While Israel and Iran trade missile barrages, WWE is still scheduled to hold "WWE SmackDown"and Night of Champions in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which would put the company physically between the two warring nations. While WWE has yet to issue a statement, and TKO Group Holdings just advertised the events as part of International Fight Week, getting to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia might be trickier than initially planned.
According to Reuters, a number of Middle Eastern countries are dealing with airline hesitancy, as the safety of commercial flights in the area, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Kuwait, is in question. Dubai recently shut down its airspace but has since reopened, albeit hesitantly. Many airlines have suspended travel to the area.
According to BloomPakistan, Saudi Arabia has also closed its airspace, putting all major Saudi Arabian airports on emergency footing, and making commercial travel to the region, and possibly even chartered travel like WWE has scheduled, much more difficult. The news comes hours after the United Kingdom issued a travel advisory to the Middle East earlier this morning, as tensions mount, and missile strikes continue. The United States has also scrambled fighter jets over Saudi Arabian airspace. Further complicating matters, WWE has already sent preliminary event staff to the region, leading to employees being stranded in a Qatari airport just days after Iran hit military targets in the country in retaliation for the US's recent airstrikes against Iranian nuclear facilities.
This is not the first time WWE plans have clashed with international news, as the company was one of many that had to cancel live shows during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to WrestleMania 36 being hurriedly held at the WWE Performance Center. The 2015 edition of the Survivor Series was also met with bombing threats from the terrorist group ISIS.
