WWE had to make a quick safety choice right before Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia.
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) has made a big change to their plans for the Crown Jewel event in Saudi Arabia.
On Saturday night, some of WWE’s top stars will wrestle at Crown Jewel in Riyadh, airing during prime time in the UK. Roman Reigns, Liv Morgan, Randy Orton, and Cody Rhodes are all set to compete, even though there are safety worries because of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
Reports say that several wrestlers and staff don’t feel comfortable traveling to the region, which led WWE to make a last-minute change to the show’s commentary team.
Usually, Michael Cole and Corey Graves handle live commentary for WWE’s big events. But this time, according to the wrestling site Cageside Seats, WWE decided not to send them to Riyadh. Instead, Cole and Graves will call the matches from about 6,500 miles away in Stamford, Connecticut, where WWE’s headquarters are.
While some production crew will be in Saudi Arabia, most of the team working on graphics, mixing, and commentary will stay in the US. This decision came after recent attacks near Saudi airports, which raised more safety concerns.
WWE is giving the staff who do travel to Riyadh an extra “hazard pay” of $3,000 (£2,240) as a thank you for their work.
There’s been a lot of talk about holding sports events in the Middle East because of the conflict. Over the weekend, some of the best golfers are playing at the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship, even though safety has been a worry. But Rory McIlroy, the world’s current number two, said he doesn’t feel unsafe. He said, “I don’t think I would ever feel unsafe. Even if something happened, I still wouldn’t feel unsafe. The UAE has great defense systems. The only issue might be if airspace closed and you were stuck here for a while, but overall I’d still feel safe.”
Just two weeks ago, UFC held a big fight night at the Etihad Arena in the same city. After the event, UFC president Dana White said, “Never have I been over here where I felt unsafe or felt my staff were unsafe.”
Formula One has felt the impact of the conflict too, with calls to cancel upcoming races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi. They already canceled the Bahrain GP at the start of the season. But for now, both races are expected to happen, with extra safety measures like shelters and tunnels in place.