There's been a lot of speculation about what happened when WWE's Superstars ended up being trapped in Saudi Arabia for 24 hours after Crown Jewel, leading to them missing SmackDown. One interesting theory has argued that it had something to do with money, which is why Vince McMahon cut off the television feed for the show. In retaliation, the Crown Prince grounded the WWE flight.
Recently, Heath Slater was among the Superstars released by WWE due to COVID-19, and was asked during an interview with the Wrestling Inc Daily podcast whether he has any idea of what happened in the country.
"I heard there were mechanical reasons and it was this and it was that," he starts. "When I was on the plane, I fell asleep for five hours and when I woke up, I looked over at Hawkins. I’m like, ‘Where are we at’ and he says we haven’t even left yet."
Wondering what was going, Slate explained that they had to get off the plane and went back to a hotel in the hope they would be able to take off shortly thereafter. Needless to say, that sounds a little less dramatic than what we've heard about WWE's Superstars being stuck on the plane itself for over a day.
Slater did, however, debunk claims of them being held in the country against their will or under threat. "You don’t really think about being uncomfortable because there’s nothing uncomfortable around you. You’re just in the hotel again. Everyone was really nice and friendly, but you don’t really know. That makes it even scarier sometimes [laughs]."
Despite these issues, WWE has extended its partnership with Saudi Arabia, but COVID-19 has likely put those plans on hold for the time being.