Ahead of Crown Jewel, WWE’s deal with Saudi Arabia continues to receive more mainstream attention.
An 18-minute segment on the suspected murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi aired on HBO’s “Last Week Tonight” with John Oliver on Sunday night. Oliver covered the United States’ relationship with Saudi Arabia and the relationship U.S. businesses have had with Saudi Arabia during the reign of Mohammad bin Salman.
Brief clips from April’s Greatest Royal Rumble were played, with Oliver saying that audiences from around the world were treated to “wall-to-wall propaganda.” Oliver later brought up WWE returning to Saudi Arabia for Crown Jewel on November 2. He did John Cena’s “You can’t see me” taunt and said “which I guess in this context means you don’t see these human rights abuses right here.”
Dave Meltzer noted on last night’s Wrestling Observer Radio that he was told that Crown Jewel will go on as scheduled unless the State Department or Donald Trump tells the company they can’t go.
The full “Last Week Tonight” segment on Saudi Arabia is available to watch below (WWE is mentioned at 6:55 and 17:00):