Report: Gunther Turned Down Travelling To Saudi Arabia For WWE Crown Jewel 2026

Gunther vs. Finn Balor was originally planned for WWE Crown Jewel 2026 but the match was ultimately scrapped after Gunther decided against travelling to Saudi Arabia.

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer has reported this was the reason behind Gunther vs. Finn Balor not taking place at Crown Jewel on Saturday, November 7. The situation went back and forth before Gunther eventually decided he would not be going to the Middle East. Finn Balor also reportedly wasn't thrilled about the prospect of travelling to Saudi Arabia for Crown Jewel but the belief is he would have gone to KSA had Gunther travelled to Riyadh.

"The way I heard it is they started building it up because they thought he was going to go. It went back and forth. Eventually he said he was not going to go. Balor apparently was not all that excited about going either but the company basically was of the impression that if Gunther would have went he was going to go too. It didn’t come to that. Gunther didn’t go. Match was off," Meltzer said on Wrestling Observer Radio.

Gunther and Finn Balor have been connected on WWE TV since August of 2026 but their programme ramped up in recent weeks, which included Finn Balor bringing back his Demon persona for the October 30 edition of Friday Night SmackDown. Promotional materials for Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia did include Balor and Gunther but they were absent from the event.

A number of wrestlers reportedly expressed their opposition to travelling to Saudi Arabia for Crown Jewel due to conflict in the region, with the Houthis in Yemen regularly carrying out missile attacks against Saudi Arabia since the end of an informal ceasefire in the summer of 2026, with attacks from the Houthis taking place on an almost daily basis since the beginning of October. This included on Sunday, November 8, one day after WWE Crown Jewel was held in Riyadh, which saw Aramco Tower be damaged.

WWE utilised a reduced production crew for Crown Jewel, which included much of the show bring produced from WWE HQ in Stamford, Connecticut, including commentary, and the show aired on an around 10-minute delay. Several WWE crew members reportedly turned down $3,000 in hazard pay to travel to Saudi Arabia.

Gunther was defeated by Trick Williams in a dark match following last night's WWE Raw and there has already been speculation that WWE were punishing Gunther for opting not to travel to Saudi Arabia. The two-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion has regularly lost in untelevised matches in 2026, however, with Cagematch noting that Gunther has a 10-22 record in matches that haven't aired this year.