Kane Still Plans On Wrestling At WWE Crown Jewel, WWE Reportedly Considering Backup Plans
A spokesman for Glenn Jacobs (Kane) told the Knoxville News Sentinel earlier today that Kane still plans on wrestling the upcoming WWE Crown Jewel on November 2 in Saudi Arabia. Back in August, Jacobs became the mayor of Knox County, Tennessee.
As noted, as a part of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman's Saudi Vision 2030 plan, WWE agreed to hold multiple events in Saudi Arabia, including the upcoming WWE Crown Jewel event on November 2. Events that have unfolded over the past week have now thrown those plans into jeopardy.
On October 2, Washington Post journalist and Saudi national Jamal Khashoggi disappeared from the Saudi consulate in Turkey. Intelligence reports have since indicated that Khashoggi was killed, in what was possibly a state-ordered kidnapping gone wrong. With Jamal being a United States resident, the incident has resulted in the Democrats and Republicans calling for investigation into the alleged murder, while the President of the United States himself has alluded to the possibility of the Saudi government being involved in Jamal's reported assassination.
Through Jacobs' spokesman, Rob Link, "Mayor Jacobs won't speculate on Mr. [Jamal] Khashoggi's disappearance," Link said. "However, he and his family are in the mayor's thoughts and prayers."
Multiple Senators are now questioning if WWE should still hold the upcoming November show in light of recent events. "I'd hope that they would be rethinking their relationship with the kingdom, especially with respect to events coming up in the next weeks like [WWE Crown Jewel]." Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) told IJR.com.
Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) pointed to the connection Linda McMahon has in the president's cabinet (Small Business Administrator) and felt President Donald Trump should possibly ask WWE to hold off on Crown Jewel.
"Private enterprise is private enterprise, different than a governmental entity," Menendez said. "But because [Linda McMahon] is part of the president's cabinet, it falls into the grey area where the administration really should give it some thought and maybe even prevail upon them not doing it."
While WWE has remained tight-lipped about the situation, the organization released a statement to the media regarding the status of WWE Crown Jewel, saying, "We are currently monitoring the situation."
Dave Meltzer also noted today that "There have been backup plans that are being talked about internally if the show doesn't take place."