There is mounting political pressure for WWE to “pause” or cancel their upcoming show in Saudi Arabia. Senators are now calling on WWE to not go through with the event.

According to a report from the Wrestling Observer, backup plans are being developed in case the show does not take place.

Linda McMahon’s role in the Trump administration is playing a role in the pressure the Senators are putting on WWE.

“Private enterprise is private enterprise, different than a governmental entity,” Sen. Bob Menendez said to the media. “but because [Linda McMahon] is part of the president’s cabinet, it falls into the grey area where the administration really should give it some thought and maybe even prevail upon them not doing it.”

Several media outlets have also pulled out of an upcoming Business conference in Saudi Arabia.

Why Is There Political Pressure To Cancel Crown Jewel?

Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi is missing and presumed dead. He entered the Saudi Arabian consulate in Turkey on October 2nd, 2018 and has never been seen again. US spies are saying they have proof he was assassinated on the order of the Saudi Royal Family, a charge they are denying.

Furthermore, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau angered the Saudi Royal family recently as well. Trudeau called for the KSA to release journalists being held prisoner in the country and scheduled for beheadings. Following Trudeau’s comments, the KSA expelled Canadian diplomats from the country. They also pulled home Saudi Arabian students who had been studying abroad in Canada. As of this writing, no Canadians are scheduled for Crown Jewel.

The Big Show will wrestle his first match since losing inside a steel cage to Braun Strowman on the September 4th, 2017 edition of Monday Night Raw. Show will take part in 1 of 2 WWE World Cup Qualifying matches scheduled to take place Tuesday night on Smackdown.

Big Show will face Randy Orton with the winner earning a spot in the World Cup tournament scheduled to take place at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia. In the other World Cup Qualifying match to take place on the show, Jeff Hardy will face Samoa Joe.

Charlotte Flair vs Becky Lynch for the Smackdown Women’s Championship has already been confirmed for Tuesday’s Smackdown as well.

WWE World Cup At Crown Jewel

Little information is available regarding the format of the tournament. It is not clear as of this writing if it will be a tournament for individual competitors or if they will be grouped together by nations.

Confirmed matches for Crown Jewel include:

• WWE Championship
  AJ Styles (c) vs Daniel Bryan
• Universal Championship
  Roman Reigns (c) vs Braun Strowman vs Brock Lesnar
• WWE World Cup Tournament

Shawn Michaels and Triple H versus Undertaker and Kane is also rumored for the event. That match could become official later this week.

WWE’s upcoming show in Saudi Arabia has been moved to a new venue. The event will now take place at King Saud University Stadium. As with the Greatest Royal Rumble, the event was originally scheduled to emanate from the King Fahd International Stadium.

The capacity of the new venue is listed at 25,000. King Fahd stadium’s capacity is listed at just under 70,000. Both venues are located in the city of Riyadh. No word has been released as to why the change was made.

WWE Crown Jewel

There have only been two matches announced for the event thus far.

WWE Championship
AJ Styles (c) vs Daniel Bryan

Universal Championship
Roman Reigns (c) vs Brock Lesnar vs Braun Strowman

Another heavily speculated match could involve Shawn Michaels wrestling his first professional match since losing a match with his career on the line to the Undertaker at WrestleMania. The match was teased in the closing moments of Super Show-Down in Australia this weekend when the Undertaker and Kane attacked Shawn Michaels and Triple H. At the time, Triple H had just defeated the Undertaker in the main event of the show.

The Saudi Sports Authority has also advertised a “WWE World Cup” will take place on the show.

Brock Lesnar will be making his in-ring return at WWE’s Crown Jewel event in Saudi Arabia. The ‘Beast Incarnate’ interfered in the main event of the Hell In a Cell PPV. Lesnar will now be in a triple threat match against Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman.

After Lesnar lost his Universal Title against Roman Reigns it was expected that he would return to the UFC. The former UFC Heavyweight Champion appeared at UFC 226 and shoved current Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier. If the bout takes place then it will be for the UFC Championship in early 2019.

Timing of The Deals

According to the Wrestling Observer, the option to bring in Lesnar for Crown Jewel was not a last minute deal. The Lesnar camp reportedly expected that Vince McMahon would make a huge play for Brock. The deal was for appearances at both Crown Jewel and WrestleMania next year. Lesnar has/had not not yet signed a UFC contract which could’ve blocked any sort of WWE appearance. UFC and WWE are not “operating as enemies” and UFC may not have even stood in the way of such a big potential payday even if he was under contract to the MMA promotion.

Brock Keeping to Short Term Deals

What is now clear is that Lesnar is signing short term deals. With UFC and WWE having a hefty chequebook and the box office appeal of Lesnar he can essentially play both camps. When Brock appeared at Hell in a Cell he was visibly smaller due to his training regimen in preparation for a UFC bout in early 2019. This match was originally expected to be against Cormier but with Jon Jones recently being cleared to compete by USADA then the UFC might pull the trigger on this ‘dream’ MMA bout between Lesnar and Jones.

