5 things you need to know about WWE superstars refusing to perform in Saudi Arabia
So as you probably know, there have been multiple superstars who refused to perform at Super ShowDown in Saudi Arabia in a couple of weeks. This isn't different from last time, except more superstars have refused to perform.
Last time for Crown Jewel, Saudi Arabia were in the midst of a major scandal after the alleged murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. With the PR nightmare that WWE was facing and external pressure to cancel the show, Daniel Bryan and John Cena both pulled out of their advertised appearances. It's believed that Roman Reigns, too, refused to perform, but the leukaemia announcement came before.
This year, we have four superstars who have reportedly refused to perform at Saudi Arabia - Daniel Bryan, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and Aleister Black - three of whom are SmackDown superstars.
So why are they refusing to go and what exactly is it that you need to know about these superstars pulling out? Read for more.
#5. They likely sacrificed a very lucrative payday
The superstars that perform at the Saudi Arabia show are usually given quite a lucrative payday. Legends in particular are given more, but that's a point we'll come back to. So in this case, you can clearly tell that it's not about money.
Because of the insane revenue that WWE gets from the Saudi Arabia shows, they're already pushing it as a show "as big" or "bigger" than WrestleMania. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported that the revenue earned from these shows is more than WrestleMania, which only makes it obvious that the payday is better as well.
So all four superstars who refused will have knowingly given up a major payday - perhaps the biggest one of the year.