Saudi Arabia’s Position On WWE Night Of Champions During Middle East Conflict
Saudi Arabia reportedly plans to go forward with WWE Night of Champions despite the ongoing tension in the Middle East.
The conflict involving Iran, Israel, and the United States has seen a new chapter today as Iran bombed the American Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar in response to the U.S. launching a strike on multiple Iranian nuclear sites.
Several Gulf countries, including Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates, shut down their airspaces, leading to some WWE production employees reportedly getting stuck in Qatar‘s Hamad International Airport.
All four Gulf countries later reopened their airspace, meaning the WWE staff members may currently be en route to Riyadh.
While many fans and experts have been wondering about the future of Night of Champions, Fightful recently reported that the Saudi government was still expecting all plans for the premium live event to proceed as of this afternoon.
According to PW Insider, the setup for SmackDown and Night of Champions continued today in the Saudi capital, as scheduled.
As of this afternoon, Saudi government was expecting WWE Night of Champions to proceed as planned pic.twitter.com/jQCrKJ2HjC
— Fightful Wrestling (@Fightful) June 23, 2025
WWE Talent Are Reportedly Uncomfortable With The Saudi Trip
WWE talent and staff are reportedly set to travel to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday for SmackDown and Night of Champions.
However, several WWE talent are uncomfortable with the trip as they feel the situation is currently too unpredictable, according to a recent report from Sportskeeda.
Despite these rumors, TKO recently posted its list of shows for the upcoming week, which included SmackDown and Night of Champions in Riyadh, as previously announced, seemingly confirming that there are no plan changes.