Despite significant regional conflict in the Middle East that has caused travel disruptions for its staff, WWE is reportedly moving forward with its SmackDown and Night of Champions events in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, this weekend. The company also reportedly banned any mention of the real-world crisis on its programming.
The status of the events came into question due to the ongoing conflict involving Iran and Israel, which has seen military action from the United States and has impacted the region. The situation led to the temporary closure of Qatari airspace on June 23, which resulted in some WWE staffers being stuck in Qatar while en route to Riyadh for the shows.
On Monday\'s episode of Raw, WWE made changes to the Night of Champions card, pulling the Intercontinental Championship match between Dominik Mysterio and AJ Styles, citing an injury to Mysterio. However, according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, there was a directive not to mention the geopolitical situation.
\"They just were not allowed to mention anything…I don\'t think they wanted those questions being asked as far as everything,\" Meltzer said.
A ceasefire between Israel and Iran was announced today, June 24, but the situation remains volatile with conflicting reports about its stability. As of now, the expectation is that WWE Night of Champions will proceed as planned on Saturday, June 28.
