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Cena Sells Out for Saudi Billions? Five Years After Taking a Hard Stand, John Cena Folds to Vince McMahon’s Demands for Saudi Arabia

Published 09/17/2023, 7:30 AM EDT

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John Cena is undoubtedly the biggest wrestler right now in the WWE. Fans from all over the world just can’t wait to catch a glimpse of him. Recently fans in India were privileged to see Cena in the ring at WWE Superstar Spectacle. And now fans in Saudi Arabia will also get a chance of a lifetime to see Cena at WWE Crown Jewel which is slated to happen on 4th November.

This comes as a shock to everyone as exactly five years ago, Cena flatly refused to appear at the same event.

John Cena slated to appear at Crown Jewel

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The last time the WWE was in Saudi Arabia was in May for Night Of Champions and fans were definitely not disappointed. They got to see superstars like Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Gunther, Becky Lynch, and Bianca Belair to name a few. But this time around they will get to experience one of the greatest superstars to ever be a part of the WWE, John Cena.

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The Crown Jewel is part of a 10-year partnership between the WWE and Saudi Arabia. The first Crown Jewel took place in 2018 and was a big hit among the fans. The one in November will be the 5th edition of the PLE and will be taking place in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia.

This one is going to be the most special one yet as Cena is being heavily advertised for the event. Riyadh Season is Saudi Arabia’s largest winter entertainment event which includes car shows, award ceremonies, and various sports events, the biggest one being WWE’s Crown Jewel. In a promotional video posted on X (formerly Twitter), the official account for Riyadh Season spoke about the event in detail and emphasized the presence of John Cena, saying, “This year will be different with WWE Champions and the season will host the biggest wrestling festival in the world, ‘Crown Jewel’ with the participation of John Cena”.

So this definitely confirms the presence of Cena for the November 4th event despite the fact that he had just agreed with the WWE to appear on SmackDown till 27th October. This is even more intriguing, considering Cena’s history with the PLE.

John Cena & Daniel Bryan refused to work at the inaugural Crown Jewel in 2018

The first WWE Crown Jewel took place in 2018 at the KSU Stadium in front of an at-capacity crowd of 25,000. The main event for that show was Shawn Michaels and Triple H taking on the Brothers of Destruction, Kane, and The Undertaker.

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So this was already a star-studded event but it would have been even more spectacular had Cena been part of it. But Cena and Daniel Bryan backed out last minute due to the death of U.S. journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Saudi Arabia. Cena was supposed to be part of an eight-man single-elimination tournament called the WWE World Cup. But he was later replaced by Bobby Lashley.

We still have another month to go for the event, so we will just have to wait and watch to see if Cena doesn’t cancel his plans this time around as well.

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But what are your views on John Cena being part of the WWE Crown Jewel taking place on 4th November?

Watch this story: 50 Years of The Rock: Dwayne Johnson’s Greatest Achievements in WWE

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Written by:

Christopher Lazarus

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Christopher Lazarus is a WWE writer at Essentially Sports with over 12 years of experience in radio, television and music streaming. After completing his Bachelors in Chemistry, he moved on to media for his love for the creative aspect. He has been an avid fan of WWF/WWE since the dawn of cable TV in India when main events like 'King Of The Ring' and 'Royal Rumble' were aired on Sundays through VHS cassettes.
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Edited by:

Donna Eva