “And not one wrestler said a word, which doesn’t surprise me because if they did, there would be repercussions. It’d be stupid to do so. It’s not your fight. But I would expect that they can’t be thrilled about this.”
Crown Jewel is scheduled for Saturday, November 7, at Riyadh Season Stadium in Riyadh. WWE has not announced any change to the show. On Monday’s Raw, it advertised two champion vs. champion matches: World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns vs. Undisputed WWE Champion Sami Zayn, and Women’s World Champion Liv Morgan vs. WWE Women’s Champion Chelsea Green.
Backup Plan
Meltzer also said WWE has a backup plan for the show but cannot say so publicly.
“They will not even publicly say that there’s a backup plan, there is, but they can’t publicly say it because if they publicly say it, it sounds like they’re wavering on going,” Meltzer said. “And they can’t have that out because then the Saudis and Turki will be very upset at them for having that out. That’s why no one talks about the idea of a backup plan, and they deny it. But to not have a backup plan, you would have to be incompetent, and if there is anything that the people that run WWE are, incompetent is not one of those things.”
Bryan Alvarez reported on Tuesday that “Riyadh is still the plan for Crown Jewel,” but that there is “a backup city in the US that is on the table.” PWInsider Elite reported the same day that WWE has not had any conversations about moving the show, and a WWE source denied that a backup location in Europe had been locked in.
Fightful Select reported in September, as F4W noted at the time, that there was “a large concern within WWE” about the show, and that several people who regularly travel to Saudi Arabia for WWE events had asked about possible changes.
Other Riyadh Events
The U.S. Embassy in Riyadh told Americans to avoid King Khalid International Airport after attacks there on October 10.
The Six Kings Slam tennis exhibition, which was set for October 21 to 24 in Riyadh, has been postponed to December 27 to 30. Turki Alalshikh, chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, cited “organisational and logistical challenges” and did not mention the attacks. Alalshikh has said the Canelo Alvarez vs. Christian Mbilli fight will go ahead in Riyadh on October 31.
تأجيل بطولة Six Kings Slam لأسباب لوجستية، على أن تقام في موعدها الجديد يوم 27 ديسمبر 🎾
The Six Kings Slam tournament has been postponed due to logistical reasons and will now take place on December 27 🙏🏼🎾 pic.twitter.com/WY4fQVIaNQ
— TURKI ALALSHIKH (@Turki_alalshikh) October 14, 2026
