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WWE Saudi Arabia Travel Delays; Updates

Added 2019-11-01 05:27:30 +0000 UTC

There's an odd travel situation happening right now in Saudi Arabia, as WWE's charter flight has been delayed for several hours.

Fightful learned early Friday morning that a charter plane containing the majority of the WWE roster and staff had never taken off. Those who were supposed to be aboard were told of "delays," and some have become suspicious of the delay.

Many of the people that are set to fly out have been awake all through the day and night already, with several scheduled to compete on WWE Smackdown Friday. All of those we spoke to still in Saudi Arabia said they don't expect to make it back to the States in time for Smackdown.

Vince McMahon, Brock Lesnar and Hulk Hogan are all already flying back, as they had their own flights. One talent said that Vince was out of there hours ago, while talent was still on the ground. Until about 2 AM EST, a lot of the staff and talent were still on the plane hanging out, and being fed. Some went to a hotel at that point.

Some that we've talked to on the flight are clearly annoyed and perturbed by the situation, while others aren't so concerned, even saying "they'll figure it out, because they always do." So there's hardly a unanimous temperature on the delays.

For those wondering, Smackdown already has promoted Nikki Cross, Carmella and Dana Brooke vs. Bayley, Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville. Daniel Bryan, The Miz and Charlotte Flair are also advertised for the show and not in Saudi Arabia. Sasha Banks and Alexa Bliss haven't been wrestling of late. Drew Gulak, Sami Zayn, Tamina, Carmella are also on the roster and weren't on Crown Jewel.

We'll keep you updated as the situation develops