-According to a report on PWTorch, many mentions of Crown Jewel during SmackDown’s 1000th episode from Washington DC had a negative response. Reports were corroborated by a number of fans in attendance as well.
Indications are that almost any time the Crown Jewel graphic was shown to the audience, you could hear the boos. Fans were vocal about not wanting WWE to make another trip to Saudi Arabia in November. At the end of the televised show, when The Undertaker mentioned the event, you could also hear boos.
While fan reaction to the event is not surprising at this point, it is surprising that fans even felt strongly enough about it that they booed a Superstar such as The Undertaker. While they were booing what ‘Taker said, as opposed to himself, it’s still a big deal. With the status of the event seemingly up in the air, it is interesting to watch what (if any) response WWE has for the eroding public opinion of the event.
-In other news related to Crown Jewel, Fox Business commentator and former WWE Superstar JBL has become the latest personality to sound off on the controversial event.
JBL, talking on a segment for Fox, stated that the event will happen as planned. JBL was confident on his position, and while he worked for the company for a long time, it is unclear if he has inside information from Stamford, or if this is merely his educated opinion.
Presuming it is simply his opinion, he did present a strong case for why it makes sense for WWE to proceed with the show as planned. While the easy move would be for WWE to cancel the show, the better long term play may be to hold the show and use these events as a vehicle for change within Saudi Arabia.
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