WWE Crown Jewel 2026 Moves to The Venue in Riyadh: New Venue, Tickets and Refunds

WWE Crown Jewel 2026 has a new home. The show has moved from the outdoor Riyadh Season Stadium to The Venue, also known as ANB Arena, an indoor arena in Riyadh. New tickets went on sale on October 30, and everyone who bought a ticket for the original venue gets a full refund. The date has not changed: the show is still on Saturday, November 7.

Here is everything we know as of November 6, the day before the show: who is going, how the show will be produced, where it is and why it moved.

Latest update (November 6): hazard pay and a broadcast run from Stamford

Crown Jewel is going ahead on Saturday, but WWE is changing how it runs the show because of the security situation.

• Hazard pay: WWE offered production crew an extra $3,000 to travel to Riyadh, according to WrestleVotes on Fightful Select. The offer was for crew, not wrestlers or office staff, and several crew members still turned the trip down.
• Remote production: Mike Johnson of PWInsider reported that much of the broadcast will be run from WWE headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut. The production and satellite trucks will stay there. A smaller crew in Riyadh will handle cameras, sound and equipment and send the feeds back to the U.S.
• Fewer people on the ground: WWE will have fewer staff in Saudi Arabia than at a normal international show, though a sizeable crew will still be there. It is not known whether WWE will use this setup again for future events abroad.

For fans, nothing changes. Crown Jewel starts at noon ET / 9 a.m. PT on Saturday, November 7, on ESPN in the United States and Netflix in most other countries. The changes are a clear sign that WWE is going ahead, but also that it is taking the risk seriously. Our full card, start time and picks are in the Crown Jewel 2026 preview.

October 30: Crown Jewel moves to The Venue, tickets on sale

The new venue is The Venue (ANB Arena) in Riyadh. It first showed up on the ticketing page on October 30, and Turki Alalshikh, the head of Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority, announced on X that tickets were on sale.

• New tickets are on sale through WeBook. Only three ticket types were available: Gold (about $33), VIP (about $268) and VVIP (about $453), according to Wrestling-Online.
• The Venue is indoors and much smaller than the original outdoor stadium, holding roughly half as many people.
• It is the same building that hosts Canelo Alvarez vs. Christian Mbilli on October 31.

Why Crown Jewel moved indoors

Security. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer reported that "the move was based on the idea that in an indoor arena they can improve security and have greater control on what gets in." He added that WWE's plans could also depend on how the Canelo event goes on October 31.

Fightful Select reported that many WWE staff found out about the move from the public social media announcement, and that several WWE staff and talent are unhappy about going to Saudi Arabia right now. TKO President Mark Shapiro reportedly told employees in a town hall that their safety was "paramount." For now, the show is still expected to go ahead in Riyadh.

A correction on our earlier update: on October 28 and 29, Forbes and F4W reported that the show was going to Kingdom Arena. The ticket listing and the official sale point to The Venue instead, so we have updated this story.

October 28: Crown Jewel moved to a new venue

Riyadh Season posted the announcement on X: "We would like to inform you that 'WWE Crown Jewel' has been moved to a new venue. All ticket holders will receive a full refund, and tickets will be re-released to everyone within the next 48 hours."

What we know

• Crown Jewel is moving from its original venue, Riyadh Season Stadium at King Abdullah Financial District.
• The new venue was not named in the announcement. The graphic still said Riyadh, so the show was always expected to stay in the city.
• Everyone who bought a ticket will get a full refund, and tickets will go back on sale within 48 hours.
• The date and time are unchanged: Saturday, November 7, at noon ET / 9 a.m. PT, on ESPN in the United States and Netflix in most other countries.

What we don't know yet

• The exact capacity of The Venue for the show, and whether WWE will make any more changes after the Canelo event.
• Exactly when tickets go back on sale, and at what prices.
• Whether any matches change. All four announced matches are still listed.

Why the move matters

Neither WWE nor Riyadh Season has given a reason. But the timing speaks for itself. Riyadh Season Stadium is a large outdoor venue, and the city has faced weeks of missile and drone attacks, with more interceptions over Riyadh as recently as October 27. Moving to a different venue while keeping the date suggests the organizers want a site that is easier to secure, rather than taking the show out of Saudi Arabia altogether, which TKO had kept as a backup option.

For fans watching at home, nothing changes: the show is still on November 7 at the same time. For fans planning to attend, the key thing is to watch for the ticket re-release over the next two days. We will update this page as soon as the new venue is announced.