WWE returns to Saudi Arabia on November 2nd for Crown Jewel, a WWE Network special emanating the King Fahd International Stadium (capacity: 67,000) Riyadh. It’s the second event under WWE’s 10-year blockbuster partnership with the country. According to WWE’s financial reporting, the Greatest Royal Rumble netted WWE roughly $40-45 million. The Saudis have demonstrated that money is no object in presenting a top-flight show and securing marquee talent. Two Superstars poised to profit handsomely from this dynamic are Brock Lesnar (rumored to be earning a seven figure payday) and WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels.

The Return of HBK

Shawn Michaels is reportedly ending his retirement to face The Undertaker and Kane alongside his DX stablemate Triple H. In terms of high profile returns in wrestling history this has to be considered up there. Michaels has reiterated on several occasions that he planned on honoring the retirement stipulation when he lost to the aforementioned Undertaker at WrestleMania 26.

In recent months, Michaels has softened his stance on getting back in the ring. He has been apprehensive about working singles matches with top athletes like AJ Styles. He has, however, sounded open to the prospect of wrestling a legends match, which would come with lower expectations. With perhaps the biggest payday of his career dangled in front of him, how could he refuse?

The question now moves to the precedence of the Saudi Arabia shows. As previously mentioned these shows are extremely lucrative for WWE and as such certain promises must’ve been made…you don’t hand over multi-million paydays without some guarantees.

The Network Era

So, with the “Network Era” seemingly making all shows on equal footing due to the $9.99 pricing structure does the lure of a big four show such as the Royal Rumble or WrestleMania lose a lot of its lustre? The idea of Shawn Michaels returning at anything BUT a WrestleMania show is surely enough to make a longtime fan’s stomach turn, but there was no way that a WrestleMania payday could equate to that of the Saudi Arabia show. Michaels flat out refused to return at the 2017 Royal Rumble to face AJ Styles, but this isn’t a ‘standard’ show.

Should WWE be giving away such legendary returns at a ‘minor’ show (that also includes The Undertaker)? Maybe we as fans need to stop looking at the WWE calendar as we did during the PPV era. With every show being accessible and WWE trying to expand further into a global powerhouse we have to accept that maybe WrestleMania isn’t the sole ‘superbowl of entertainment’ anymore.

Does the inclusion of these extra special attraction events dilute the product? Absolutely, but WWE is well aware of the fact that the more content you can offer the audience the better. As an over the top service you need to differentiate to make that $9.99 a month seem attractive to the savvy consumer. Netflix is driving the streaming platform and giving it’s users more and more unique ‘original’ content, there’s no way that your casual viewer can watch ALL of what Netflix offers, it’s the same thinking that seemingly drives the WWE Network now.

Do you think that these extra shows are detrimental to the product?

On Friday, November 2nd, WWE will present Crown Jewel from King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The event will broadcast live on the WWE Network.

The main event of WWE Crown Jewel has been confirmed. Roman Reigns will defend the Universal Championship in a triple threat match. His opponents will be Brock Lesnar and Braun Strowman.

Brock Lesnar made a surprise return at Sunday’s Hell in a Cell pay-per-view. During the main event cage match, Lesnar attacked Reigns and Strowman. The match was ruled a no contest. It was Brock Lesnar’s first appearance since losing the Universal championship at SummerSlam.

Dave Meltzer reported on Monday that Lesnar is getting paid “well into the seven figures” to wrestle in Saudi Arabia. Crown Jewel is part of WWE’s lucrative 10-year deal with the country.

WWE World Cup Tournament

According to WWE.com, Crown Jewel also will feature the first-ever WWE World Cup tournament. Details about the World Cup tournament are scarce, but WWE is touting the competition will determine “the best in the world.”

The likely main event for WWE’s next event in Saudi Arabia has been announced that involves Brock Lesnar.

As seen on this week’s episode of Monday Night RAW in Dallas, TX at the American Airlines Center on the USA Network, RAW General Manager Baron Corbin officially announced that Roman Reigns would defend the Universal Title against Lesnar and Braun Strowman in a triple threat match.

This also marked the official announcement of WWE holding an event, which is titled, “Crown Jewel,” on November 2nd in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia that will air on their streaming service, WWE Network. As noted, Lesnar is expected to earn some big money as a result of working this match.

Acting #RAW GM @BaronCorbinWWE says no one is more upset than HE is about the outcome of last night's #UniversalTitle Match at #HIAC.

But… @BraunStrowman and @WWERomanReigns don't seem convinced. pic.twitter.com/OrL4DCgToL

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) September 18, 2018

Acting #RAW GM @BaronCorbinWWE has decided that on Nov. 2 in Saudi Arabia, streaming LIVE on @WWENetwork, it will be…#UniversalChampion @WWERomanReigns vs. @BraunStrowman vs. @BrockLesnar at #WWECrownJewel! pic.twitter.com/IKp87dSYtM

— WWE (@WWE) September 18, 2018

This match came about after the angle that WWE booked at Sunday’s (September 16, 2018) pay-per-view event in San Antonio, Texas at the AT&T Center on the WWE Network that saw Lesnar make his return during the Hell in a Cell match between Reigns and Strowman. This match ended in a no contest once Lesnar kicked in the door then attacked both stars with a piece of a broken table followed by hitting the F-5.

Reigns beat Lesnar to win the Universal Title at the WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view event, which marked Lesnar’s last match in a WWE ring.