WWE Stars Were “Held Hostage” In Saudi Arabia
Dave Meltzer has claimed that WWE stars were indeed “held hostage” to some extent when the company couldn’t fly them home after a show in Saudi Arabia in 2019.
The 2019 edition of Crown Jewel took place in October 2019 and emanated from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Former UFC star Cain Velasquez and boxing supremo Tyson Fury were both on the card in a show headlined by The Fiend Bray Wyatt winning the Universal Championship from Seth Rollins.
The headlines were, however, made after the show with WWE stars stopped from travelling back as planned to the US and having to stay for another night in Saudi Arabia. Stories of mechanical faults, as well as more sinister stories of Vince McMahon falling out with his hosts over missed payments, persisted but to this day, the full truth of the issue is the subject of much debate.
Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer brought the subject up following the challenge made on Raw that will see Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows, and AJ Styles take on The Judgment Day at Crown Jewel on November 5th. According to Meltzer, WWE stars were indeed “held hostage” back in 2019:
“It is interesting too because Karl Anderson said he’d never go back but he did go back and he already went back before, saying he never would. Saudi Arabia, they were on that trip where they whatever, got held hostage, and Karl got in trouble because it was – can you imagine, this is total WWE, right? They were held hostage so Karl’s wife is concerned and trying to find word and so she goes on Twitter and she’s going like ‘what’s going on?’ and complaining as you would think that she would do when her husband’s being held hostage in Saudi Arabia and can’t come home and getting no answers or anything.”
“You think she could possibly be a bit upset over this. Then they come back and everyone’s called into a meeting and Karl gets yelled at because of what his wife did. The gall of these people, It’s just like ‘she shouldn’t have been talking.’ Maybe you shouldn’t have been working with these people who held [you] hostage and getting mad that the stories out.”
“It wasn’t like one person that the stories out, it was like anyone who had any communication – not everyone – but many, many people who were there that had any communication were saying this. Karl has to get heat because his wife was scared and somehow they think this story wouldn’t have come out if it wasn’t for that.”
If you use any quotes from this article please credit original source and then h/t with a link back to TJRWrestling.