Crown Jewel / Saudi Arabia
 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Crown Jewel removed from <a href="https://t.co/07CGuuQYOG">https://t.co/07CGuuQYOG</a> calendar <a href="https://t.co/RpMP3SkaoZ">https://t.co/RpMP3SkaoZ</a> <a href="https://t.co/pTj7WNX3eW">pic.twitter.com/pTj7WNX3eW</a></p>&mdash; Wrestling Observer (@WONF4W) <a href="https://twitter.com/WONF4W/status/1051506444283965440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 14, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

If it means they end up cancelling the show and we don't have to watch DX v. Brothers of Destruction, I'd count that as a win.

Meltzer and David Bixenspan are both hearing from WWE sources that the event is still scheduled and that this is just an "error." Oh god. The sadist in me hopes they go ahead with this show.

Vince is such a stubborn prick. This might be one of his biggest public humiliations all because he won't admit this is dumb. Liberals and progressives hate the company for its propaganda, and conservatives are going to hate them because it is unpatriotic. He could seriously piss on everybody with this move.

Calm down, Noid. Your erection is showing.

Shut up, Dave.

Dave's not here, man.

Kids under 13 do not give two fucks about politics, only if "The Big Dog" gets to conquer Lesnar & Strowman inside a steel cadge....

1 thing I sorta assumed in regards to Akexa Bliss is that she must still be somewhat injured which is why they made it a tag match

You are correct, they don't care.

Also, WWE's largest viewing demographic is over the age of 50.

Gertner gets a question answered this week on Jim Cornette's Drive-Thru.

Joey Ryan bro.

I think only Trump can get them to cancel. He probably got them the deal in the first place so yeah no. It's gonna happen.

No but he is giving people who think wrestling is stupid bullets for their arguments.

It would be nice if they didn't.

They seem to play that card w/ MMA now too.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Multiple members of the WWE roster have told SI that they’re uncomfortable with performing in Saudi Arabia—and they should be (by <a href="https://twitter.com/JustinBarrasso?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JustinBarrasso</a>) <a href="https://t.co/RiT6tgwXy0">https://t.co/RiT6tgwXy0</a></p>&mdash; Sports Illustrated (@SInow) <a href="https://twitter.com/SInow/status/1051894244644937729?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 15, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

UFC parent company pulls out of deal w/ Saudi Arabia


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">For those unaware, Saudi Arabia was in the process of buying a small minority stake in Endeavor, which happens to be the parent company of the UFC. While ostensibly for less $ for the life of the deal, this is arguably a bigger step than WWE would be taking it they pulled out. <a href="https://t.co/VqgE5EF54y">https://t.co/VqgE5EF54y</a></p>&mdash; David Bixenspan (@davidbix) <a href="https://twitter.com/davidbix/status/1051908494952226818?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 15, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

I also think there's zero percent chance WWE will pull out of the deal.

Wrestling IS stupid.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Steadfast &amp; Glorious ����<br>Demise is the outcome of these weak endeavors <a href="https://t.co/WBb9yusaE6">pic.twitter.com/WBb9yusaE6</a></p>&mdash; Foreign Ministry ���� (@KSAmofaEN) <a href="https://twitter.com/KSAmofaEN/status/1051505106628284417?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 14, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Considering the recent feud between Saudi Arabia and Canada, could see the Saudis be crazy enough to request WWE's Canadian wrestlers be banned from the event.

Plus you have your Corey Graves and Seth Rollins types that know they will get roasted on social media if they mention anything positive about the event on social media or tv. Same for if they try to act being disgusted since they got ridiculed for their fake outrage last time (Graves with Greatest Rumble, Rollins for Boobygate).

At its core it’s only as stupid as movies, TV or any other form of entertainment.

Now the way it’s currently presented...

If WWE had any slim hope of the Saudi embassy scandal dying down before Crown Jewel occurs, that's pretty much impossible now. Same for the backlash being even greater if they still go ahead with the event.

According to CNN, Saudi government will release an official report soon admitting they killed the dissident journalist. Also going to confirm reports of them luring him into the embassy in order to abduct him from Turkey.

https://twitter.com/CNN/status/1051922561846657025
https://twitter.com/jaketapper/statu...12600391479298

So progressive.

but I mean it's a little gay. It's not a negative.

It’s about the connotation. Calling it “homoerotic” is doing a disservice to the art form.

lol but I mean it is homoerotic. Who cares?

I played rugby for 12 years. Homoerotic as fuck. It's not a slight against anyone or anything. You've gotta be v insecure as a fan and unrealistic with yourself if that bothers you in any way.

The joke is "low hanging fruit" I suppose, but really, c'mon... it's right there for the taking.

Disagree. Kids are not as stupid as people say. They know Roman Reigns is not cool. They know wrestling is not cool. And they do care about politics. They watch the news, either with their parents or without them, and they get a sense of the urgency our world is in.

There's also this point. Kids don't watch WWE because of the aforementioned cool factor. It's older fans who fell in love when they were younger and are holding out a candle for hope.

This is the smartest thing you've said in quite a while. Completely agree. It's not even that the guys are old, it's the emphasis the rudimentary "Here this is," heatless interjection of guys who just have matches because "Hey, hey..." There's no real continuous thread or evolution in the issues.

I loved this week's episode. I can't wait for the Meltzer episode this Thursday.

Um, well, yeah, he kind of is. He reduces it to a parody of itself, which makes fun of the process of making fun more than it actually has a serious target to critique.

