During Wrestleview Live #45 this past week following Smackdown 1000, Adam Martin and Roy Nemer discussed the media backlash to WWE over Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia.
At the time of the podcast, Saudi officials had yet to officially admit to the death of Jamal Khashoggi, although reports had surfaced they were preparing to do so.
Over the weekend, CNN reported that Saudi Arabia finally admitted to Khashoggi’s death at the country’s consulate in Turkey. The country had insisted for 18 days that they had no involvement in the disappearance or death of the Washington Post journalist.
Saudi Arabia Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told Fox News this weekend that the killing of Khashoggi was a “tremendous mistake” and claimed it was part of a rogue operation.
“The individuals who did this did this outside the scope of their authority. There obviously was a tremendous mistake made, and what compounded the mistake was the attempt to try to cover up. That is unacceptable in any government.”
WWE has showed no signs of pulling out of the event as of Sunday. The official listing on WWE.com still doesn’t list Saudi Arabia or the location of the event. At one point the on-sale date for tickets was displayed for this past Friday, but was then later pulled.