Major Change Announced For WWE Crown Jewel

Well that’s a dramatic shift. Earlier in the year, WWE began a ten year long series of shows in Saudi Arabia, which have turned into some of the biggest events of the year. These shows have become major shows for both the roster and the fans, though the first even wasn’t the most exciting in the world. The fans in attendance didn’t seem exactly thrilled, and that seems to have some consequences.

WWE has sent out a new press release by way of 411mania.com talking about the upcoming Crown Jewel event on November 2. The release includes the new match between SmackDown World Champion AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan, but it also mentions that the show will be taking place at the King Saud University Stadium as opposed to the originally announced King Fahd International Stadium. King Fahd Stadium holds about 68,000 people while King Saud Stadium only holds about 25,000. There is no word on the reason for the change.

Here’s how the original show looked:

A special look back at the Greatest Royal Rumble event in Saudi Arabia

Opinion: I’m not sure what this means yet, but cutting out 40,000 seats isn’t a great sign. We’re not even out of the first year of a ten year agreement and they’re already having to cut things down by more than half? I’m not a fan of these shows and while I can’t imagine the deal being canceled, this suggests to me that the people of Saudi Arabia aren’t all that thrilled with the idea of WWE being in town.

What do you think of the move? Will the ten year deal last? Let us know in the comments below.

Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen over 50,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since 2009 with over 5,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his Amazon author page with 28 wrestling books. His latest book is the the Complete 2003 Smackdown Reviews.

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