There are rumors circulating that two of the biggest stars in WWE are not going to Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia. According to Barstool Sports’ Robbie Fox, John Cena and Daniel Bryan have stated they will not be attending the show.Â
WWE Crown Jewel could be in trouble.
I was just told Reigns is currently injured and that Cena and Bryan are “refusing” to work the show. Many on the current WWE roster have expressed concerned with going, as well, but obviously not all of them have the power like Cena/Bryan.
— Robbie Fox (@RobbieBarstool) October 22, 2018
This all stems from the mounting tension after the Saudi Arabian government was accused of killing a Washington Post journalist. After weeks of silence, the Saudi Arabia has confirmed that the journalist died due to a fist fight and they are holding serval people responsible. Their answer has been met with a mixed reaction as many are questioning the truth to their story. As of now, the body has not been returned.
The report also states that Roman Reigns is currently dealing with injuries and that is why he did not wrestle at live events over the weekend. If all this is true, it puts more pressure on WWE to cancel or move the event.
WWE issued a short statement last week that they were closely monitoring the situation, but the belief is they would move forward with the event; which could net them around $50 million.Â
Crown Jewel is November 2 and the marquee match is Shawn Michaels coming out of retirement to team with Triple H against Undertaker & Kane. Another confirmed match is WWE Champion AJ Styles vs. Bryan. If it is true that Bryan will not work the show, there goes another high profile match. If Reigns is unable to compete that would cause problems with the Universal Championship triple threat match that also involves Braun Strowman and Brock Lesnar.
There is little time for WWE to rebook the show and without Cena, Bryan and/or Reigns it would be a major blow. Sooner of later, WWE will have to make a final decision if it is worth going forward with the event. It is even possible that several other wrestlers could refuse to work the show because of the environment. Crown Jewel has been a public relations nightmare and could end up being one of worst decisions on WWE’s part unless something major changes.