Veteran Superstar John Cena is headed back to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for WWE Crown Jewel.
It was recently reported that WWE will return to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday, November 4 for Crown Jewel 2023. In an update, The General Entertainment Authority of the Saudi Arabian government officially announced their 2024 Riyadh Season this weekend, which will run from October to March. It was confirmed that WWE will have a strong presence in the Kingdom for Riyadh Season this year.
It was revealed that WWE will have a special Fan Experience Center at the Boulevard City location. Promotional graphics include shots of a WWE theme park ride, a VIP area, individual Superstar displays, and a walk-through exhibit for WWE Hall of Famer The Undertaker, which looks to be a high-tech version of the “Undertaker’s Graveyard” exhibit seen at previous WrestleMania Axxess events.
The Riyadh Season announcement also confirmed WWE Crown Jewel 2023, but the actual date and venue was not named. However, the announcement did reveal that Cena will be returning to the Kingdom for Crown Jewel.
“This year will be different with [sic] WWE Champions and the Season will host the biggest wrestling festival in the world – Crown Jewel, with the participation of John Cena,” the narrator said.
If he wrestles, this will be Cena’s second WWE match in the Kingdom. Cena worked the first WWE event under the partnership with the Saudis, which was Greatest Royal Rumble in April 2018. Cena opened that show by defeating WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H. Cena was announced as a participant in the WWE World Cup tournament at Crown Jewel 2018, but he refused to travel and work the show in protest of the state-sponsored murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi exactly one month earlier. Cena also chose not to work Super ShowDown in June 2019.
There’s no word yet on the venue for Crown Jewel 2023, but WWE has ran the following venues in the past when they are in the Saudi capital – King Saud University Stadium for Crown Jewel 2018, King Fahd International Stadium for Crown Jewel 2019, Mohammed Abdu Arena for Super ShowDown 2020 and Crown Jewel 2021, and Mrsool Park for Crown Jewel 2022.
Riyadh Season is a massive undertaking, as seen in the promo below. The Season will kick off on Saturday, October 28. Two WWE links this year are the big Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou boxing match on opening night, plus the special boxing club attraction with Celebrity WWE Hall of Famer Mike Tyson. Riyadh Season 2024 will also feature the Disney Castle in the Middle East for the first time ever, an interactive look at the life & career of Cristiano Ronaldo, The 433 Awards for the world of soccer/football, and much more.
WWE and the Saudi Ministry of Sport first announced a 10-year strategic partnership in 2018 to bring Premium Live Events to the Kingdom. WWE then announced on November 4, 2019 that they were expanding their partnership with the Saudi General Authority for Entertainment. The expanded deal will run through 2027, and includes two PLE shows in the Kingdom per year. Crown Jewel 2023 will be the 10th event under WWE’s deal with the Saudi Government, and will be held on the 4th anniversary of the expansion of the partnership.
WWE last ran the Kingdom in May of this year for Night of Champions, which was held at the Jeddah Super Dome in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. This show was headlined by Brock Lesnar defeating Cody Rhodes, Seth Rollins defeating AJ Styles to crown the inaugural WWE World Heavyweight Champion, plus Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn retaining the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Titles over Solo Sikoa and Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns.
No matches have been announced for Crown Jewel as of this writing, but it has been reported that Reigns’ next defense of his Undisputed WWE Universal Title will take place that night. You can see the full Riyadh Season 2024 promo below:
إطلاق فيديو موسم الرياض بهويته الجديدة 2023
تجارب وفعاليات ترفيهية عالمية للحظات استثنائية#RiyadhSeason#BigTime pic.twitter.com/1hyRhq4wKF— موسم الرياض | Riyadh Season (@RiyadhSeason) September 16, 2023
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