WWE stars 'held hostage' on Saudi Arabia plane after dispute with crown prince, reports claim

A woman supports Saudi wrestler Mansoor during his WWE match at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Photo / AP

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 Smackdown brand and their entourage were ordered to wait on the tarmac for six hours at Riyadh International by Saudi's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, The Mirror reported.

The prince, or MBS as he is nicknamed, was allegedly furious that Vince McMahon, World Wrestling Entertainment's chief executive, had cancelled the live feed of the show "Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia" because the company was owed up to $500m (£390m) for two shows in the kingdom last year.

The delay meant the wrestlers missed a live show in Buffalo, New York, the following day - with the no-show being blamed on "'mechanical issues" that stopped their 747 plane leaving Riyadh.

Dave Meltzer, a US sports journalist, tweeted on 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. Twenty people, twelve of which were talent, have left but the rest are still there."

Some – including Mr McMahon and stars such as Hulk Hogan and Tyson Fury – managed to get out on their own private jets.

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

He said: "The talent felt they were hostages… nobody was harmed or anything like that. It's a really tense story."

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

WWE on Friday confirmed that wrestlers including Karl Anderson and Brian Myers, both of whom compete on "Raw," sat on the tarmac for six hours — but blamed the late take-off on "mechanical issues."

The plane's owner, Atlas Air, issued a similar statement, adding that "the aircraft is being repaired and will be inspected and certified before returning to service."

Wrestlers that had been left waiting on the runway vowed never to go back. Wrestler Karl Anderson said on Twitter: "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.

The contests have have been held in the wake of the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a dissident journalist, in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last year.

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