MBS Chant Breaks Out At WWE Crown Jewel Press Conference

They say anything can happen in WWE, and a first happened at the Crown Jewel press conference this afternoon, where chants for Mohammed bin Salman, the controversial Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, broke out.  On the stage at the press conference, after WWE Chairwoman Stephanie McMahon and Chief Content Officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque had presented Turki Al-Sheikh a replica WWE Championship belt, the Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority for Saudi Arabia made reference to the Crown Prince, which prompted a large portion of fans in attendance to chant "MBS," the initials of Mohammed bin Salman.  This happens at about 12:20 into the linked video.

WWE's initial relationship with the kingdom of Saudi Arabia began in the winter of 2013, when the company announced it would hold its first-ever house shows in the country in April 2014. The relationship expanded substantially in 2018, when WWE and the Saudi General Sports Authority announced a major stadium show, Greatest Royal Rumble, at King Abdullah International Stadium, which would begin a 10-year partnership in line with Saudi Vision 2030. The relationship would grow further in November 2019, when it was announced that WWE and the General Entertainment Authority for Saudi Arabia would put on two stadium events per year through 2027.

WWE returns to Saudi Arabia this Saturday for the Crown Jewel premium live event, taking place at Mrsool Park in Riyadh. The show will be headlined by a clash between Roman Reigns and YouTuber Logan Paul for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. WWE's last event in Saudi Arabia took place in February, when the company presented the Elimination Chamber event and its namesake match outside of North America for the first time.