Rumor: TKO Staff Reportedly Uneasy About Riyadh Events
Summary: Unconfirmed: Uncrowned reports, citing unnamed TKO employees, that staff are unhappy about working Riyadh events during missile attacks. TKO had not replied when it published on Nov. 10. Boxing is set there Nov. 14 and UFC on Dec. 5.
Single source, not confirmed. Heat 3/5 · Credible
This is a rumor and it is not confirmed. Uncrowned reported on Tuesday, Nov. 10, that unnamed employees of TKO, the parent company of WWE and UFC, are frustrated that the company keeps scheduling events in Riyadh during missile and drone attacks. TKO had not responded to Uncrowned when the story ran.
The quick version
- Not confirmed by TKO or WWE. The claims come from anonymous sources, who told Uncrowned they feared reprisal.
- Reliability: Single source, not confirmed. The original is Uncrowned's Ben Fowlkes. F4W Online summarized it.
- Heat 3 of 5. The report is about staff morale and planning, not about a decision to cancel anything.
What is being reported
Uncrowned's Ben Fowlkes, in a story carried by Yahoo Sports, says many TKO employees are increasingly frustrated at the company going ahead with Riyadh shows. It says a missile struck an Aramco-owned tower in Riyadh's financial district on Sunday, Nov. 8, hours after WWE Crown Jewel. It says all WWE wrestlers had left by then. That matches our earlier story.
The sources say workers feel their safety has been an afterthought. One told Uncrowned that no email had gone out about plans for the UFC Fight Night in Riyadh on Saturday, Dec. 5. A Zuffa Boxing show is set for Riyadh on Saturday, Nov. 14. Another source said some staff are weighing whether to refuse to fly, but doubted many would follow through. Uncrowned says it asked TKO for comment and had no reply.
What is on the record
Uncrowned says TKO CEO Ari Emanuel told Fox News on Oct. 23 the company was monitoring the situation daily and felt it was safe to proceed. It says TKO President Mark Shapiro told a company town hall the company would "not hesitate" to cancel or postpone events in the region in the face of "danger or a further escalation," and that "business is secondary" to employee safety. We have not heard either set of remarks ourselves.
Uncrowned also reports that the U.S. State Department ordered diplomats and non-emergency government personnel out of Saudi Arabia in October, and that other sports events there, including a tennis tournament and a golf tournament, were postponed. That is Uncrowned's reporting, and we did not check it elsewhere.
Our earlier stories cover a report of hazard pay for Crown Jewel crew and Shapiro's comments on WrestleMania 43.
What would confirm or kill it
A TKO statement, or a change to the Nov. 14 or Dec. 5 plans, would settle it. WWE has not announced any change to its Saudi Arabia schedule.
Reported by: Ben Fowlkes of Uncrowned, published by Yahoo Sports on Nov. 11, 2026 at 2:16 AM UTC (Nov. 10, 8:16 PM CT), and summarized by F4W Online (Shounak Chakrabarti) on Nov. 10. We read the Yahoo copy of the Uncrowned story, all but its last few lines, and the F4W summary. We did not contact TKO or WWE. Reliability: Single source, not confirmed.
Sources
- Uncrowned (Ben Fowlkes) on Yahoo Sports, "Inside TKO's Saudi Arabia crisis: UFC, WWE workers speak out as safety fears escalate", Nov. 11, 2026, 2:16 AM UTC (all employee quotes, the Emanuel and Shapiro remarks, the State Department and postponement claims). https://sports.yahoo.com/mma/article/inside-tkos-saudi-arabia-crisis-ufc-wwe-workers-speak-out-as-safety-fears-escalate-everyone-just-cant-believe-this-020000151.html
- F4W Online (Shounak Chakrabarti), "People in TKO reportedly unhappy over having to work in Saudi Arabia amid attacks", Nov. 10, 2026, time shown as 20:34, zone not given (a summary of the Uncrowned report). https://www.f4wonline.com/news/wwe/people-in-tko-reportedly-unhappy-over-having-to-work-in-saudi-arabia-amid-attacks/
- WrestlingNews.com, "Missiles Target Riyadh After Crown Jewel; Roster Had Already Left", Nov. 8, 2026. https://wrestlingnews.com/story/missiles-target-riyadh-after-crown-jewel-roster-had-already-left/
- WrestlingNews.com, "WWE Reportedly Offers Crew $3,000 Hazard Pay for Crown Jewel Trip", Nov. 6, 2026. https://wrestlingnews.com/story/rumor-wwe-offers-crew-hazard-pay-crown-jewel/
- WrestlingNews.com, "TKO's Shapiro Says WrestleMania 43 in Saudi Arabia Is Not at Risk", Nov. 2026. https://wrestlingnews.com/story/shapiro-says-wrestlemania-43-risk-minimal/
- Reliability: Single source, not confirmed.
- WrestlingNews.com staff reporting: read the Uncrowned story and the F4W summary and checked dates against our earlier stories. We did not contact TKO or WWE.
How we credit sources: Editorial standards.