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WWE in Saudi Arabia

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WWE in Saudi Arabia
Created byVince McMahon
Turki Al-Sheikh
PromotionsWWE
General Sports Authority
BrandsRaw
SmackDown
205 Live
First eventGreatest Royal Rumble

WWE, an American professional wrestling promotion based in Stamford, Connecticut in the United States owned by the McMahon family, has been promoting events in the Middle Eastern country of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia since 2018 as part of the ten-year deal between the WWE and the General Sports Authority as part of Saudi Vision 2030.[1] The inaugural event took place on April 27, 2018 with the Greatest Royal Rumble in Jeddah. In contrast to regular WWE events, women are barred from appearing in events held in Saudi Arabia.

Many events in the country promoted by the WWE have been subjected to criticism due to curtailing homosexual equality, a state accused of severe human rights abuses, leading a war of attrition in Yemen, allegations of funding terrorism and suppressing women's rights.[2][3][4]

Controversy

Women's rights

See also: Women in WWE

WWE had been criticized for holding the events without female wrestlers, who were unable to perform at the event due to the limited rights women have in Saudi Arabia.[5][3] Triple H, WWE's Executive Vice President of Talent, Live Events and Creative, responded to the criticism: "I understand that people are questioning it, but you have to understand that every culture is different and just because you don’t agree with a certain aspect of it, it doesn’t mean it’s not a relevant culture...You can’t dictate to a country or a religion about how they handle things but, having said that, WWE is at the forefront of a women’s evolution in the world and what you can’t do is effect change anywhere by staying away from it....While women are not competing in the event, we have had discussions about that and hope that, in the next few years they will be".[5]

Women are in attendance for the events, though only if accompanied by a male guardian.[5] This was a major change from previous events, which were only open to men. Associated Press noted that this is due to "a series of social changes" by the Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.[6]

During the Greatest Royal Rumble, WWE aired a promotional video, which included female wrestlers in their ring gear. The Saudi General Sports Authority issued an apology for "indecent material" that aired at the event.[7]

During the second show, Crown Jewel, Renee Young provided commentary at the show,[8] broadcasting from ringside with her hair and face uncovered, while wearing long sleeves and full body coverage.

Killing of Jamal Khashoggi

One month prior to Crown Jewel, Saudi Arabia received substantial negative press due to the killing of Jamal Khashoggi at the hands of Saudi agents. This led to the WWE facing calls to cancel the event, with prominent U.S. Democratic and Republican politicians criticizing the company's endeavors in Saudi Arabia.[9] Questions were raised whether because of the position of Administrator of the Small Business Administration Linda McMahon, who is the wife of WWE CEO Vince McMahon and a former WWE executive herself, WWE's endeavors in Saudi Arabia could still be viewed as a strictly private business enterprise. Due to this, Democratic Senator Bob Menendez urged the US government to pressure WWE into canceling the event, while Republican Lindsey Graham, among others, called for WWE to reconsider their business deal with the Saudi kingdom.[10] WWE continued to promote the show, but erased all references to Saudi Arabia as the event's location.[11]

On October 19, the day tickets were to go on sale, the Saudi government confirmed the death of Khashoggi within the consulate and WWE.com removed ticket information from the event page.[12] On October 25, WWE confirmed the event would go on as planned, citing contractual obligations to the General Sports Authority.[13] Speaking with Sky Sports on pushing forward with the event despite the murder, WWE CBO Stephanie McMahon spoke of "an incredibly tough decision, given that heinous act", but said that in the end it was strictly a business decision.[14]

Wrestlers refusing to work

Sami Zayn did not participate in the Greatest Royal Rumble as Zayn is of Syrian descent, and Saudi Arabia has strained relations with Syria.[15]

During Crown Jewel, Daniel Bryan was scheduled to face AJ Styles for the WWE Championship, but he reportedly refused to work the show.[16] As a result, his title match was bumped up to the October 30 episode of SmackDown, and he was replaced by Samoa Joe at Crown Jewel. John Cena, who was scheduled to participate in the WWE World Cup and had called it "an honor and a privilege" to compete in Saudi Arabia during the Greatest Royal Rumble, was replaced by Bobby Lashley, as he reportedly refused to work the show in wake of the Khashoggi murder.[17][18]

