In the aftermath of their delays getting out of the country following Crown Jewel, WWE has announced that they've "expanded" their partnership with Saudi Arabia.
The news was announced via a press release that was issued this afternoon:
Following the historic Crown Jewel event in Riyadh, WWE (NYSE: WWE) and the Saudi General Entertainment Authority (GEA) have expanded their live event partnership through 2027 to include a second annual large-scale event. WWE and GEA also continue to work towards the completion of a media agreement in the MENA region.
This long-term partnership demonstrates WWE and GEA’s commitment to bring sports entertainment to the region and supports Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030.
Prior to the expanded agreement, WWE's partnership with Saudi Arabia had already been set to run through 2027. There had also already been two events in Saudi Arabia per year in 2018 and 2019, but WWE co-president George Barrios noted on last Thursday's earnings call that having two shows per year couldn't be guaranteed going forward.This long-term partnership demonstrates WWE and GEA’s commitment to bring sports entertainment to the region and supports Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030.
The 10-year deal began with the Greatest Royal Rumble in April 2018. The first Crown Jewel also took place last year, with Super ShowDown and Crown Jewel 2019 being this year's events.
When asked by Forbes about issues with Crown Jewel airing live on television in Saudi Arabia, WWE denied that the issues had anything to do with a lack of payment: "WWE was reached for comment and swiftly denied these allegations, confirming to me its strong relationship with its partners in Saudi Arabia. WWE tells me the feed issues were entirely unrelated to any issues with payment. They reinforced that mechanical issues were a cause of the flight delay and Atlas Air, the charter company, issued an apology in that regard as well."