Note on Possible Repercussions WWE Superstars Would Face If They Refuse to Travel for Saudi Arabia PLEs

In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (WON), Dave Meltzer commented on how the leverage that WWE talents have over choosing against traveling to Saudi Arabia for PLEs has changed over the years.

Meltzer claimed that, unlike in the early years of the WWE-Saudi Arabia partnership when talents were given a choice, that doesn’t seem to be the case anymore. Meltzer pointed out how top talents like John Cena, Kevin Owens, and Daniel Bryan skipped the shows for different reasons.

However, he claimed that in recent years, talents have been told that their refusal to travel to Saudi Arabia could affect their push. Additionally, people holding championship belts and not wanting to work the Saudi shows have been told that they’d have to drop the title before the PLE.

Despite security issues in the region, WWE held the latest edition of Crown Jewel at the ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, last Saturday. Meltzer has since reported that Gunther vs. Finn Balor did not make the show because Gunther allegedly refused to travel to Riyadh. Recently, TKO employees expressed their frustration with the company for continuing to hold events in the war-affected region.