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After what can be best described as a tumultuous week for WWE, the dust has finally settled regarding the entire Saudi Arabia controversy.
As you may have imagined, many reports have surfaced on the widely-followed story. These included speculation that WWE's statement about the flight being delayed due to mechanical problems was a cover-up to divert attention from the real issue, which was a financial dispute between Saudi Arabian officials and WWE.
However, as revealed by Tom Colohue on the latest edition of Sportskeeda's Dropkick DiSKussions, there is no factual evidence to back the claims of WWE actually having problems with the Saudi authorities.
Colohue stated that, from a factual standpoint, the talents were stranded in Riyadh due solely to mechanical issues with the flight. The talents were sent to the hotel as there were problems with WWE's chartered plane and the flight company Atlas Air.
They spent some time in the hotel before arrangements were made to fly them out of the country. Colohue added that he was provided with no concrete facts to support the serious claims that were circulating in the media about the Saudi Arabia story,
Here's what Tom had to say:
"I reached out to a lot of people and for a long time got nothing because people were in transit, people were on a plane without WiFi, Vince McMahon, for example, was flying and everyone with him was already flying. The access wasn’t there, so I’m not sure how connected a lot of my colleagues are because they are clearly a lot more well-connected than me because they could reach people who were constantly in transit.
I got a message quite late on and this was backed up by a few further messages, saying that there had been problems with the flight. No details were given, one person told me there was a fueling issue, beyond that all I was told was there were travel problems, problem with the flight and the flight company, and people were back at the hotel.
I reported this around and half an hour later the WWE put out a report saying that there were mechanical issues, people were back at the hotel. Okay, there we go, that’s the issue. As far as I could tell, that’s the whole story. A lot has come out since, but a lot that’s come out since doesn’t have factual backing."
Colohue highlighted the fact that many people were trying to portray WWE in a bad light and in an attempt to do so, went to great lengths to unearth murky yet flawed speculation about the whole ordeal.
"A lot of people were coming out with these little crusades and missions to find out more, find out more and find out more, fair enough, journalists should be on missions to find out more. However, you only present the facts. The role of a journalist is not to muddy the water, it’s not to feed assumption, the role of a journalist is the clear cut fact so that people know what they are supporting. That did not happen.
So they looked at the account and saw a $60 Million payout or payment that came in and they decided this is where it was, this is what it was, this is this, this is that, ’Ohh, the Saudi Arabian government did this.’ This amount of reports that came out that had no factual backing whatsoever. Now, I have been chasing this, I have not sat idle, I have tried to find fact behind what the other people have been saying and I can’t find fact and the more time goes on, the more it seems that the fact is what I’d already reported.
I can’t find any fact and nobody has presented me with any either. The only fact to my knowledge and the only fact behind anything that has been reported, the WWE chartered flight had mechanical problems in Saudi Arabia and did not get back in time."
Colohue also explained how Vince McMahon wouldn't have gone to Saudi Arabia in the first place, if the company would have been owed money for its previous shows. He also added that the WWE boss wouldn't have had the power to delay or cut the live stream of the show in Saudi Arabia.
The fact of the matter is that WWE's official reason is the truth based on the facts that have been presented. WWE even announced a renewed partnership with Saudi Arabia in the aftermath of the fiasco, and if the announcement wasn't enough, AJ Styles' first-hand account of the incidents that happened in Saudi acted as further proof of the being blown out of proportion.
Don't forget to check out the latest edition of Sportskeeda's Dropkick DiSKussions with Korey Gunz and Tom Colohue. The most recent edition has comprehensive analysis and interesting backstage news on the NXT Invasion angle, the Seth Rollins situation, the Survivor Series build, Saudi Arabia, and a lot more. You can watch it below:
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