Roman Reigns Reportedly Told WWE He Didn't Want To Go To Saudi Arabia, Before Leukemia Diagnosis

that Roman Reigns, prior to announcing last October that he had been diagnosed with a recurrence of leukemia, had informed WWE that he did not want to go to Saudi Arabia for the forthcoming Crown Jewel pay-per-view.

Reigns held the WWE Universal Championship at the time of he made his announcement, and was slated to defend the belt at Crown Jewel in a triple threat match against Brock Lesnar and Braun Strowman. In light of Reigns' revelation, the match would turn into a one-on-one contest for the suddenly vacated championship between Lesnar and Strowman, which Lesnar won.

Had things played out to where Reigns hadn't gotten sick and his wish was granted, he would've joined John Cena and Daniel Bryan in staying home from the show. The idea of WWE staging Crown Jewel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia attracted much criticism, particularly in the wake of the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Reigns had previously wrestled at Greatest Royal Rumble in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, losing to Lesnar in a steel cage match for the Universal title.