October 28: still on in Riyadh

Crown Jewel is still on for November 7 in Riyadh, and the people on the ground are less worried than the headlines suggest.

• Fightful Select reported that its sources on site describe the situation as "nowhere near as bad as the media makes it out to be," though WWE talent and staff it spoke to are still reasonably concerned.
• TKO's other Saudi show is going ahead too. Ariel Helwani reported that the crew for Dana White's Power Slap event on November 6 will fly into Bahrain and then take a five-hour bus ride to Riyadh.
• Fightful also reported that WrestleMania 43 is still planned for Saudi Arabia in April 2027, but that it is unclear whether the dates will still be announced during Crown Jewel week as planned. More in our WrestleMania 43 guide.
• The attacks continued on October 27. Along with the two missiles intercepted over Riyadh, the coalition said it stopped three ballistic missiles aimed at the Eastern Province and four drones in the south. The Houthis claimed a missile hit the Ras Tanura oil refinery, which has not been independently confirmed.

Every sign from WWE and TKO points to the show going ahead in Riyadh. The question now is less whether WWE wants to go, and more whether anything happens in the next ten days that forces its hand.

October 27

Crown Jewel is still set for November 7 in Riyadh, and everything this week points to WWE going ahead. Here is what is new.

• PWInsider reported that WWE has started setting up for the show in Riyadh, and that there is no sign of the company backing away.
• Turki Alalshikh is pushing ticket sales. He shared a video promoting Roman Reigns vs. Sami Zayn for the Crown Jewel Championship at Riyadh Season Stadium.
• Dave Meltzer said on Wrestling Observer Radio that he now expects WWE to go to Saudi Arabia no matter what, even though it is "a terrible look" for the company right now. That is a change from his earlier view that the show would likely be moved.
• The attacks have not stopped. On October 27, the Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted two ballistic missiles fired at Riyadh, after taking down three drones over Riyadh and southern Saudi Arabia overnight. No casualties were reported. A new U.S. Embassy alert the same day says the Riyadh airport is only partly open and U.S. government staff still need special approval to use Saudi airports.
• The card got bigger on Raw. Penta and Je'Von Evans will challenge Bron Breakker and Austin Theory for the World Tag Team Championship at Crown Jewel.

With the stage going up and Saudi officials selling tickets, the show is moving forward. The only thing that looks likely to change that now is a serious attack close to the event, and WWE has a backup plan in the United States if it comes to that. Next week's Raw in Brooklyn, with John Cena's return, is the go-home show. Read more in our John Cena Raw return story.

October 26

Crown Jewel is still set for November 7 in Riyadh, and WWE has not announced any change. Here is what is new.

• The U.S. Embassy in Riyadh issued a new security alert on October 25. It repeats that non-emergency U.S. government staff and their families have been ordered to leave Saudi Arabia, warns that the Houthi attacks could escalate quickly, and says U.S. government employees now need special approval to use any Saudi airport.
• According to the same alert, King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh has partly reopened for domestic flights and some international flights by Saudi airlines. Some flights are still running out of Qassim instead, and the airports in Jeddah and Dammam are open with some delays and cancellations.
• Fightful Select reported that WWE is in constant contact with the event organisers in Riyadh, and that some WWE staff and talent are unhappy with the situation. More recent reports say there have been no concrete talks about moving the show.

The partial reopening of the Riyadh airport is the most positive sign in a while for the show going ahead as planned. But with the U.S. still telling its own staff to leave the country, the talent's concerns are easy to understand, and the next week and a half will decide it.

October 25

Crown Jewel is still on for November 7, and WWE is pressing ahead. Work on the venue has started, even as the attacks on Riyadh continue.

• Footage of construction at Riyadh Season Stadium started circulating on October 23, with crews at work on the site with just over two weeks to go.
• Early on October 23, the Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted a ballistic missile fired at Riyadh by the Houthis, along with another missile and two drones aimed at southern Saudi Arabia. No casualties were reported.
• On the morning of Sunday, October 25, the coalition said it intercepted and destroyed another ballistic missile aimed at Riyadh, plus two drones in the Riyadh region. Residents received alerts on their phones. No casualties or damage were reported.
• WWE has still not announced any change to the date or location.

The construction is the clearest sign yet that WWE and its Saudi partners still plan to run the show in Riyadh. But the attacks have not stopped, so the decision is far from final.

