Controversy seeps around every corner in the world of professional wrestling, never more so than it has this past week with news breaking regarding an American journalist being brutally beaten and murdered in Saudi Arabia.
It’s hard to keep track of the Saudi’s account of the events, it’s almost like trying to keep up with whether Big Show is a heel or babyface these days. But nevertheless, American representatives are quick to blame the nation for their involvement in the case. This has of course led to much confusion surrounding WWE’s international event, Crown Jewel.
Crown Jewel already boasts one of the biggest line-ups of recent memory, including the return of DX and two huge championship matches. Naturally, it would be difficult for Vince to pull the plug and brush all this build under the carpet, but with political pressures increasing, he and the WWE have been forced to come to a decision.
That decision is to continue with the plans and live up to contractual obligations.
“WWE has operated in the Middle East for nearly 20 years and has developed a sizable and dedicated fan base. Considering the heinous crime committed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, the Company faced a very difficult decision as it relates to its event scheduled for November 2 in Riyadh. Similar to other U.S.-based companies who plan to continue operations in Saudi Arabia, the Company has decided to uphold its contractual obligations to the General Sports Authority and stage the event. Full year 2018 guidance is predicated on the staging of the Riyadh event as scheduled.”
From a business perspective, this is the best possible outcome for WWE. They are set to make mega bucks from this event, with the event appealing to a very large portion of their global demographic. The Greatest Royal Rumble proved to be nothing short of a big success for WWE financially, thus it’d be poor practice for them to turn that money down.
However, with tensions continuing to rise between the two nations, it’s almost hypocritical for one of America’s biggest brands of sports and entertainment to be willing to celebrate and appease the Saudi government. Fans have already been up in arms about this event prior to recent developments after much dissatisfaction regarding the Saudi’s counter-progressive culture. Now that the likes of John Cena and Daniel Bryan, two superstars who are heavily advertised and involved with this event, have allegedly decided to boycott the event by not attending, it wouldn’t surprise me if more and more names begin to pull out.
I sense more controversy to come in the coming week. What are your thoughts on WWE’s plans to carry out the event next Friday? Let us know in the comments below.
Some of the coverage you find on Cultured Vultures contains affiliate links, which provide us with small commissions based on purchases made from visiting our site. We cover gaming news, movie reviews, wrestling and much more.
