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WWE’s Crown Jewel pay-per-view event is coming up on Thurs., Oct. 21, at King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
WWE has announced five matches for the show so far, and the rumor mill indicates the finals of the King of the Ring and Queen’s Crown tournament will also take place at this event.
If you were hoping the best commentator in WWE would be on hand to help you enjoy some Thursday afternoon wrestling in Saudi Arabia, you’ll be disappointed to hear that Pat McAfee won’t be there. Here is how he explained his situation during a recent episode of The Pat McAfee Show:
“Yeah, [WWE is] heading over there. I wasn’t invited. It’s a real shame. Good luck.”
“I’m not gonna be a part of that. Hey listen, I’m not supposed to be a part of that. I’m happy I’m not going or whatever. But I don’t know how that whole thing plays out 10 years, 20 years from now, looking back on it. But the shows, everybody said it is insane over there. It’s awesome. Until they get stuck there, and then I got to call Buffalo SmackDown.”
McAfee’s final sentence is referring to the plane debacle at Crown Jewel 2019 that several wrestlers have compared to a hostage situation. Pat was flown to Buffalo, New York, for commentary duties on an episode of SmackDown because so many WWE performers were stranded in Saudi Arabia and unable to make it to the show on time.
The sad thing is, what he’s saying about the wrestlers getting stuck in Saudi Arabia isn’t even a joke that can be laughed at two years later. McAfee is merely alluding to a very disturbing real life scenario that many wrestlers had to endure in Saudi Arabia, and there’s no guarantee that future incidents like this will be avoided. McAfee’s usage of the word “insane” does feel appropriate, with that context in mind.
No wonder he’s happy about staying home for this one.