WWE Crown Jewel 2026 is rapidly approaching, but the question of whether the event takes place in Saudi Arabia is still yet to be answered. The Riyadh Seasonal Stadium in the Saudi capital of Riyadh is set to host the Premium Live Event on November 7, and the event is still being promoted as normal on WWE programming despite the recent bombing at King Khalid International Airport that left 12 people dead and more than 300 people injured, and the conflicts only seem to be escalating by the day.In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer broke down the situation surrounding Crown Jewel, and believes that the Saudi government, in particular Turki Al-Sheikh, will make the final decision on whether Crown Jewel takes place. TKO's CEO Ari Emmanuel and TKO President Mark Shapiro will likely be the ones to make the decision of whether the WWE roster will travel to Saudi Arabia as the call goes above the heads of both Nick Khan and Paul Levesque, but it will all depend on whether Al-Sheikh gives the green light to the decision.Meltzer mentioned the recent post on X (formerly known as Twitter) by Al-Sheikh that read "Thank you to everyone who checked in and showed support. Hard times reveal true friends," was a post that has put pressure on TKO to not cancel Crown Jewel, or any of the boxing and MMA events that are on the horizon. Al-Sheikh did announce that the Six Kings Slam tennis tournament has been moved from October to December, and events like the Red Sea International Film Festival, the FIFAe Finals, The Joy Awards, and the Soundstorm EDM festival have all been postponed. However, because WWE Superstars are independent contractors in name only, they wouldn't have a choice about going.Many people in the company, particularly the non-wrestlers, aren't thrilled about going over, and as for the wrestlers, it is largely expected everyone travels over to Riyadh to avoid pressure from above.
Earlier this week, Meltzer reported that WWE do have a backup plan when it comes to Crown Jewel, even though no one in the company will confirm that at risk of upsetting Turki Al-Sheikh. UFC President Dana White has even publicly stated that he has no backup location for UFC 333 which takes place in Abu Dhabi, but Meltzer noted that everyone in WWE, UFC, and TKO as a whole are very competent people and wouldn't mismanage their companies by not having a backup.These backups might need to be put into play due to the high risk of terrorist attacks in Saudi Arabia, with entertainment venues, hotels and locations where U.S. citizens gather, and places visited by U.S citizens and other foreigners all be at risk of being potential targets. Transportation hubs such as airports are also targets, as proven by the recent bombing at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. Meltzer stated that the the Iran-backed Houthi have threatened to attack Saudi Arabia again, and even if missile strikes are intercepted, falling debris could also be a risk to citizens in certain areas.With all that said, the amount of money at stake is too much to risk according to Meltzer. While WWE will not lose any money on their current deal by postponing an event due to their current deal with the Saudi's, the long-term relationship between the two parties could be hindered when it comes to negotiating a new deal when the current one expires in 2028. Al-Sheikh is also the sole investor in Zuffa Boxing, another TKO entity, and much like WWE's deal, a pull out wouldn't be the end of the world at this time but it could hamper the relationship between TKO and the Saudi government in the future.
