Crown Jewel Confirmed – During the third quarter earnings call from the WWE Headquarters, Vince McMahon was asked and confirmed that not only is Crown Jewel still happening, but it’s still happening in Saudi Arabia on November 2nd. According to a report about the holdings call, Vince reportedly kept his distance on the topic, dodging questions about the market now being a priority for the WWE and what the process and defense was for pursing the show in the market at this juncture. Vince, in typical Vince form, dodged and deflected all real questions. WWE Co-President George Barrios also chimed in, refusing to comment on if further shows would happen in Saudi Arabia past this year.
To say the WWE did next to nothing to provide transparency would be a lie, because they flat out did nothing. If you own WWE stock, this is who you pay for, a man who has no ability to justify his actions.
WWE did put out a statement saying;
WWE has operated in the Middle East for nearly 20 years and has developed a sizable and dedicated fan base. Considering the heinous crime committed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, the Company faced a very difficult decision as it relates to its event scheduled for November 2 in Riyadh. Similar to other U.S.-based companies who plan to continue operations in Saudi Arabia, the Company has decided to uphold its contractual obligations to the General Sports Authority and stage the event. Full year 2018 guidance is predicated on the staging of the Riyadh event as scheduled.
Which gives you no real answer to anything.
More so, apparently John Cena and Daniel Bryan are steadfastly refusing to go, as reported by Robbie Fox of Barstool Sports, that the WWE tried to reach out to Cena to go, but he turned it down.
More over, a long rumored event never transpired, as I thought, as David Bixenspan reported that the United States government never reached out to the WWE in regards to not going. I didn’t comment on this before because I knew it was a bogus report. The President is genuine friends with the McMahons, why would he allow a Department under his watch to harasses them in any regard.
Because, why not? – Dave Meltzer is reporting that part of the reason the WWE hasn’t promoted WWE Evolutione is because the higher ups, Stephanie McMahon included, don’t care about the event. The reason for the event has long rumored to be to make Stephanie look good by announcing it, and to take the heat off of the Saudi Arabia deal.
With the tickets selling poorly, and weak matches across the card, its very possible this show flops.
Johnny Impact Talks Not Returning to WWE – Johnny Impact pissed off a lot of people by body shaming another human being, but don’t expect that to be the primary point of conversation today. Apparently Johnny spoke with IMPACT’s Anthony Carelli (Santino Marella) and backstage interviewer Alicia Atout and revealed a little seen parody rap video about Triple H and the Undertaker caused a lot of negative opinions of the current IMPACT World Champion.
I did that right when I left, and right when you leave WWE is when you usually get the biggest chip on your shoulder. It was kind of funny; I texted Hunter a couple of times and I told him I was going to do this battle rap video, and this was after I was completely gone, and he’s like, ‘What do you mean?’ And I was like, ‘I’m going to dress up like you and dress up like The Undertaker, and do battle raps back and forth and make fun of each other’. And he’s like, ‘I don’t understand. But go ahead.’
And now when I watch it back, I cringe a little bit, because I go, ‘Oh, yikes!’ I think I can do a better battle rap video now, and I actually feel bad about some of the stuff that I said. I was at Miz’s New Year’s party, and this was a year or two or three ago, and everyone asks about when you’re returning to WWE. And I was like, ‘Yeah, I think I have a good relationship with WWE. I’ll probably go back’. Miz goes, ‘Oh, you know what? Hunter keeps bringing up that battle rap video.’ He goes like, ‘Didn’t Morrison do some battle rap video where he’s burying me and ‘Taker?’ And until I heard that, I didn’t think it was even a thing. I would’ve thought he would’ve been too busy to even realize that.
Considering that Triple H holds the same style of grudges that his father-in-law does, it looks like Johnny isn’t going back anytime soon. No wonder Melina kept cheating (allegedly) on him.
Quick Hits – Nikki Bella recently spoke at the ACE Comic Con and revealed that she hoped AJ Lee would return for Evolution, despite her and her husband having massive issues with the company. Mick Foley revealed that his daughter Noelle opted against a pro wrestling career due to being injured while training. Sasha Banks revealed to Catch Conversations podcast that she was suffering from post concussion symptoms, which is why she was kept out of the ring for an extended amount of time.