The January 30, 2026 episode of SmackDown—held at a brand-new stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia forward of the Royal Rumble—might have appeared large on paper, however the actuality contained in the venue informed a distinct story.
In the course of the broadcast, Michael Cole introduced that 18,000 followers had been anticipated to attend, calling it a “late-arriving” crowd. Nonetheless, quite a few large pictures all through the present revealed giant sections of empty seats, sparking fast hypothesis about attendance points.
In accordance with followers in Saudi Arabia, the blame falls squarely on ticketing mismanagement and a booming secondary market. Social media posts declare that tickets meant to be offered on the official platform ended up on third-party resale websites, making them unaffordable for a lot of followers.
One Twitter person, @ali_a_marafi, revealed an in depth breakdown of what went fallacious, praising the occasion’s manufacturing whereas criticizing the resale chaos. His unique Arabic publish was translated to English. He then defined how the resale system damage turnout:
“Every part was nice yesterday on the #SmackDown present – the group, the group, the enjoyable, the stadium, the stage. Whatever the degree of the present and the matches. However… the black market and the best way tickets are being resold fully destroyed the ultimate look of the group attendance. A lot of seats had been empty. Not as a result of the present failed and never as a result of there’s a lack of wrestling followers however due to an unfair system that has vastly wronged an enormous quantity of people that need to attend the reveals.”
In accordance with @ali_a_marafi, ticket costs initially set at 80 Riyals (round $21 USD) had been being resold on secondary websites for as much as 1,012 Riyals (about $270 USD)—a markup that made it inconceivable for a lot of native followers to attend. He urged the native ticketing platform to step in earlier than the Royal Rumble. And eventually, he issued a plea on behalf of wrestling followers throughout the area:
“I hope they discover a fast resolution, @webook web site at this time and launch tickets at cheap costs so that everybody can attend and fill the stands. Don’t destroy the dream of numerous individuals who need to attend, watch, and benefit from the first #RoyalRumble present ever held within the Arab world.”
With the Royal Rumble simply hours away, this ticketing controversy casts a shadow over WWE’s historic first Rumble occasion within the Center East.
Ought to WWE step in and take extra management over worldwide ticket distribution? What will be accomplished to ensure actual followers get seats, not scalpers? Share your ideas under.