WWE’s partnership with Saudi Arabia has faced significant backlash from fans. Critics argue against the country’s policies and believe the company should not maintain ties with them. While many hope the deal will end soon, it appears the situation is only going to worsen.
TKO CFO Andrew Schleimer recently confirmed that WWE will host three Premium Live Events (PLEs) in Saudi Arabia in 2026. The first will be the Royal Rumble, as previously reported by insiders. The other two events are expected to be the standard PPVs the company holds there annually.
In 2018, WWE signed a 10-year agreement with the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Sport. The partnership began with The Greatest Royal Rumble event. Since then, WWE has held two PLEs and some weekly programming in the country each year. However, the collaboration has been marred by controversy over the government’s policies and creative restrictions imposed on the shows.
Early events in Saudi Arabia often included exhibition matches featuring legends, which lacked meaningful storytelling. A recent example is the Crown Jewel Championships, where champions must pause their ongoing storylines to compete in Riyadh. For instance, Liv Morgan had to temporarily halt her feud with Rhea Ripley for a month due to her match against Nia Jax at the event.
WWE’s 2024 in Saudi Arabia
On May 25, 2024, the WWE King and Queen of the Ring emanated from Jeddah. The event featured six matches, with tag team match taking place on the Countdown pre-show. Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill defended their Women’s Tag Team Championship against Indi Hartwell and Candice LeRae. Sami Zayn vs. Chad Gable for the Intercontinental Championship was also the talked-about point of the show.
In the main event, Cody Rhodes retained SmackDown’s Undisputed WWE Championship by defeating Logan Paul. Other key matches included Gunther winning the King of the Ring tournament, earning a World Heavyweight Championship match at SummerSlam, and Nia Jax winning the Queen of the Ring tournament, securing a WWE Women’s Championship match. Liv Morgan also defeated Becky Lynch to claim Raw’s Women’s World Championship in the opening bout.
Then, on November 2, 2024, WWE’s second trip to Saudi Arabia landed at Riyadh for their annual Crown Jewel. The event focused on crowning the first men’s and women’s Crown Jewel Champions, pitting Raw and SmackDown’s World Champions against each other. Cody Rhodes defeated Gunther to win the inaugural WWE Crown Jewel Championship, while Liv Morgan triumphed over Nia Jax for the women’s title. A seventh match between Randy Orton and Kevin Owens was declared a non-contest before it officially began. LA Knight retained the WWE United States Championship, and The Bloodline defeated Roman Reigns and The Usos in a six-man tag team match to open the show. Bianca and Jade were successful in defending their Women’s Tag titles against three other teams. Seth Rollins took down the Tsunami of Bronson Reed!
