Last month, I penned an article questioning if Crown Jewel, the WWE’s next Saudi Arabia event, should be postponed after there were attacks from Yemen forces at the Saudi International Airport. Within the past few weeks, the instability in the region has continued, including the ongoing American conflict with Iran, and more violence in Saudi Arabia, prompting the United States government to order that non-essential diplomats leave the country because of threats in the area.
In that context, it really puts into prospective how insignificant a pro wrestling pay-per-view is in the grand scheme of things. The United States government is officially acknowledging that the region is too dangerous for the Americans that work on behalf of the government. How exactly is it going to be considered safe for an entertainment company?
As we know, WWE is only one of the western acts that is imported to the country for Riyadh season, a two-month celebrated that is basically propaganda material to try to reshape the image of the country that is paid for with oil money. Keep in mind, Riyadh season was started in 2019, not too long after the Sports Authority started to invest billions of dollars into its PR campaign. However, a few of the various sporting events were already canceled or postponed in recent weeks after the previously mentioned attacks at the airport, which led to a few of the airlines suspending certain flights to due the threats.
While the festival technically started earlier this week, the major kickoff for the celebration is next weekend’s Saul “Canelo” Alvarez bout against Christian Mbilli for the WBC Super Middleweight championship. Canelo has stated that he still wants to fight, and when you take into account that he gets paid $100 million for each of his contests in the country, it’s a little easier to see why he’s willing to take any potential risks with the travel.
Reportedly, the WWE is getting roughly half of that number for Crown Jewel. That’s the price for a risk to the roster, the production crew, and the office staff that will presumably be in Riyadh in two weeks. Anything for the almighty dollar, right?
As I wrote last month, the greed and bloodshed in the name of capitalism throughout history is often disgusting, but at the same time, capitalism is also the reason that many of the modern conveniences exist so it’s basically the price to pay for the perks of modern society. The faux outrage of many that will cite the sins of capitalism will only go as far until they are individually inconvenienced. They don’t mind using the iPhones that are made in China by workers that are paid next to nothing to order Door Dash that is delivered by someone that had to pick up a side gig since they can’t make ends meet with their regular 40-hour per week full-time job. At the same time, on the other end of the spectrum, those that are opposed to any type of socialized medicine will be the first to set up a GoFundMe if they suffer a personal medical emergency.
In short, capitalism isn’t perfect, but money is what makes the world go around, and when it comes to corporate America, even lives at risk are still worth an eight-figure payday. Still, there has to be a logical limit at some point, right?
TKO CEO, Ari Emanuel said on Fox News earlier this week that the WWE pay-per-view is still scheduled as planned, but that executives are “monitoring” the situation? There are already missile and drone attacks in Saudi Arabia, what exactly would have to happen for TKO to truly consider the possible cancellation of the event? Remember, Ari Emanuel secured a raise last year when he was paid $67 million between cash and stock. It’s quite literally in his personal interest to pad the profit margin, and from purely a business perspective, he’d rather dodge questions about the safety of the roster than have to explain to the stockholders why the corporation doesn’t have the extra $50 million at the next conference call.
That’s the biggest development within this entire story, there are now specific warnings for Americans to leave Saudi Arabia, it’s not merely a tourist advisory, the US government is on the record with noting that it’s not deemed safe for government employees to work there. This isn’t just a suggestion the way that it was when concerns began last month, it’s a clear notice to Americans in the region. Despite that, Ari Emanuel is also on the record downplaying the possible safety risks.
The bottom line is, there’s technically always some level of risks for any large-scale gathering anywhere in the world, hence why there’s building security, but the overwhelming majority of the time, the possible risk is obscurely low. Tens of thousands of people shuffle in and out of packed NFL stadiums every week, and 99% of the time a local yokel that drank too much might be the most of a disturbance that takes place. Obviously, that’s not the case for Saudi Arabia right now. In fact, even when protocols are in place for higher security when there aren’t any known threats sometimes aren’t enough. There certainly wasn’t in Dealey Plaza decades ago.
That’s the main problem, there are direct threats and safety issues with no way to truly ensure safety, mostly because of the simplified methods of attacks. Will the Saudi government be able to prevent drone attacks at the stadium? If that question has to be asked, isn’t that enough of a reason to postpone it until the conflict is resolved?
It goes without saying that a stadium full of fans and some of the Saudi government officials that are usually in attendance for these WWE shows with American entertainers as the centerpiece could be a target for those that have hostility toward either Saudi Arabia or the United States.
It’s ironic that Ari Emanuel is at least publicly the decision maker for if the show will take place as planned, but will Ari be in attendance at Crown Jewel? If not, why should the roster take any risks that their boss isn’t willing to take? One of the perks for the suits in the previously mentioned corporate America is that the executives are isolated from such things, but it’s yet another example of the disconnect between the fully corporate WWE under the TKO banner compared to the pro wrestling troupes that we knew for decades prior to the merger. Say what you want about Vince McMahon, he certainly deserves it for the reported deviant behavior that he was involved with in his personal life, but from a professional perspective, if the roster was going into a war zone, Vince was going to be there too.
As I wrote a few weeks ago, there will be another $40 million to add to the profit margin in the future so in theory there’s no reason for Crown Jewel to take place in two weeks, but that doesn’t matter because TKO isn’t going to pass up the chance to make that money right now, even if it’s a rather insignificant amount in the big picture. Unfortunately, this is either going to be much ado about nothing if the show happens without incident, or it will be horrendous if an incident takes place since it could be a potential tragedy, Given the circumstances, there’s not much of a middle ground as far as a disruption that wouldn’t be a possible disaster for the company. Taking all of that into account, will there be anything entertaining about this pay-per-view? Is it a fun viewing experience for the fans knowing the risks that some of their favorite wrestlers took to be there? If not then this show is for TKO more than anything else because they put cash ahead of the safety of the talent.
Until next week
-Jim LaMotta
E mail [email protected] | You can follow me on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @jimlamotta89
