Wrestling stars ‘held hostage’ in Saudi airport

WWE wrestlers were “held hostage” in Saudi Arabia and stopped from boarding flights back to the US in a row over payment, according to reports.

Nearly 200 stars of the wrestling brand Smackdown and their entourages were ordered to wait on the tarmac for six hours at King Khalid International Airport, in the capital city of Riyadh, by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The prince was allegedly furious that WWE cancelled the live feed of their show Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia. The wrestling company said this was because it is owed up to $500 million (£390 million) for two shows that were staged in the kingdom last year.

The delay meant the wrestlers missed a live event in Buffalo, New York, the following day – with the noshow being blamed on “mechanical issues” that stopped their 747 plane leaving Riyadh.

Dave Meltzer, a US sports journalist, tweeted last Friday: “Some notes since nobody can say anything. WWE had a problem in Saudi Arabia.

“Talent was not allowed to leave on their flight and most are still there. 20 people, 12 of which were talent, have left but the rest are still there.”

Some – including Vince Mcmahon, WWE’S chief executive, and Tyson Fury, the British boxer who was involved in a WWE bout – managed to leave on their own private jets.

Mr Meltzer told the radio station Wrestling Observer that tensions grew when military police were sent to the airport.

He added: “The talent felt they were hostages … nobody was harmed or anything like that. It’s a really tense story.”

Hugo Savinovich, a former WWE announcer, posted a video on Facebook saying the reason for the flight delay was Saudi retaliation for the live feed being pulled.

WWE on Friday confirmed that wrestlers including Karl Anderson and Brian Myers sat on the tarmac for six hours – but blamed the late take-off on “mechanical issues”.

Atlas Air, the plane’s owner, issued a similar statement at the time, adding that “the aircraft is being repaired and will be inspected and certified before returning to service.”

Fighters that had been left waiting on the runway vowed never to go back.

Anderson joked on Twitter: “You couldn’t pay me enough to go back … Well, that’s not true, I need a second pool, so …”

WWE launched in Saudi Arabia in 2014, with two to four shows a year in the desert kingdom.

A WWE spokesman declined to comment when asked about claims that the delay was linked to retaliation from Crown Prince Mohammed.