WWE has a ‘very strong’ and ‘healthy’ relationship with the Saudi government, even though Vince is gone

Now that Vince McMahon is completely gone from TKO, plenty of pro wrestling fans have wondered how that might impact WWE’s relationship with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Well, based on the following comments made by TKO President Mark Shapiro on yesterday’s investors call, it sounds like the WWE / Saudi relationship is doing just fine:

“Let’s remember, we have a strong and healthy relationship with the Kingdom, through WWE, and doing two annual events a year…those deals were primarily and highly tied to Vince McMahon. And there was a lot of speculation with Vince being gone, would that impact the relationship in a negative way? Would they be looking to get out of it? And I would say, probably, that Nick Khan in particular has developed and sustained, cultivated, nurtured a very very strong relationship in a handoff from Vince. And they have a lot of trust in each other. They have a lot of faith.

We’ve been delivering on those events. And potentially, we could look to do more events, but nothing is planned beyond those two events at this time. And we will continue to look at eventizing or festivalizing those WWE events more than we already do.”

There was a report yesterday about WWE’s business deal with the Saudi government potentially being enhanced to include a Royal Rumble or WrestleMania event. Shapiro keeps the door open for an expanded relationship with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, while asserting that WWE will keep delivering on the terms of the current arrangement.

Some fans pretend to live in a world where everything that’s bad about WWE went out the door with Vince McMahon’s exit from the company. But that’s clearly not the case when a TKO executive is using the above language to describe the strength of WWE’s disgusting business relationship with the government of Saudi Arabia.

This is the same government that uses its business relationships with popular global brands like WWE to distract everyone from its disturbing record of human rights abuses, oppression against LGBTQ people, and so forth. But hey, WWE keeps bringing in $50+ million per Saudi event they run each year, and that’s what matters the most to the people that are in charge of the company, whether those people are named Vince McMahon or not.