Recent Allegations Of A Journalist’s Murder Could Massively Impact WWE Saudi Arabia Deal

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Earlier this week, The Washington Post published an article on the Turkish government accusing the rulers of Saudi Arabia of murdering Jamal Khashoggi, one of the foremost Saudi journalists, in the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate.

The article goes on to cite how the Turkish accusations could be attributed to Saudi Arabia’s current Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and United States President Donald Trump’s support of the 33-year-old Salman’s ventures.

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Photo: WWE

Congressman Chris Murphy of Connecticut issued a statement via Twitter following the Washington Post report that “if this is true – that the Saudis lured a U.S. resident into their consulate and murdered him – it should represent a fundamental break in our relationship with Saudi Arabia.”

In addition to Murphy’s Tweet, the report notes Republican senators such as Bob Corker (Tenn.), Marco Rubio (Fla.) and Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.) and Democrats including Tim Kaine (Va.) and Dianne Feinstein (Calif.) have all warned of the consequences of an attack on a journalist.

The most recent issue of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter notes there is no immediate indication that the Turkish allegations will have any impact on the massive money deal in place between WWE and Saudi Arabia, which will next see WWE host its Crown Jewel PPV event in Saudi Arabia’s capital city of Riyadh.

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The report further speculates that up until this week The United States has been on friendly terms with Saudi Arabia, however, if something comes down from the highest levels of Government regarding the status of U.S. and Saudi relations, WWE’s deal in the country could be affected as a result of the foreign policy changes.

As we reported last week, the WWE Crown Jewel event was quietly moved from the 68,752-seat King Fahd International Stadium to the 25,000-seat King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh. According to The Observer, the move was made as tickets for the event have yet to go on-sale in Saudi Arabia, making it unlikely the event would fill the near-70,000 seat King Fahd Stadium with less than a month to go until the PPV.

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