Report: Why John Cena Chose Not To Attend Crown Jewel, WWE’s Thinking On Hulk Hogan’s Return

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that John Cena’s primary purpose for missing today’s Saudi Arabian Crown Jewel show was likely due to his budding Hollywood career,

“The belief is that Cena was advised with his transition from wrestling to Hollywood that it would be looked at negatively in that world if he did a show in Saudi Arabia right now. For his career, pulling out was probably the smart move. He never said anything public as he’ll never do anything to damage the WWE and create a bigger controversy. But evidently, whether it was moral grounds or his growing career outside of wrestling, he made his decision. He’s also a big enough star that he’s bullet proof if and when he wants to come back that there won’t be any reprisals for making this call.”

The Observer reports the following regarding WWE’s decision to bring Hulk Hogan back for the Crown Jewel,

“Hogan had been in talks regarding doing the show for some time. It’s probably not in his best interest to have returned on a show that airs on a Friday afternoon in North America that likely a lot of people are skipping, and before an audience that may pop for him, since he’s Hulk Hogan, but it won’t be nearly as special as if it had been in the U.S. on a bigger show. Hogan will be the host of the show. In its own weird way, the Hogan return gets him back at a time when his return will end up having less controversy than ever before, which also has to do with it being announced two days ahead of time. And for some fans, the idea that WWE gave them a women’s show, the return of Hogan, and brought Shawn Michaels out of retirement will be seen as more important in the bubble world than whatever negative feelings there would be on the show. Of course, Hogan is controversial because it’s hard to look the other way at racist comments, especially when his attempt to apologize to the locker room went the way it did. But Hogan was always coming back, it was just a matter of time before they felt the backlash would be minimal. And if anything, for those who would be upset, Hogan saying some racist words 13 years ago hardly comes across as a major issue as compared to dismembering someone in an embassy and thinking it could be covered up. But evidently the company wanted to low-key his return, like Saudi Arabia. A commercial had been put together before Raw for Crown Jewel that featured Hogan in it and his return announced. Those in production were expecting it to be announced on Raw. The decision was instead made to quietly list his name on the web site, without even a story. Then, according to WWE, due to a snafu, he was taken off that listing, but the company confirmed on 10/31 that he was scheduled to host the show.”

Hogan was named as the Crown Jewel’s official host and opened today’s Crown Jewel pay-per-view to an ovation from the Saudi Arabian crowd. Stay with WrestleZone for complete live coverage. Readers can subscribe to the Wrestling Observer HERE.

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