'Crown Jewel': WWE announces official return to Saudi Arabia in October

The news was revealed in a short clip shared by WWE during Saturday's SummerSlam broadcast

Seth Rollins retained his WWE Universal title against Baron Corbin at 2019's Super ShowDown in Jeddah. Photo: WWE
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The WWE is heading back to Saudi Arabia.

During Saturday’s SummerSlam broadcast, the company released a video announcing that the Crown Jewel wrestling event would be returning in October, although the exact date or location is currently unknown.

The short clip highlights past events in the kingdom and shows numerous WWE Superstars such as Bobby Lashley, Roman Reigns, Mansoor, Bianca Belair, Asuka and Sasha Banks, without revealing any other details.

The inclusion of female wrestlers could potentially mean there will be another women’s match on the cards, continuing a trend that started in 2019 with a bout between Natalya and Lacey Evans.

The duo made history by becoming the first to compete in a women’s match in Saudi Arabia at 2019’s Crown Jewel in Riyadh. This was followed up the next year at Super ShowDown, where Bayley defended her WWE Smackdown Women’s Championship against Naomi.

This coming event will be the sixth the WWE hosts in the country after a 10-year deal was signed between the wrestling event and the Saudi General Sports Authority in 2018.

Currently, the WWE has one Saudi Arabian-born wrestler on the roster. Mansoor, who was signed to Raw back in May, joined the company after attending a tryout in Jeddah in 2018.

In the three years since, he's had some impressive moments including winning a 51-man Battle Royale during Super ShowDown in 2019, as well as winning two singles matches against Cesaro and Dolph Ziggler at Crown Jewel in 2019 and Super ShowDown in 2020.

"I want people to go, ‘you know what, that kid who I said was never going to do anything outside of his home country, that kid deserves to be here.’ I just want to prove people wrong," he told The National previously.

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Updated: August 22, 2021, 6:14 PM