The WWE has confirmed their return to Saudi Arabia on Friday, November 2nd for an event that will be promoted as “Crown Jewel” from King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh.
The event will feature a triple threat for the Universal title with Roman Reigns defending against Brock Lesnar and Braun Strowman with an angle shot at Sunday’s Hell in a Cell event. We reported on the match being scheduled earlier today and it was officially announced during the opening segment of Raw on Monday from Dallas.
The WWE is also promoting a “WWE World Cup Tournament” will take place on the show, which will be streaming on the WWE Network.
The WWE entered into a 10-year deal with the Saudi General Sports Authority earlier this year with the first event taking place from Jeddah in April.
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The company came under criticism for numerous elements of the April show, which included endorsements of the Saudi Arabian Government with PSA ads running. There were also complaints that no females were permitted on the show along with the exclusion of Sami Zayn, who is of Syrian descent. There was a controversy within the country after a WWE pay-per-view ad ran during the show that displayed some of the female performers in their outfits. The General Sports Authority issued an apology over the images shown referring to them as “indecent” and stressed their disapproval over.
There was also a segment during the show where Shawn & Ariya Daivari appeared as representatives of Iran, who were fought off by the Saudi Arabian wrestlers from a company try out that week. Given the fractured relations between the two countries, it was a surprising angle to see the WWE execute on their show. Days later, Ariya Daivari revealed they had received death threats in response to the segment.
It is an enormous money deal for the WWE, although the exact amount was not revealed during their last quarterly filings after stating there was a confidentiality clause in the deal.
The timing of the event will likely amplify critics of the show because it will take place five days after the WWE presents the all women’s “Evolution” pay-per-view on October 28th.
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In addition, the WWE has received positive coverage over the recent promotion of Renee Young as a permanent member of Raw’s broadcast team. If the same restrictions are in effect, she would not be able to be part of this event and her absence will be notable on the broadcast. Back in April, Young was not flown to the event for her regular role as host of the kickoff panel.
The company is balancing a lot of major shows coming up in a short period of time with the Super Show-Down event on October 6th, the Evolution card on October 28th, the Crown Jewel event November 2nd and into the Survivor Series on November 18th.
