Hello and welcome to the WrestleTalk News, I am Luke Owen.
Headline: Reminder: Be Friendly In The Comments
We like to have a lot of fun here at WrestleTalk.
We like to make jokes and japes that, some of you at the very least, find funny.
We like to joke about segways, oooh Wendy, Smackdown women standing in a row, John Cena’s
hair, etc.
But sometimes we do have to get serious, and this is unfortunately one of those times.
But remember folks, we’re all in the same boat here.
We’ve all chosen to spend some of our free time watching me read off a teleprompter about
wrestling.
You know this stuff is very silly.
Snitsky once kicked a doll into a crowd, this s**t is ridiculous.
Our opening bumper of Be Friendly In The Comments isn’t there because people tell me they
hate me on a daily basis, it’s there because we genuinely believe everyone should just
be nicer to each other.
We also believe in fairness.
A lot of what is in this news episode is based on accusations and nothing - at least at the
time of this recording - has been proven.
To answer a comment from yesterday, this isn’t a way to “trash your country”.
So here is your reminder.
Be friendly in the comments.
This is real-life stuff.
This isn’t Snitsky punting a doll into the crowd.
This is a real-world situation that could affect our silly little world of pro wrestling.
Headline: Could WWE Crown Jewel Be Cancelled?
Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi was last seen entering into the Saudi consulate
in Istanbul, Turkey on October 2nd.
The report is that he was there to pick up marriage documents, but never emerged from
the building.
Khashoggi is a writer for The Washington Post who has been very vocal and critical against
the Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, and it has been reported by Turkish officials
that he was killed by a Saudi team sent “specifically for the murder.”
U.S. officials have followed up on this stating that Mohammed Bin Salman ordered an operation
to lure Khashoggi to Saudi Arabia from his home in Virginia to detain him.
Friends of Khashoggi have told The Washington Post that the journalist had been offered
protection and even several high-level jobs within the Saudi government by those close
to the Crown Prince if he returned to Saudi Arabia - however he was very skeptical of
the offers.
According to The Washington Post, “He told one friend that the Saudi government would
never make good on its promises not to harm him.”
A Turkish official has gone on record to say that Khashoggi was killed and dismembered
to be removed from the consulate - a claim which the Saudi government have denied calling
them “baseless allegations.”
No body has been found, but Turkish officials have released video surveillance of Khashoggi
entering the consulate and say there is no video of him leaving.
It is being reported that United States President Donald Trump has “grown frustrated” over
the little information being released by the Saudi government on the whereabouts of Khashoggi.
This of course has been a big story this week, and reported by many major news outlets.
And now WWE’s partnership deal with the Saudi Arabian government - and Mohammed Bin
Salman in particular - is also coming under fire.
Mainstream news outlets - including the likes of Fox News - have started to put WWE under
the microscope, especially as the company is flying out to Saudi Arabia in just a few
weeks to host Crown Jewel in Riyadh.
Earlier this year WWE presented Greatest Royal Rumble from Jeddah, and was criticised for
being little more than propaganda disguised as a wrestling show.
However despite the criticism and backlash, WWE financial reports show that this was a
very lucrative deal for them - earning between 40 and 50 million dollars, a whole lot more
than any United States based PPV has ever earned including WrestleMania.
This sort of money has allowed them to bring back Brock Lesnar for a reported seven figure
sum for Crown Jewel, as well as coax Shawn Michaels out of his eight and a half year
retirement when he teams with Triple H to take on The Brothers of Destruction.
But is it a relationship that is going to last?
Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio noted that, “WWE may have to [back out] at some
point” after the news of Khashoggi's disappearance.
Mike Johnson of PWInsider on the other hand said on his Elite audio podcast that he would
like WWE to pull the show but calls that hope “unrealistic.”
His colleague Dave Scherer added, “They have a contract to do this show.
If they back out of it, they could be sued.. if they just back out of it and say, ‘We’re
doing this on moral grounds’ or whatever, then they open up the company and the stock
to lawsuits and you can’t do that either.”
However as noted by Wade Keller of Pro Wrestling Torch, Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut
- the home base of WWE - has said if the murder allegation is true it would, “represent
a fundamental break in our relationship with Saudi Arabia” and that could end up being
“troublesome for WWE's event deal” with the country.
Due to the pressure put upon them by mainstream reporting of their relationship with Saudi
Arabia, WWE have now released an official statement on the subject - telling Fox News
and other outlets, “We are currently monitoring the situation.”
The next few days and weeks leading up to Crown Jewel will certainly be interesting.
Should the allegations be proven true, will WWE pull out of their deal with Saudi Arabia
and cancel Crown Jewel?
Earlier this year when they came under scrutiny by the mainstream press over the Fabulous
Moolah Memorial Battle Royal, they changed the name to the WrestleMania Battle Royal
once corporate sponsor Snickers became uneasy about the dedication.
Both Rich Swann and Enzo Amore were released from their contracts once serious allegations
were made against them.
Could we see the same with Crown Jewel?
We’re sorry this wasn’t a lighter news episode.
But I wanted to remind you all again that this is a very serious and real-life subject
matter and please reflect that in your comments below.
Have a good weekend.