WWE returns to Saudi Arabia facing ‘imminent attack’

“I promise that on November 5th in Saudi Arabia I will deliver a performance that you have never seen before.”

Those were the words uttered by Logan Paul during a World Wrestling Entertainment press conference in Las Vegas, Nevada last month. At the press event, which was also attended by Reigning WWE Champion Roman Reigns and COO Paul Levesque (aka Triple H), the company announced its latest foray into Saudi Arabia, set to take place in Riyadh on November 5.

Dubbed the “WWE Crown Jewel,” the premium live event will see Reigns defend his undisputed WWE Universal title against the social media sensation in the main event. Reigns is the longest-reigning WWE Universal Champion in history, while Paul has nearly 80 million combined social media followers across Instagram, Twitter and his various YouTube channels.

While this week’s event will be WWE’s eighth live event in the Kingdom, dating back to April 2018, their latest trip comes amid renewed human rights concerns and intelligence reports warning of an “imminent attack” from the Islamic Republic of Iran.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Saudi Arabia has information with the US “warning of an impending attack by Iran on targets in the kingdom”. Although no details on Saudi intelligence have been released, the US and various neighboring countries have “raised the alert level for their armed forces”.

One of the officials who confirmed the information exchange to The Wall Street Journal described it as a credible threat of an attack “soon or within 48 hours.”

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani responded to the report on Wednesday, calling it “baseless” and aimed at souring Tehran’s relations with its neighbors.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran believes it is possible to establish and enhance stability and security in the region through constructive engagement with neighbors and will pursue it earnestly,” he said.

Iran is Saudi Arabia’s main regional rival. The kingdom severed official diplomatic ties with the Islamic Republic in 2016 after Iranian protesters stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran in response to Saudi Arabia’s execution of a Shia cleric. Iran-backed Houthi rebels have also attacked oil facilities in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in recent years, raising concerns that energy infrastructure could be a target for Iranian provocations in the region.

Despite heightened tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran, WWE appears to be going ahead with its latest offering to the Kingdom on November 5th.

According to renowned journalist Dave Meltzer, “WWE is currently monitoring the situation” in Saudi Arabia. “All plans are for the show right now but you can’t control the real world,” Meltzer continued Twitter.

It wouldn’t be the first time a major event has taken place in Saudi Arabia despite the specter of an impending attack. In March 2022, the Jeddah Formula One Grand Prix went ahead as planned, despite Houthi rebels attacking an oil depot in the city before the event. The missile and drone strikes hit Saudi Aramco’s oil facility in Jeddah, just a few kilometers from the Formula 1 venue. F1 drivers continued to train on Friday night even as the fire raged on and smoke billowed in the distance.

Photo by ANDREJ ISAKOVIC/AFP via Getty Images

In recent years, Saudi Arabia has spent billions on high-profile international sporting and entertainment events. The strategic investment is part of the Kingdom’s ‘Vision 2030’ master plan, which aims to reduce Saudi’s economic dependence on oil, but also serves to distract attention from the ongoing human rights abuses that the Kingdom has committed with impunity and the resulting ongoing War in Yemen in a humanitarian crisis among the worst in the world.

The Kingdom’s sports portfolio includes a Formula 1 Grand Prix, Saudi Cup horse racing, multiple boxing showdowns, massive investments in e-sports and gaming, Newcastle United football club and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) funded professional Golf tour LIV.

As for Crown Jewel, the events are part of a lucrative 10-year partnership with the Kingdom, with WWE earning approximately $50 million for each event in Saudi Arabia. Similar to Saudi Arabia’s other sports and entertainment investments, the purpose behind the WWE Crown Jewel events is to draw attention to the Kingdom and showcase it as a reformed nation. This explains the decision to headline Logan Paul on the upcoming show as the controversial figure is among the most popular social media stars in the world.

This facade of progress was particularly evident as WWE began hosting events featuring female talent that previously could not perform in Saudi Arabia until 2019. While the organization presented the change as evidence of the kingdom’s reforms, Saudi Arabia has continued to oppress women’s rights and target women’s rights activists and movements.

“WWE’s first-ever women’s match to be held in Riyadh is a prime example of how the Saudi Arabian authorities are using elite sport to try to ‘sportswash’ their terrible human rights record and image internationally,” said Dana Ahmed, Saudi -Arabia researcher at Amnesty Newsweek 2019.

Photo by FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images

In August 2022, Salma al-Shehab, a Saudi student at Leeds University, was sentenced to 34 years in prison for using Twitter to follow and retweet dissidents and activists. Al-Shehab is a mother of two young children and was not known as a vocal activist in the kingdom. She had around 2,000 followers on Twitter and was originally scheduled to serve a three-year sentence. However, an appeals court on Monday handed down a 34-year sentence, followed by a 34-year travel ban.

Later that same month, another Saudi woman was sentenced to 45 years in prison for “using the internet to disrupt the social fabric” and “violating public order through the use of social media.” The draconian sentencing underscores the kingdom’s continued repression of dissident women despite claims of reform and progress.

Despite the various problems plaguing the recent event of the world’s most famous wrestling organization in Saudi Arabia, nothing seems to stand in the way of WWE’s pursuit of profit.