Upcoming Crown Jewel Set to Mark Saudi Arabia’s Staggering Financial Commitment to WWE Since 2018

This year’s Crown Jewel will host a number of big names like Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Rey Mysterio, and Rhea Ripley, all defending their titles. The hype around the Saudi Arabian PLE rivals that of WrestleMania. But why does a newly added PLE get as much importance as the biggest night in WWE’s annual schedule?

One report shows the shocking financial commitment that the Saudi deal has for the WWE. This number explains why Crown Jewel is important to Vince McMahon and the WWE.

Crown Jewel PLEs have generated more money than WrestleMania

With thousands of fans attending the show and massive names competing, the WWE ensures the night is among the biggest after WrestleMania. Despite having a number of PLEs annually, the WWE goes above and beyond for Crown Jewel, leaving fans wondering why that is the case. Now, a report of the revenue generated has provided the answers.

Brandon Thurston, editor and owner of Wrestlenomics, who broke down the revenue the promotion generates per Crown Jewel PLE, did a similar deep dive into the deal. According to Thurston’s findings, the Saudi deal has paid the WWE more than they have ever earned off of their largest event, WrestleMania.

According to his report, when adding all the revenue generated by every WrestleMania since 1985-2023 and adjusting for inflation rates, the results are shocking. The WWE has generated just $294 million from all the WrestleMania PLEs. However, the deal with the Kingdon of Saudi Arabia has paid the WWE $500 million since the first Crown Jewel in 2018 to 2023. Note that this is in Crown Jewel’s five-year existence, compared to WrestleMania which was been organized every year since 1985.

READ MORE: Date, Time, Location, Match Card: Everything You Need to Know About Crown Jewel 2023 All in One Place

This explains why, despite the backlash, the WWE went ahead with the deal. This deal has made the WWE more money than every single WrestleMania event combined. According to the same report, the deal is expected to make as much as $1 billion for WWE by the end of the contract.

The WWE defends Crown Jewel and performs in Saudi Arabia

As mentioned earlier, when the WWE announced the Saudi deal, there was a massive backlash towards the announcement. Furthermore, the anger of fans was heightened when there were no female participants during the first Crown Jewel PLE. This was only amplified when the biggest name in the company, John Cena, refused to perform, followed by Daniel Bryan, Sami Zayn, and Kevin Owens. WWE fans in general went wild against the event.

However, the WWE maintained that they have worked in Saudi Arabia for the past 20 years and have a massive fan base. They corrected a few bad decisions by allowing the women’s division to perform with restrictions. However, this has not changed the fan’s perspective of the Crown Jewel PLE.

What do you think about the revenue paid to the WWE by the Saudi government for Crown Jewel?

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