Fightful Select reports that following military activity over Saudi Arabia, WWE talent scheduled for this Friday’s SmackDown and Saturday's Night of Champions in Riyadh have not been informed of any changes to their travel plans. As of Monday afternoon, the talents still expect to travel to Saudi Arabia sometime mid-week via a charter plane. They believe WWE is closely monitoring the situation and making necessary adjustments.
The report also mentioned that specific bonuses for performing at the Saturday events in Saudi Arabia are no longer a common practice. Instead, compensation for these events is typically included in the talent’s overall contracts. As previously noted, some staff who arrived early are currently stuck in Qatar due to temporary airspace closures while they were en route to Riyadh.
According to PWInsider.com, several members of the company's staff have been in Saudi Arabia since the week of June 9, with more production staff arriving over the past week. The setup for the events has been underway for at least a week. However, five staff members are still stranded in Qatar, as they were waiting for a connecting flight to Saudi Arabia after arriving in Qatar. As of Monday evening, government meetings in Saudi Arabia are ongoing, and the plans for the show are still in place.
