Did WWE issue an announcement saying that a World Wrestling Entertainment event scheduled for June 28, 2025, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, "will proceed as planned"? No, that's not true: What looked like a statement from the organization was first published on meme and satire pages. As of this writing, WWE hadn't cancelled the event, but also hadn't confirmed that its schedule would remain unchanged.
The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published on X on June 23, 2025. It opened:
BREAKING: #WWE statement on Night of Champions PLE in Saudi Arabia:
'The safety and security of our WWE Superstars, staff, and fans is always our top priority. We are aware of the current situation in the Middle East, including the recent attacks by Iranian forces on U.S. bases in Qatar. We remain in constant communication with U.S. and Saudi officials, as well as our own security and risk assessment teams, to monitor developments and ensure all necessary precautions are in place.
With that being said, WWE has always stood for resilience, strength, and unity. We will not allow the actions of foreign adversaries to dictate or disrupt the spirit of our global fanbase. Therefore, the Night of Champions Premium Live Event scheduled for June 28 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia will proceed as planned.
WWE is proud to bring this incredible event to our fans in Riyadh and around the world. We look forward to delivering an unforgettable night of sports entertainment while honoring the values of patriotism and perseverance that our company and our Superstars represent.'
-- Paul 'Triple H' Levesque Chief Content Officer, WWE
This is what the post looked like on X at the time of writing:
(Source: X screenshot by Lead Stories)
The statement in question, however, originated from a group on Facebook (archived here) named:
Wrestling Memes, Shitposts and Trolls.
Shortly after that, the supposed announcement was reposted by an account on X whose self-description (archived here) reads:
#1 Wrestling Altered News Site! PARODY ACCOUNT!
Google searches for the keywords seen here (archived here) and here (archived here) didn't confirm that Levesque (archived here) actually issued such a statement, as of this writing.
The claim reviewed in this fact check started to circulate amid airspace cancelations in the Middle East (archived here), which followed the June 2025 escalation between Israel and Iran, the U.S. strike on Iran's nuclear facilities (archived here) and subsequent Iranian attacks on U.S. bases in the region.
As of the morning hours of June 24, 2025, the WWE website (archived here) still showed that the Night of Champions was scheduled to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on June 28, 2028, as planned before.
Lead Stories contacted WWE for additional comments but did not receive an immediate response. We will update this fact check, as relevant, when they respond.
Read more
Other Lead Stories articles concerning sports can be found here.
Fact checks of the claim related to the June 2025 conflict between Israel and Iran are here.