October 24

Crown Jewel is still on for November 7 in Riyadh, and WWE has still not announced any change. But the travel picture has not improved.

• King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh reportedly reopened on October 18, but many international airlines are still not flying there, and some have suspended Riyadh flights through the Crown Jewel date or later.
• Saudi coalition officials said the airport had been targeted 20 times this month, with 17 people killed and 333 injured.
• Other big events in Saudi Arabia have already been affected. The Six Kings Slam tennis event was moved from October 21 to 24 to December 27 to 30, and the UCI Urban Cycling World Championships, planned for November 3 to 7, were canceled. The Canelo Alvarez vs. Christian Mbilli boxing match on October 31 is still expected to go ahead.

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer reported that WWE sources felt pressure not to cancel after Turki Alalshikh pointed to the Canelo fight still going ahead, and that some WWE talent would rather not travel to Saudi Arabia right now.

The event that matters most to watch is that boxing match on October 31. If it goes ahead without problems, it will strengthen the case for keeping Crown Jewel in Riyadh. If it is moved or canceled, WWE will be under even more pressure to make a call.

The short answer

Crown Jewel is still happening on November 7 and is still expected to take place in Riyadh, but it is moving to a new venue that has not been named yet. Ticket holders will get full refunds, and tickets will be re-released within 48 hours.

Why Crown Jewel is in doubt

The concern comes from a run of attacks on Saudi Arabia, which reports have blamed on the Iran-backed Houthi group. Those attacks have reportedly targeted airports and critical infrastructure.

• On October 21, the U.S. State Department ordered non-emergency U.S. government employees and their families to leave Saudi Arabia. A State Department spokesperson clarified that this was an ordered departure for non-emergency staff, not a full evacuation of the embassy.
• A U.S. Embassy security alert issued the same day said operations at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh were suspended, while the airports in Jeddah and Dammam were running with some delays and cancellations.
• The U.S. travel advisory for Saudi Arabia is at Level 3, which means Reconsider Travel. Level 4, Do Not Travel, is the highest level.
• Several other events planned for Riyadh have been canceled or postponed.

What TKO and WWE have said

TKO CEO Ari Emanuel addressed Crown Jewel in an interview with Fox News. He said, "Right now, everything is still set," and added, "So far, so good. Nothing has been canceled."

He also made it clear that the company has a backup plan. "We have a whole team working on this," he said. "And if that doesn't happen, we can move it. It's a daily monitoring."

According to PWInsider, WWE still plans to run the show in Saudi Arabia and has contingency plans in place, including working with a security firm that has experience in the Middle East and North Africa. There have also been reports that WWE has a backup city in the United States lined up, though that city has not been named.

Will Crown Jewel be moved?

Not everyone expects the show to stay in Riyadh. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer has said he believes the event will likely be moved, but that WWE may not announce anything until it is sure the show cannot go ahead as planned.

There is also a lot of money involved. Meltzer has estimated that TKO stands to make between $70 million and $90 million from its three scheduled events in Saudi Arabia this year, which include two UFC shows and Crown Jewel. That helps explain why WWE is holding on as long as it can.

This is not the first time WWE has faced pressure over a Saudi show. In 2018, the company went ahead with the first Crown Jewel in Riyadh despite heavy criticism after the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. This time, though, the concern is about the safety of the people traveling to and attending the event, which is a very different situation.

What happens to the matches if the show moves?

Even if Crown Jewel changes location, there is no reason to expect the card to change. Roman Reigns vs. Sami Zayn for the men's Crown Jewel Championship, Liv Morgan vs. Chelsea Green for the women's Crown Jewel Championship and Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton in a Last Man Standing match, along with The Vision vs. Penta and Je'Von Evans for the World Tag Team Championship, are all built on Raw and SmackDown storylines that do not depend on where the show takes place. The bigger threat to the card is the October 30 SmackDown, where Zayn defends against Trick Williams and Green defends against Nikki Bella.

One thing to watch is the date. WWE has a broadcast deal with ESPN in the United States and Netflix around the world, so keeping the show on November 7 matters, wherever it ends up.

Our take

The safest bet right now is that WWE waits as long as it can before making any call. Nothing has been canceled, but the language from TKO has already shifted from "it is happening" to "we can move it." If the situation in Saudi Arabia does not improve in the next week, a move to the United States looks more and more likely.

We will update this story as soon as WWE confirms anything. For the full match card, start time and our predictions, read our Crown Jewel 2026 preview.