Yeah, I hate the phrase "wrestling is stupid." I often think that myself in the sense that it's really not life or death and in the trivial sense that everything is stupid, but in the context of it being this ridiculous pantomime...nah. It can be the art of crowd manipulation through conflict that warrants serious intellectual appreciation and emotional involvement. When it works, wrestling is smarter than its audience and critics.

How often have you seen some bullshit reported by the AP that makes them look like absolute marks? "Oh, they use fake blood," or Jerry Lawler and Jim Carrey work them on the set of the Kaufman movie. They thought Donald Trump actually bought the company at one point.

People always give me shit for saying this, but if I were in the talents' position, I absolutely would not go. I don't think I would work for WWE, to be honest, but damn if you can't have a bit of pride.

I've been very fortunate in my professional life. I can admit that. I've never been starving on the streets, and whenever I've had the chance to weigh up my values over a job, I've always been able to choose my values. I've left places that I can't agree with philosophically, because I knew I could get employment elsewhere. Maybe that's privilege?

But I would absolutely not go on this tour. I wouldn't compromise my own integrity by participating in a propaganda campaign like that. And what are they going to do? Fire me? Okay. I'll go work for New Japan or ROH or something. I'm sure I'd be an internet darling after doing it. But the thing is they're not going to fire anyone, because the PR for that would be disastrous. That's why New Day and Titus O'Neil can speak out about Hogan. As if Vince is going to fire black talent for saying they are uncomfortable working around a racist in 2018 with their image concerns, lol.

Worst case scenario about not going: You get more over.

And WWE begin to trail. For a guy who likes to present himself as a man of action, Vince is looking mighty subservient right now.

Ugh, I'm on the fence about this one. Ronda herself is really good. She's got a great game face when she isn't smiling, and it's nice to see someone that can actually punch. She's intense in all the right ways, and she can sell her ass off. They've done the best job they can do with her. But has she really made a difference?

There's the problem of the division around her. You've only got a few women who can be believable in opposition, and the rest of the time she has to spend working with Divas. This has always been a problem with the dynamics of the division. She's heading into a match against Nikki fucking Bella at their PPV. Is she going to be selling for her? That's not going to go over well. They'll be in front of a New York crowd, all of whom have bought tickets probably intending to be "polite" to women's wrestling, but if they peak early, the show is underwhelming, the work is soft, the show is booked poorly, Nikki Bella is given too much star treatment, or they feel that this is golden goosed, they could potentially shit ALL over it. What's that going to do to their psyches?

The crowd is the most interesting element to this upcoming show. But yeah, I'm worried about whether or not Ronda is going to be the star for them they really want her to be.

Well, it is quite homoerotic. They haven't caught on to how nerdy it is now. But when comparing it to MMA, it is a bunch of men firing up their testosterone, at least in theory, to explode in a burst of toxic masculinity. It's pretty gay, haha.

It's even weirder when you consider the socialist compount the industry has openly become. Everyone co-operates in such a weird and performative way. It's less suppressed in its homoeroticism, and now embraces almost an actively camp aura.

You're stretching a bit, TDO. Considering how informed Oliver's writing staff is, I expect a bit more.

I don't understand the reasoning behind wanting to cancel the WWE Crown Jewel event. I'm not big on politics but I understand that the most progressive Saudi Arabia has been is when WWE is in town. I don't see why a democracy would look down upon a company from their country trying to work with a country like Saudi Arabia.

Because they cut up journalists and cut off women's heads. They're not progressive when WWE is in town. Wtf? They're a country owned by a dictating family that pay WWE to come in and say how great they are basically as a vanity project so they can enter crooked deals with more Americans.

It's not even politics, really. It's common decency. If a murderer pays you $5,000 to say he's great on television, would you do it? If so, get some personal pride.

A democracy looks down on it because Saudi Arabia isn't a democracy. Women get locked up for expressing themselves and daring to drive. They're a totalitarian regime. Accepting money from them to pretend that they aren't is the cheapest kind of whoring you can do. In terms of ethics.

Doesn't matter if Saudi Arabia is a democracy or not. The whole point of democracy is to hear everyone's ideas. The people of Saudi Arabia have no control over what their government does so I don't see a reason to punish these people by pulling the show. And yes what I seen from WWE's first event in Saudi Arabia they showed how the country was progressing to let women have more rights.

We kill our own in the US every day so I don't see this Saudi Arabia problem killing a journalist a big deal. Shit happens every day over here. As far as the women go that's their culture and its getting better. I couldn't give a shit about it. If the WWE is going to put on a big show for these people and treat it as a big deal than as a wrestling fan I want to see it.

Because its all smoke & mirrors and BS marketing considering WWE is being paid to shill propaganda-like videos boasting about it. The general consensus is WWE pretty much does whatever the Saudis want to please them and have no real say in the deal.

In regards to politics, its a huge deal because the Saudis violated a big unwritten rule and international laws regarding the status of embassies. Need to check but don't think even some of the more well known evil regimes in history did something like this before.

Dear Simple Fan, they're using WWE's "global reach" for propaganda. I understand that you're a fan and would love to see the event. Knock yourself out. Please don't attempt to justify it by comparing the United States to Saudi Arabia. That's just wrong (on so many levels). We are lightyears ahead of them in almost all aspects of society and rights. The working class is treated as slaves FFS.

It's still a great deal for WWE and I don't see this as a reason to pass that up. Yeah it's all propaganda but if you're not used to that with today's media than you are doing pretty well. I could care less what goes on in Saudi Arabia unless it's a WWE event.