The long delay which caused several members of the WWE roster to be unable to leave Saudi Arabia for 24-hours continues to make headlines in recent days. WWE has recently issued a statement to Forbes regarding its relationship with the Saudi government.
In the statement, WWE reiterated that it was a mechanical issue with the plane which caused the delay and that they continue to have a good relationship with the Saudi government. They also noted that the show not airing live on-time in Saudi Arabia did not have to do with a financial dispute between WWE and the Saudi government.
WWE’s statement is as follows:
“We have a good relationship with our partners, and the feed issues were unrelated to anything of that nature [payment dispute]. We’ve been public with mechanical issues, the charter company has as well”
These comments are in regard to reports that a financial dispute between WWE and the Saudi government may have caused the delay in travel.
WWE Superstars Delayed in Saudi Arabia Following Crown Jewel
AJ Styles recently discussed what happened in Saudi Arabia on his Mixer account. He noted that it did appear mechanics were working on the plane and that members of the crew provided further details to him regarding the mechanical problems.
“We got to the airport, they weren’t letting us board,” Styles said. “What was the problem? Not real sure. I heard there was a fuel truck in the way and the guy who drove the fuel truck had left to go home. I know, this makes no sense. Why would he leave if he knows he has a plane that’s leaving? Then there were some paperwork issues. Finally, after 4-5 hours, we get on the plane. Then the ‘fuel something or another’ was broken. People can say, ‘It wasn’t broken.’ But I talked to the pilot and he said, ‘Listen, there was a problem. That’s a real thing.’”
