‘Government Disputes’ and ‘Stranded Employees’: Revisiting WWE’s Worst Experience in Saudi Arabia After the Inaugural Crown Jewel 2018

WWE’s PLE Crown Jewel is just 6 days away. And fans are eagerly waiting for the main event title match between Roman Reigns and LA Knight. But as all this action happens on screen, there is a lot of backstage drama that most fans don’t even know of. Like back in 2019, WWE wrestlers and employees had to face a very uncomfortable situation in Saudi Arabia.

Stars are hoping that next week’s Crown Jewel doesn’t turn out to be a repeat of that horrible nightmare.

WWE superstars were stranded in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia and WWE enjoy a fruitful business partnership right now. The Arab country’s 10-year partnership with WWE emerges as a testament of their relationship. The partnership with WWE allows Saudi Arabia to fulfill the ambitious standards outlined in the Saudi Vision 2030 program. Crown Jewel is WWE’s main recurring event that is a part of the same partnership. There are even rumors that WWE is spending millions to get Cristiano Ronaldo to make an appearance at Crown Jewel.

And although things seem all hunky-dory now, the same was not the case in 2019. After the 2nd Crown Jewel that took place in Saudi Arabia in 2019, WWE’s wrestlers and staff had to go through an ordeal that really tested their patience. Their flight didn’t take off in time as they faced a delay for a significant while. Around 175 employees, which included staff and wrestlers, faced significant delays in their bid to get back in time for Friday night’s SmackDown.

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The flight didn’t take off on time which led to multiple changes for the episode of SmackDown the very next day. After a long delay, the flight finally took off and the staff reached home safely. In a statement released by the WWE later, they mentioned that mechanical failures played a part in the long delay before take off. But Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Radio reported that some wrestlers opined that the authorities deliberately held their plane on the ground.

But another employee of the WWE painted a totally different picture of the entire situation.

Ex-WWE Spanish announcer believes the Saudi authorities held their flight over a broadcast dispute

While the WWE publicly attributed the delay to technical failure a former employee suggested a conspiracy. Ex Spanish announcer Hugo Savinovich said that the delay was a way for the Saudi Government to punish the company.

According to Savinovich, WWE cut off the Crown Jewel broadcast feed in Saudi Arabia over a lapsed payment. Hence, in retaliation, the Saudis temporarily detained the performers and production staff.

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Thus causing them additional delay and stress ahead of Friday night’s SmackDown. But what do you guys think were the real reasons for the WWE staff getting stranded?