WWE.com added Hogan to the list of superstars set to appear at the event, but was removed once it was noticed by multiple websites.
Pro Wrestling Sheet and WrestlingINC got confirmation from WWE that Hulk Hogan will be at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia on Friday as the host of the event.
This will be Hulk’s first appearance on WWE TV since the Summer of 2015.
Tonight’s WWE 205 Live was taped last night at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.
* # 1 Contender’s Match: Tony Nese vs. Mustafa Ali
* The Brian Kendrick vs. Jack Gallagher
SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon announced on last night’s show that the SmackDown Superstar who loses to a RAW Superstar in the finals of the WWE World Cup tournament will lose his job and be fired from the blue brand.
This stipulation could be a way for Hardy, Orton, Miz or Mysterio to come to the red brand.
The first-round matches for the RAW brand will be WWE Intercontinental Champion & RAW Tag Team Champion Seth Rollins vs. Bobby Lashley and WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle vs. Dolph Ziggler. The SmackDown brand will open with Jeff Hardy vs. The Miz and Rey Mysterio vs. Randy Orton.
The winner of the one-night World Cup tournament at Friday’s WWE Crown Jewel event from Saudi Arabia will take home the World Cup trophy.
Tye Dillinger vs. WWE United States Champion Shinsuke Nakamura was nixed from last night’s SmackDown Live.
Mike Rome announced that Dillinger suffered a hand injury at Monday’s live event in Macon, Georgia, and will need to undergo surgery. Tye lost to Shelton Benjamin at the show in Macon.
Last night’s SmackDown featured Nakamura vs. R-Truth in a non-title match.
Without any announcement from WWE, Hulk Hogan was quietly added to list of talent scheduled to appear at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia on Friday.
It’s unclear when Hulk was added to the Crown Jewel page on WWE.com, but if he makes an appearance at the event it will be his first time back on WWE TV since the summer of 2015.
Hulk told the Orlando Sentinel last week he was looking forward to going to Saudi Arabia with WWE … but didn’t specify at Crown Jewel. “We’re moving forward at a rapid pace,” Hogan told them. “It’s exciting to have this opportunity again after all these years where I was there and gone.”
In case you missed it, Daniel Bryan and John Cena refused to work the event and were both written out of their scheduled Crown Jewel matches this week on RAW and SmackDown Live
Renee Young will surprisingly be on the announce team in Riyadh. No word yet, however, on what sort of rules she’ll have to follow due to the country’s numerous regulations for women.
Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet
Pro Wrestling Sheet reports that Renee Young has been given the green light to join the RAW announce team and is set to travel to Saudi Arabia for Friday’s event.
Sources tell Pro Wrestling Sheet that WWE began working to make this happen in September after the female announcer made history joining the Raw commentary desk.
It’s unclear if Renee will have certain guidelines or rules to follow because of the country’s numerous restrictions for women.
This comes after John Cena and Daniel Bryan refused to work the event due to the Saudi government’s involvement in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Cena has been replaced by Bobby Lashley in the upcoming World Cup tournament.
As you may recall, women were not allowed to perform at Greatest Royal Rumble and the Saudi General Sports Authority even had to release a public apology after the event due to Bayley, Sasha Banks and Carmella being shown on the big screen wearing their ring gear.
Hall of Famer Lita additionally called WWE’s relationship with the Saudi Arabian government a direct conflict of interest at the time due to the company’s public push for female empowerment.
Don’t miss back-to-back episodes of WWE NXT UK, streaming today at 4 ET and 5 ET on the award-winning WWE Network.
4 ET episode:
* Noam Dar vs. Zack Gibson
* Flash Morgan Webster vs. Mark Coffey
5 ET episode:
* Jordan Devlin vs. Tucker
* Mark Andrews vs. Wolfgang
Just like John Cena on Raw this week, Daniel Bryan was written out of his match at Crown Jewel during tonight’s episode of SmackDown Live.
Following an in-ring segment at the top of the show between Daniel and AJ Styles that ended with the two wrestlers wanting to fight, Shane McMahon came out to announce the title bout would occur early in the opening match — instead of at Crown Jewel.
Styles ultimately retained, but Samoa Joe attacked both competitors when the match was over. Later in the evening, AJ told Paige he wants to wrestle Joe at Crown Jewel and the match became official.
As we previously reported, both John Cena and Bryan allegedly refused to work the upcoming event in Saudi Arabia due to controversy surrounding the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Cena was written out of the World Cup Tournament on Raw and replaced by Bobby Lashley.
Watch Paige make the new match announcement in the video below.
Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet
Tonight’s WWE SmackDown Live will take place from the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia with the final hype for Crown Jewel and fallout from Evolution.
* Who will compete in a Trick or Street Fight? One member of The New Day vs. one member of The Bar with Big Show
* AJ Styles will confront Daniel Bryan
* Who will gain momentum ahead of the WWE World Cup?
* How will Becky Lynch prepare for Ronda Rousey?
