Did CM Punk and Kevin Owens Refuse to Travel to Saudi Arabia for Crown Jewel?

CM Punk and Kevin Owens are just hours away from competing in a No Holds Barred Match, which is being filmed in Brooklyn after Monday Night Raw, and rumors have been swirling as to why that match will air on this week's SmackDown instead of taking place live at Crown Jewel on Saturday.

This Saturday's Premium Live Event in Saudi Arabia has been under the microscope for weeks due to the ongoing military conflicts and travel advisories in the Middle East. Just this past week, it was announced that the show would be changing venues.

Executives at WWE's parent company, TKO, have said that they are continuously monitoring the situation and have contingency plans in place should a last-minute relocation be in order.

As of this writing, many of the company's top stars are still scheduled to travel to Riyadh for Crown Jewel, including World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns, WWE Champion Sami Zayn, Women's World Champion Liv Morgan, WWE Women's Champion Chelsea Green, Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton, Penta and Bron Breakker.

As for Punk and Owens, there have been stories circulating the rumor mill over the past week that both stars refused to travel to Saudi Arabia, but The Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer is now reporting that those stories are false.

CM Punk and Kevin Owens were never scheduled for Crown Jewel

On a recent episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer said that not only did Punk and Owens not refuse a Crown Jewel booking, but no one on the roster did. It just turns out that Punk versus Owens was never intended to be on the show.

“I got the original card, Meltzer said. "The only change is that the tag team title match was gonna be a six-man with Oba, Penta and Je’Von Evans against Bron Breakker, Austin Theory and Bronson Reed. They decided to make it a tag match."

Meltzer added that no one was going to refuse to travel to Saudi Arabia after Roman Reigns agreed to make the trip, but that doesn't mean members of the locker room are overly excited about heading to the Middle East right now.

“If you have read that there’s talent that doesn’t want to go, of course there is, and that’s obviously accurate. I’ve heard from people too, and Sean (Ross) Sapp reported that the people they’ve talked to say they don’t want to go. Of course they don’t.”

WWE Crown Jewel is scheduled for this coming Saturday, November 7. We'll continue to keep you updated on any new developments regarding this weekend's Premium Live event right here on The Takedown on SI.

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