WWE.com Removes Crown Jewel from Upcoming Schedule

After weeks of negative press attention, and senators calling for WWE to cancel the show, Crown Jewel has been removed from WWE’s upcoming schedule on WWE.com.

The negative attention that WWE’s Saudi Arabia show, Crown Jewel, has reached its peak, as, according to Sports Illustrated, multiple US senators have asked questions about WWE’s relationship with the tumultuous country. While the relationship has been frowned upon since its inception, especially because of the Saudi government’s insistence that no women be on the show, it has seen increased scrutiny in the fallout of the story about the alleged death of Jamal Khashoggi.

Khashoggi, a journalist and vocal critic of Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s regime, has been missing since his visit to the Saudi embassy in Istanbul. The Washington Post reported that the Turkish government has been said to have audio confirming that Khashoggi was killed in the embassy and then dismembered at the behest of the Saudi government due to how vocal he has been. In an initial report by the New York Times, it was said that a team of Saudi agents killed Khashoggi within two hours of his visit to the embassy. Due to these events, WWE’s relationship with the country has been brought into question.

It would be one thing if this was simply a show in the country, but it is far more than that. The deal WWE was a part of a larger strategy of the Saudi government to present themselves as more modern and progressive. During WWE’s first show there with the deal, The Greatest Royal Rumble, a video package aired praising Saudi Arabia.

Amid growing pressure, WWE released a statement saying that they were monitoring the situation. However, WWE has now quietly removed the event from their upcoming schedule on WWE.com, according to the Wrestling Observer. WWE has not released a new statement clarifying the state of the show, but its removal from the schedule could be a sign of things to come. While the site for Crown Jewel itself is still up, all references to Saudi Arabia have been removed.

What does this mean for the show? It’s hard to say. If WWE were to cancel the show, they may look to move it to another time or place. The best option would be to move it to the United Kingdom, where they will be touring for a few days in November. That would certainly be the best option where WWE could maximize the promotion built into the show, and avoid the criticism of holding the show in a country that has been increasingly isolated due to their political standing.