WWE has removed all references to Saudi Arabia on the WWE.com page for Crown Jewel. The event now doesn’t list any location.
However, WWE says that the show is still scheduled in Saudi Arabia right now, according to Dave Meltzer, who tweeted, “WWE says Saudi Arabia show is still on as scheduled.”
There has been pressure on WWE to cancel the show, including from US senators, after the Saudi government apparently murdered dissident journalist and Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Turkey earlier this month.
As of yesterday, WWE was still moving forward with the planning, production and logistics for the Saudi Arabia show.
However, it was also reported that WWE had backup plans in place if they eventually decided to cancel the show. It was pointed out by The Daily Beast that one possibility could be on Sunday, November 4 in Manchester, England at the Manchester Arena, which is apparently not booked that day. WWE is taping Raw and SmackDown at the arena on November 5 and 6.
Tomorrow’s Raw might shed some more light on what WWE is going to do, since they will be promoting the event, so we’ll see if they mention Saudi Arabia at all or if they possibly even reveal any changed plans. If they do change the venue and keep the show around the same date, they would have to announce it soon, since they would need time to sell tickets.
WWE is being paid millions of dollars by the Saudi government for this show, which they would presumably be leaving on the table if the show is canceled.