TKO Holds Town Hall Meeting, Mark Shapiro Emphasizes Safety In The Middle East

After it was announced via the Riyadh Season X (formerly Twitter) account on Wednesday that WWE Crown Jewel would be moving to a different venue in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, a new report revealed that TKO held a town hall meeting for all employees as questions remain about safety surrounding the premium live event in the Middle East.

According to PWInsider, the meeting was held for all employees via Zoom, and the outlet's Mike Johnson called it "mostly a rah rah meeting." The town hall wasn't held specifically to address concerns surrounding Crown Jewel, as according to the report, each entity within TKO, including UFC and Zuffa Boxing, in addition to WWE, gave recaps on what's going on in their part of the company.

Marc Shapiro, TKO President and COO, did comment on the upcoming events the company is holding in the Middle East, however, amid ongoing tensions and missile strikes. PWI was told that Shapiro said that the safety of everyone involved in these events is "paramount." The meeting, however, was held before Riyadh Season announced on social media that Crown Jewel would be moving, yet staying within the city, so the change in location of the event was not addressed in the town hall.

It was reported on Monday by the New York Times that a recent United States intelligence memo warned of planned attacks against State Department employees and other Americans in "the Middle East and other regions" by Iran. Saudi Arabia remains at a level three "reconsider travel" advisory on the US Department of State website, with areas like the Yemen border at a level four "do not travel" advisory due to terrorism.