WWE Superstars and crew members as reported departed Saudi Arabia shortly after Saturday’s Crown Jewel 2026 premium live event, with the majority of the roster safely returning to the United States before another round of attacks struck Riyadh on Sunday.
Per Reuters, attacks attributed to Yemen’s Houthi rebel group on November 8 caused damage to several buildings in Riyadh’s financial district, including the Aramco skyscraper. The latest developments came amid heightened security concerns surrounding WWE’s decision to proceed with Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia.
With members of the stable of talent arriving in South Carolina on Sunday, mike Johnson of PWInsider.com relayed that WWE talent had already departed the country before the latest attacks occurred. Although some WWE personnel may have remained in Riyadh to assist with dismantling the facility setup and production equipment — PWInsider had not received any reports of anyone associated with the company being affected.
Additional details have also emerged regarding the travel arrangements WWE implemented for the pay-per-view. Rather than flying directly into Riyadh, the majority of the lineup word is that arrived in neighboring Bahrain before completing the journey into Saudi Arabia by bus.
Johnson elaborated: “We are told the majority WWE roster actually flew into Bahrain — a neighboring country, and traveled from there by bus into Riyadh. The belief is some names traveled via private plane directly in and out of Riyadh still that was the exception, not the norm.” Meanwhile — False Finish indicated that WWE made adjustments to its post-program production schedule to allow talent and crew members to leave the venue as rapidly as possible following Crown Jewel.
As per the report, “the promos that aired on the WWE Crown Jewel post show were all shot during the show except Roman [Reigns] and Sami [Zayn] so that the talent and crew could pack up and leave almost promptly following the pay-per-view.”
The shared arrangements provide further insight into the precautions surrounding WWE’s trip, which had already attracted considerable attention thanks to the ongoing security situation in the region.
As previously covered, WWE traveled with a significantly reduced crew for Crown Jewel. Some wrestlers per reports expressed reluctance about participating in the trip because of safety concerns. The company what's more reportedly offered certain crew members $3,000 in hazard pay, while its commentary team called the premium live event remotely from WWE headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut.
Despite those concerns, Crown Jewel went ahead as scheduled on Saturday, November 7, with Roman Reigns defeating Sami Zayn in the main spectacular to capture the Men’s Crown Jewel Strap.
Several WWE Superstars who participated in the spectacular are already advertised for Monday’s event of RAW in Greenville, South Carolina. Roman Reigns, Liv Morgan, Penta and Oba Femi are among the names listed on WWE’s official event page. No specific matches or segments involving those performers have been corroborated.
While the majority of WWE’s traveling roster word is that returned safely ahead of Sunday’s attacks, it remains unclear whether all production personnel have departed Saudi Arabia.