WWE is scheduled to fly to Saudi Arabia to put on two shows later this week. Friday, June 27, WWE SmackDown will take place at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh. The next day, the company will have its ‘Night of Champions’ premium live event at the same stadium. Given the current events unfolding in the Middle East, should these shows still proceed? Here are the facts.
Besides expanding interest in their product in the Middle East, particularly in Saudi Arabia, WWE is reportedly receiving $100 million per year from the Saudi government to host two premium live events (pay-per-views) within the country’s borders. Obviously, that makes for 50 million reasons for ‘Night of Champions’ to happen as scheduled. It is unclear whether the company is receiving additional compensation from the Saudi government for the added SmackDown show, or if they only receive gate and merchandise money.
The card for ‘Night of Champions’ has changed quite a bit over the last couple of days. A match between Dominik Mysterio and AJ Styles for the Intercontinental Championship has been pulled due to an injury to Mysterio. On Monday night’s episode of Raw, two more matches were announced for the event. Raquel Rodriguez will face off with Rhea Ripley in a Street Fight. The other match added will feature Sami Zayn squaring off with Karrion Kross.
Those matches will be added to four other previously announced matches. Jacob Fatu will defend the United States Championship against his first cousin, Solo Sikoa. In a match to crown the 2025 Queen of the Ring, Asuka will take on Jade Cargill. Randy Orton will square off with Cody Rhodes to crown the King of the Ring. The final match will feature WWE Champion John Cena defending against CM Punk.
There are multiple reasons why WWE’s 10-year contract with the Saudi government is a subject of controversy. First of all, there is the fact that the Saudis assassinated a Saudi-born Washington Post journalist in Istanbul, Turkey, in 2018. WWE signed its 10-year deal with the Saudi government that same year. That Jamaal Khashoggi murder, and subsequent dismemberment with a bone saw, cast a dark shadow on WWE’s deal.
Another reason that many view the Saudi shows as bad policy for WWE is the way that women have been treated historically in the country. From a male guardianship system, to travel restrictions, to limited autonomy, to dress codes, women have had very limited rights in Saudi Arabia for years. While this has slowly begun to change, as evidenced by women gaining the ability to drive in 2018, there is still a long way to go for women’s rights in the country.
Finally, Israel and Iran have been bombing each other for a couple of weeks, which led to America entering the fray and bombing multiple Iranian nuclear targets over the weekend. Iran, then, retaliated by attacking a U.S. air base in Qatar. U.S. President Donald Trump has also floated the notion of fomenting a regime change in Iran. All of this makes any U.S. entity in the Middle East a potential target for Iranian aggression. While a tentative ceasefire appears to be in place between Israel and Iran, that could change in a heartbeat.
WWE should never have signed this 10-year deal that runs through 2027. I know that it’s hard to turn down $100 million a year in income for putting on two shows, but it’s also hard to rehabilitate your company’s image when it appears you’re “sportswashing” the Saudis’ image. How much pressure do you think it puts on your company’s female wrestlers when they are “asked” to perform in Saudi Arabia? Those wrestlers having to modify their ring gear serve as a reminder that in Saudi Arabia, women are required to dress a certain way. Jewish wrestlers may also feel uncomfortable performing in the country, due to how Jews are often treated.
WWE appears to have sold its soul for $1 billion over ten years, but its parent company reportedly has debt coming due soon, so I doubt they will cancel this trip. The safety and comfort of their wrestlers should be more important than the Saudi blood money, but it clearly isn’t. CM Punk has been highly critical of these shows, but now he has been roped into wrestling in the ‘Night of Champions’ main event. If the Saudis were to kill a man in an embassy in Turkey, and the Iranians were to fire on a U.S. base in Qatar, no WWE employee should feel safe or comfortable taking part in this trip.
Add to all this the incident that took place in 2019. After that year’s November ‘Crown Jewel’ event, a chartered flight carrying close to 175 WWE employees was delayed on the runway for hours due to some sort of dispute between WWE and the Saudis. WWE’s official statement attributed the delay to mechanical issues, but several people aboard the plane claimed that a payment dispute was the cause of the delay. The delays ultimately led to changes in the episode of SmackDown taped the following night.
WWE should find any possible way to get out of this deal as soon as possible. There have already been flight issues with WWE’s advanced production team due to airspace closures. Five WWE employees are currently stranded in Qatar and are trying to find alternative methods to get to Riyadh. Take that as an omen, WWE. Give up the rest of the cash and hope that’s all you lose.
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