Amid fears of a potential war, WWE Crown Jewel 2022 should be canceled

The WWE events in Saudi Arabia will always raise eyebrows and rightfully so. Through what is known as “sport washing,” Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has worked with multiple organizations in the United States to use sports to improve the country’s perception across the world. That effort hasn’t worked, as human rights atrocities are still recognized in Saudi Arabia. Yet, WWE continues their partnership in the face of continued criticism. WWE Crown Jewel 2022 is set for Saturday, November 5 but this event comes with the added wrinkle of credible threats of a potential war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. With these still changing matters, WWE should cancel the event and the partnership overall.

On November 1, Dion Nissenbaum of The Wall Street Journal reported on intelligence shared from Saudi Arabia to the United States of an “imminent attack from Iran on targets in the kingdom.” This has caused both militaries from the US and Saudi Arabia to be on “an elevated alert level.”

That news alone should be enough for WWE leadership to cancel the trip to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for the Premium Live Event scheduled to air on Peacock. When speaking on the matter, Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter stated that the event is still planned to take place as scheduled, but WWE officials are monitoring developments.

“All plans are for the show at this moment, but you can’t control the real world,” reported Meltzer.

To say this is a dangerous development well beyond the scope of professional wrestling would be an understatement. This is a more serious matter than what wrestlers saw back in 2019 when wrestlers were held on the runway in what some described as a “hostage” situation over failed payments. To travel to Saudi Arabia at a time when tensions are this high would be exceptionally negligent.

Will WWE cancel Saturday’s event? Unless something drastic happens, then fans can expect the event to go on – regardless of what dangers may be growing at this time. WWE usually travels midweek for overseas shows to take part in promotional events leading up to the showcase. As of November 2, no world of travel changes nor public relations video posts of wrestlers on location.

WWE’s partnership with Saudi Arabia is one of the worst black eyes the company has faced in the last ten years, but certainly not the only one. WWE should make the right move and cancel the event to ensure the safety of those under its employ and the contracted wrestlers. That won’t be the case and hopefully, the matter doesn’t escalate in a way that makes this an even larger story.