WWE Crown Jewel 2026 is moving locations amid concerns about attacks surrounding the region in Saudi Arabia.
Riyadh Season confirmed the move on Wednesday, Oct. 28, noting the event will still take place.
Advertisement
“We would like to inform you that WWE Crown Jewel has been moved to a new venue,” it said in a statement. “All ticket holders will receive a full refund, and tickets will be re-released to everyone within the next 48 hours.”
It was not specified if Crown Jewel will be taking place in a different city in Saudi Arabia or will be held outside of the country. Crown Jewel 2026 was scheduled to take place in the temporary Riyadh Season Stadium at KAFD.
PWInsider.com reported the event will still be in Riyadh, just in a different location in the city. WWE has held events in other venues within Riyadh such as Mohammed Abdo Arena, Kingdom Arena and King Fahd Sports City Stadium.
USA TODAY Sports has contacted WWE for more information.
The move comes as Saudi Arabian locations have been targeted in a conflict between Saudis and Iran-aligned Houthis from nearby Yemen.
Advertisement
The latest attacks include a series of strikes at King Khalid International Airport in the capital city of Riyadh, which have resulted in deaths. Riyadh is the city WWE was set to host Crown Jewel.
The attacks have led the U.S. State Department to issue travel advisories for the country, encouraging people to reconsider travel and the U.S. Embassy is encouraging American citizens in the region “to exercise heightened vigilance.” On Oct. 21, the State Department ordered non-emergency U.S. government employees and their family members in Saudi Arabia to depart.
It also has affected other sporting events. The “Six Kings Slam” tennis tournament originally scheduled for October, featuring Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic, was postponed to Dec. 27–30 “following an assessment of the organizational and logistical challenges.”
The safety of the region has led Middle East experts and many wrestling fans to call on WWE to reconsider hosting a major event in the region.
Advertisement
Ari Emanuel, CEO of WWE’s parent company, TKO Group Holdings, told Fox News on Oct. 22 that the company has contingency plans in place as it handles “daily monitoring” of the situation.
“We have a whole team kind of working on this, and if that doesn’t happen, where we can move it,” he said.
Crown Jewel is still scheduled to take place on Saturday, Nov. 7.
Riyadh is also where WrestleMania 43, the biggest wrestling event in the world, will take place in April 2027. No official venue or date has been announced yet.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: WWE Crown Jewel moving locations amid attacks in Saudi Arabia
