By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
The following matches are advertised for the WWE Crown Jewel event that will be held on Friday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at King Saud University Stadium.
-Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman for the vacant WWE Universal Championship.
-Triple H and Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker and Kane.
-AJ Styles vs. Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship.
-Sheamus and Cesaro vs. New Day for the Smackdown Tag Titles.
-WWE World Cup tournament (Entrants: John Cena, Kurt Angle, Jeff Hardy, Dolph Ziggler, The Miz, Randy Orton, Seth Rollins, Rey Mysterio)
Powell’s POV: WWE has yet to announce brackets for the World Cup tournament. There will be a one-hour Kickoff Show beginning on Friday morning at 10CT/11ET. The actual event will start at 11CT/12ET and the WWE Network schedule page lists a four-hour window. I will be covering the event live as it airs on Friday.
Check below for the latest Pro Wrestling Boom Podcast with Jason Powell and guest Jerry Lynn.
I know you have to cover this as its newsworthy, but advertising start time is not news, it’s promotion.
I respectfully disagree. I have not been shy about criticizing WWE for running this event. And you’re right that I do feel obligated to cover it. I list the start time for every PPV, and this one is actually unique because of the special day and time. So if I don’t run the time then I’m doing a disservice to people who want to know when it starts and essentially sending them elsewhere to find out. Not the perfect analogy, but when an athlete does something awful and is allowed to continue playing, it’s not like newspapers stop listing the time of his games or matches. Anyway, I hope that gives you a better understanding of where I’m coming from.
Not sure why you feel “obligated” to cover it. It’s one thing to write an article being critical about the PPV, it’s another thing to draw a hard line in the sand (no pun intended) and say “I don’t want anything to do with this mess”. Yes, this might mean sending people elsewhere (and a few less clicks on your website). Just like canceling the PPV would mean WWE would be out A LOT of money. But we all have to make choices. WWE is going to tell you they have an obligation to their fans in the middle east and an obligation to stockholders about projected earnings, yada yada yada. The point is it all comes down to the almighty dollar.
I feel a sense of obligation as someone who covers the industry in a journalistic manner. Mainstream media members cover things they dislike or disagree with all the time. Journalism would be a disaster if media members ignored events or governments they disagreed with. As such, I don’t feel it’s my place to ignore the event. You can say it’s only pro wrestling or what have you, but if I don’t take what I do seriously then who will? And trust me, my coverage of a show held on a Friday afternoon during the work week will not provide a big financial reward.
I get where you’re coming from, I just see it differently. The whole thing has me beyond frustrated and kind of ashamed to call myself a wrestling fan. It may not mean much to WWE or anyone else but I personally won’t be watching and if it goes through as scheduled in KSA I’m thinking about canceling my network membership and writing off WWE. Would it be different if WWE said they were going to run a show in North Korea? Or does Saudia Arabia get a free pass just because of their business dealings with the US. If I lived in Saudia Arabia I could be jailed and even potentially killed just for writing this comment. What would it take for them to actually pull out of the PPV? Does the fact they ran a women’s ppv this week make up for the fact that they’re running a show next week in a place where women are treated like dirt?
Didn’t Cena pull out of this?