Dates and venues

# Event Date City Venue Main Event
1 Greatest Royal Rumble April 27, 2018 Jeddah, Saudi Arabia King Abdullah Sports City Stadium 50-man Royal Rumble match for the Greatest Royal Rumble trophy[19]
2 Crown Jewel November 2, 2018 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia King Saud University Stadium D-Generation X (Triple H and Shawn Michaels) vs. The Brothers of Destruction (The Undertaker and Kane)[20]
3 WWE Sands of Time June 7, 2019[21] Jeddah, Saudi Arabia King Abdullah Sports City Stadium[22] Goldberg vs. Bobby Lashley

References

  1. ^ http://english.alarabiya.net/en/sports/2018/03/01/Saudi-Arabia-signs-10-year-contract-with-WWE.html
  2. ^ Williams, Ian (October 16, 2018). "WWE's Saudi Arabia Nightmare". Vice. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
  3. ^ a b Collins, Elle (March 26, 2018). "WWE Reveals New Matches For The Greatest Royal Rumble, But No Women's Wrestling Allowed". Uproxx. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  4. ^ "WWE is hosting Greatest Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia and LGBT+ fans are not happy about it – PinkNews". www.pinknews.co.uk. Retrieved 2018-04-27.
  5. ^ a b c Paddock, Matty (April 24, 2018). "WWE Greatest Royal Rumble: Triple H defends hosting event in Saudi Arabia without any women wrestlers". The Independent. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  6. ^ "Women, children attend wrestling event in Saudi Arabia". apnews.com. Retrieved 2018-04-28.
  7. ^ "APOLOGY ISSUED FOR 'INDECENT' MATERIAL AIRED DURING GREATEST ROYAL RUMBLE - PWInsider.com". www.pwinsider.com.
  8. ^ "Renee Young to be part of WWE Crown Jewel announce team". 30 October 2018. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
  9. ^ Reed, Adam (October 12, 2018). "Multimillion-dollar WWE pay-per-view deal in jeopardy due to Saudi Arabia tensions". CNBC. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
  10. ^ "Multiple Senators question WWE's Saudi Arabia dealings". Retrieved October 12, 2018.
  11. ^ Bixenspan, David (October 17, 2018). "WWE Is Not Handling The Backlash To Its Saudi Deal Very Well". Deadspin. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
  12. ^ Martinez, Philipp (October 20, 2018). "WWE CROWN JEWEL: TICKET SALES POSTPONED, MENTIONS OF SAUDI ARABIA REMOVED FROM SITE". Newsweek. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
  13. ^ McKenna, James (October 25, 2018). "WWE Announces Crown Jewel Will Continue As Planned". Pro Wrestling Sheet. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
  14. ^ "Stephanie McMahon defends WWE Saudi Arabia event Crown Jewel". Sky Sports. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  15. ^ "VINCE THANKS SAUDI ARABIA, BACKSTAGE NOTES AND MORE FROM GREATEST ROYAL RUMBLE". PWInsider. 2018-04-28. Retrieved 2018-04-29.
  16. ^ Droste, Bryan (October 30, 2018). "How WWE Removed Daniel Bryan From Crown Jewel". Comicbook. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  17. ^ Jones, Kaelen (October 29, 2018). "John Cena Will Not Compete at WWE Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  18. ^ Casey, Connor (October 29, 2018). "John Cena Officially Removed From Crown Jewel Event". Comicbook. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  19. ^ Melok, Bobby. "Brock Lesnar def. Roman Reigns in a Steel Cage Match to retain the Universal Championship". WWE. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
  20. ^ Benigno, Anthony. "D-Generation X def. The Brothers of Destruction". WWE. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  21. ^ "Report: WWE Moving Saudi Arabia Show From May 3 To June 7". Fightful Wrestling. 3 April 2019. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  22. ^ "WWE Superstars return to Jeddah". WWE. Retrieved 2019-05-01.
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