WWE will continue to do business with The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
On Monday, April 3, it was announced that Endeavor would be acquiring and merging WWE into one company with the other combat sports entity that they own, UFC. This announcement comes after Vince McMahon returned to WWE in January in order to help speed up the process of a sale.
McMahon will serve as the Executive Chair of the merged company, while Nick Khan will serve as the president of WWE.
When the deal was announced, many fans and people in the industry began to ask questions about WWE's relationship with Saudi Arabia and if it would continue despite Endeavor's rocky history with the country.
In a new interview with Axios, Khan confirmed that WWE's relationship with the controversial country will remain intact, citing that it is a terrific partnership for the promotion.
"[O]ur relationship with The Kingdom is a terrific partnership for which we're appreciative of, and you know, nothing in terms of anyone else's prior experience will affect that. We think that we've delivered the product in the way that the Kingdom wanted it delivered. We have a multiple year agreement with them in place. We're excited to do a show — we'll be back there May 27 for a big premium live event.“
In 2019, the previously established relationship between Endeavor and Saudi Arabia broke down after news broke regarding the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. In light of the news, Endeavor returned the $400 million investment to The Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia that the country had paid in 2018.
WWE is set to return to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Saturday, May 27 for the King & Queen Of The Ring premium live event.
Fans can learn more about the WWE/UFC merge by checking out our full post on it here.
