WWE Changes Its Production Plans Ahead Of Crown Jewel 2026 In Riyadh

WWE will handle a major portion of Crown Jewel's broadcast from Stamford, Connecticut.© NDTV Library

WWE is moving a big chunk of the Crown Jewel 2026 broadcast work to the United States, with its production operation set to run remotely from Stamford, Connecticut. PWInsider reports that production and satellite trucks will sit at WWE Headquarters, so the whole broadcast team won't be working out of Riyadh. A large crew will still travel to Saudi Arabia to look after the equipment at ANB Arena. The setup comes as WWE deals with worries over staff travel amid unrest in the Middle East, and several crew members have reportedly turned down the trip even with an extra payment on offer.

WWE Will Run A Major Part Of Crown Jewel 2026 Production From Its Stamford Headquarters

Crown Jewel goes down on November 7 at ANB Arena in Riyadh, but the broadcast setup will be different than WWE's usual international one. PWInsider's Mike Johnson reported that the company plans to remotely engineer a “major part”of the show from its Stamford headquarters.

The production team in Saudi Arabia still has plenty to do. Crew at the arena will handle camera setups, audio systems and the gear needed to capture the matches, and those live feeds then get sent back to Connecticut, where WWE's production staff take charge of the broadcast.

PWInsider also called the travelling production team“sizeable,” so WWE isn't trying to run the whole show with nobody on the ground. The difference is that a lot of the broadcast work will be done thousands of miles from the venue.

Also, F4W Online reported the remote arrangement on November 5, citing the travel situation around the Saudi Arabia event.

WWE's $3,000 Hazard Pay Offer And Employee Travel Concerns Add To Crown Jewel Preparations

The production changes come after WWE reportedly offered certain crew members an additional $3,000 to travel to Riyadh. WrestleVotes, through Fightful Select, reported that the money was being offered as hazard pay. Several employees still opted out of travelling, extra compensation or not.

TKO President and COO Mark Shapiro has also spoken about the safety concerns around the company's Saudi Arabia commitments. On the quarterly earnings call, he described the risk of cancellation as “extremely minimal” and said they were “all systems go”for the upcoming events in the region.

WWE hasn't publicly confirmed the specific production arrangements. Crown Jewel is still scheduled for November 7 in Riyadh, and the remote broadcast setup is expected to handle a substantial portion of the event.

The announced card has Roman Reigns vs. Sami Zayn for the men's Crown Jewel Championship and Liv Morgan vs. Chelsea Green for the women's title. Cody Rhodes will also face Randy Orton in a Last Man Standing match, which means a wrestler wins when their opponent can't get back up before a ten count. I9

Then Bron Breakker and Austin Theory defend the World Tag Team Championships against Penta and Je'Von Evans. The event is set to air at noon ET on ESPN Unlimited in United States and Netflix internationally.