Raw talents hope WWE will rethink staging 2026 Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia after US travel advisory

Several talents on WWE’s Raw expect the company to reconsider holding the 2026 Crown Jewel pay-per-view in Riyadh on November 7 after the U.S. State Department issued a travel advisory for Saudi Arabia, according to a report from WRKD Wrestling.

The 2026 Crown Jewel is the eighth edition of the premium live event and will be staged at Riyadh Season Stadium, a purpose-built temporary outdoor stadium at the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The card’s main attractions are billed as World Champion versus World Champion matches in both the men’s and women’s divisions, with the winner receiving a Crown Jewel title. The event represents WWE’s 16th show in Saudi Arabia under a 10-year partnership described as supporting Saudi Vision 2030.

The U.S. State Department placed Saudi Arabia at a Level 3 travel advisory, marked as “reconsider travel,” while designating certain regions at Level 4, “do not travel.” Those warnings prompted many fans to call for WWE to reconsider staging the premium live event in the country. The travel advisory was issued amid rising tensions in the Middle East.

WRKD Wrestling reported that, after the advisory was released over the weekend, several Raw talents voiced their hope that WWE would rethink the November event. “With the escalating Saudi Arabia travel advisory issued over the weekend, talk backstage at Raw between talent has some of them stating they hope the WWE seriously reconsiders the upcoming Crown Jewel event in November.” WRKD said those comments were circulating backstage.

The advisory cites ongoing regional tensions, including an Iran-US conflict and activity by Yemen’s Houthi movement, which is directly in conflict with Saudi Arabia. The Houthis have claimed responsibility for drone and ballistic missile strikes targeting Riyadh and energy facilities along Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast, contributing to the elevated warnings.

Despite the travel advisory and concerns from fans and some Raw talent, a report from Fightful indicates the November 7 Crown Jewel event is still expected to proceed as scheduled because WWE remains contractually committed to ESPN for that date.

The 2026 Crown Jewel is scheduled for Saturday, November 7, 2026, at Riyadh Season Stadium in the King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and, per Fightful, current contractual obligations to ESPN are cited as the reason the event is expected to go ahead on that date.