Backstage Update On WWE Promoting Crown Jewel For Saudi Arabia Amid Armed Conflict

After some uncertainty thanks to the ongoing armed conflict in Saudi Arabia, WWE made clear on Monday that they were still planning on holding Crown Jewel in Riyadh next month. It's a decision that has raised eyebrows, and one that Dave Meltzer believes may have been made thanks to some outside pressure. On Monday's "Wrestling Observer Radio," Meltzer and co-host Garrett Gonzalez were discussing a tweet sent by Saudi's General Entertainment Authority director Turki Al-Sheikh, which was seemingly directed just at Canelo Alvarez coming to the country for a boxing match, but one Meltzer thinks was directed towards WWE as well.

"In WWE, when that tweet came out, they knew it was a message for them too," Meltzer said. "I mean...it's a real tough thing. And this is obviously going to be Ari Emanuel's decision. This is way over Nick Khan's head...I'm sure it won't be without Nick Khan's input. But that's...it's a really tough decision, because they shouldn't go. We all know that. It's too dangerous."

Meltzer pointed out that the United States State Department and Travel Advisory had also advised against anyone traveling to Saudi Arabia for the time. Even still, Meltzer believes that the money WWE is being paid and Al-Sheikh's desire for them to put on the show would ultimately be prioritized over anything else, pointing out that WWE's parent company, TKO, was beholden to Al-Sheikh due to his funding of TKO's Zuffa Boxing. As a result, Meltzer thinks WWE will exhaust any option to get there, even if many people within the company are against the idea.

"If there is anyway they can go, they're going to go," Meltzer said. "And it's going to be very interesting because the families of the talents, I'm sure, are not going to be happy. The talent probably isn't going to be happy. The backstage people, I know, aren't happy."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Wrestling Observer Radio" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription