WWE’s Saudi Arabia Show To Go On Despite Reputation Risk

The choice, the company said, was “similar to other U.S.-based companies who plan to continue operations” in Saudi Arabia.

Many Western executives canceled appearances at a three-day conference this week called the Future Investment Initiative, nicknamed “Davos in the Desert.” Many oil-industry executives, however, attended. Saudi officials said agreements totaling more than $55 billion were struck in the energy, transportation and petrochemicals sectors.

“WWE has operated in the Middle East for nearly 20 years and has developed a sizable and dedicated fan base,” the company said in the statement, adding that its 2018 earnings guidance is predicated on staging the event in Riyadh as scheduled. “Considering the heinous crime committed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, the company faced a very difficult decision.”

A WWE spokesman declined to comment on the decision beyond the earnings statement.

The WWE’s decision to move forward with the event comes as the Saudi government again shifted its explanation for the killing of Mr. Khashoggi, a government critic who wrote a column for the Washington Post.

Saudi Arabia on Thursday said Mr. Khashoggi’s killing was premeditated, after earlier saying his death at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul was unintentional and was at the hands of rogue operatives.

It also comes as questions emerged over how staging the event would affect the company’s reputation with its talent, fans and investors.

WWE’s revenue climbed 12% year-over-year for the nine months ended Sept. 30, the company said Thursday. The jump is due in part to a deal with the Saudi government, which analysts think is worth between $40 million and $45 million a year for 10 annual events there.

The company’s stock closed at $75.68 on Thursday, down 2.2%. Shares of the company’s stock reached a 52-week high of $96.73 on Sept. 28.

The company, which has spent years working on its reputation, took a hit over its equivocation about hosting the event in the weeks since Mr. Khashoggi’s death. Comedian John Oliver on his HBO television show “Last Week Tonight” spent part of a segment about Mr. Khashoggi mocking the WWE, noting the organization’s obsequious tone toward its Saudi hosts.

Pro Wrestling Sheet, a website focused on the wrestling industry, reported Thursday that top WWE draws Daniel Bryan and John Cena are refusing to appear at “Crown Jewel.”

A WWE spokesman declined to comment on the two stars, both of whom were scheduled to appear in Riyadh. “As always, we maintain an open line of communication with our performers and will address each situation accordingly,” he said.

Fan reception to the “Greatest Royal Rumble,” held in April in the Saudi city of Jeddah, was mixed after women weren’t allowed to compete and talent overtly thanked the Saudi government, according to Ryan Satin, editor in chief of Pro Wrestling Sheet. Putting on the “Crown Jewel” event could make the issue worse, he said.

“It could cause problems for WWE in the long term,” Mr. Satin said. “Most people were pretty uneasy with the situation [around the ‘Greatest Royal Rumble’], but now with the murder of Mr. Khashoggi, it causes more problems for the fans, people in the company and the wrestlers.”

WWE can’t operate in isolation from what’s going on in the countries in which it is expanding, said Davia Temin, president and CEO of Temin and Co., a corporate-reputation management firm.

“Expanding your brand globally also means confronting the political situations in those countries,” she said.

Write to Samuel Rubenfeld at [email protected]