Next NXT Takeover Event Likely To Be Moved Due To Saudi Arabia Show, WWE Staying Quiet On The Event
WWE has yet to officially announce their next event in Saudi Arabia, although it's rumored to take place on Friday, June 7th.
As we previously reported, WWE had moved the Backlash pay-per-view, which was originally scheduled for June 16th in San Diego, to June 23rd in Tacoma, Washington. The move was done to prevent running big shows two weekends in a row.
Triple H had officially announced in March that the next Takeover event will be on Saturday, June 8th from the San Jose State University Event Center in San Jose, California, which would be one day after the Saudi Arabia event. Dave Meltzer reported on Wrestling Observer Radio that he has been told that Takeover will most likely be moved as well. WWE will be taping NXT television this Wednesday and Thursday which would run through Takeover, so a final decision will most likely be made by then.
Despite the rumored Saudi Arabia event being less than six weeks away, WWE has been keeping very quiet about it. On last Thursday's earnings call with Vince McMahon and WWE Co-Presidents, George Barrios and Michelle Wilson, Saudi Arabia was never mentioned by name by WWE brass. When asked about WWE's second quarter and if the Saudi Arabia event would be part of it, Barrios gave a brief response.
"We're going to stay away from guiding on specific elements of the quarter," Barrios said (h/t to Motley Fool for the transcription). "So obviously, we'll talk about it once we report."
When asked again later in the call about when the Saudi events would be taking place, Barrios replied, "We're not going to talk about that again, so our guide obviously reflects the best assumption, best knowledge we have right now."
WWE has put tickets on sale for RAW and SmackDown live events in California on Sunday, June 9th in Stockton and Fresno, two days after the expected Saudi show. The Undertaker, who is expected to face Elias at the Saudi event, is also still advertised for the Niagara Falls Comic Con that Sunday.