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WWE went into business with Saudi Arabia in 2018, signing a hugely lucrative deal to hold events in the Kingdom over the next decade. The promotion received a ton of bad press for doing business there, considering the severe human rights abuses, the suppression of women’s rights, and the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Many U.S. companies refused to do business there while WWE has stayed the course.
All this is without mentioning all the controversy around the shows within WWE, like the 2019 incident where wrestlers and staffers were left stranded under questionable circumstances. Needless to say, it feels bad, to say the least, any time WWE holds an event in Saudi Arabia.
Which is part of why it sucks so hard that the next event to be held there, Crown Jewel, scheduled for Thurs., Oct. 21, 2021, in Riyadh, is an absolutely loaded show. In fact, this is a WrestleMania worthy match card:
- Roman Reigns (c) vs. Brock Lesnar (Universal championship)
- Big E (c) vs. Drew McIntyre (WWE championship)
- Becky Lynch (c) vs. Bianca Belair vs. Sasha Banks (SmackDown women’s championship)
- RK-Bro (c) vs. AJ Styles & Omos (Raw tag team championship)
- Goldberg vs. Bobby Lashley (No Holds Barred)
- Edge vs. Seth Rollins (Hell in a Cell)
- King of the Ring Tournament Final
- Queen’s Crown Tournament Final
That is an unbelievably deep card. It should be a great show.
It just sucks that it will be in Saudi Arabia.