Brock Lesnar will return to WWE on the July 31 Raw episode.
After a hiatus of just one episode, Lesnar’s return was one of two segments announced for next week during Monday’s Raw show.
Lesnar last appeared on the July 17 Raw, attacking Cody Rhodes and leaving him laying in front of family members at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. Rhodes and Lesnar are scheduled to square off in the third match of their trilogy at SummerSlam at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan on Saturday, August 5.
Also announced as returning on next week’s Raw is Logan Paul.
Paul appeared on this week’s episode as well, getting involved with his presumed SummerSlam opponent Ricochet in an in-ring altercation. Ricochet challenged Paul to face him at the August 5 show, and Paul accepted after a sneak attack. Ricochet recovered, then left Paul laying.
The announced lineup for the Monday, July 31 Raw show:
The most controversial event WWE has ever put on, essentially a paid propaganda piece by the Saudi Arabian government called the Greatest Royal Rumble, took place on 4/27.
It was like no other show in pro wrestling history, as even the closest comparison, a 1995 New Japan show in Pyongyang, North Korea didn’t feature weeks of promotion praising the country and the commentary for the show wasn’t largely praising the forward thinking of the rulers of the country. One can certainly criticize both events or the ruling parties in both countries, let alone the ground rules involved in both shows. But any real comparison ends when comparing the promotion and the commentary of the two events. Both events used pro wrestling to gain publicity for the country and send a message, but only one of the shows featured constant commentary praising the rulers of the country.
If WWE was concerned about criticism of their partnership with Saudi Arabia, they certainly didn’t show it at the Greatest Royal Rumble.
The first event in WWE’s 10-year agreement with the Saudi General Sports Authority was a weird mix of special event, house show, and propaganda. It wasn’t just a stadium show with Saudi Arabia as its backdrop. The location wasn’t just spotlighted in the set design or advertising like with WrestleMania host cities. The Greatest Royal Rumble was unique to Saudi Arabia and served to promote the message that the country is evolving.
WWE is, usually justifiably, heavy handed in promoting themselves as a company and brand. And regardless of who stipulated it to be this way, that extended to how they pushed Saudi Arabia and their economic and social reform campaign. A video package highlighted Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the “societal renaissance” that is happening, and women being able to drive in the country soon.
In the aftermath of a Greatest Royal Rumble segment that played on tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran, Ariya Daivari has issued a statement apologizing to anyone who was offended and revealed that he received death threats for his character’s role on the show.
“During an appearance this past Friday, I portrayed a fictional character and played the role of the antagonist, no different than what other actors would do in a movie or TV show,” Daivari wrote. “That character does not reflect my personal views and I apologize to anyone that may have been offended by the skit. I have an incredible amount of respect for the great people of Iran and I am very proud of my Iranian heritage. Thank you.”
Daivari then responded to someone who said he shouldn’t have needed to apologize, “Unfortunately some people took offense to this despite it being pure entertainment. Some threats were made against my life. I wanted to put this statement out to clarify where I as a person stand compared to my t.v. character.”
While he’s received criticism from both sides, Daivari didn’t address where the threats came from.
The segment featured Daivari and his brother Shawn interrupting four people who attended WWE’s tryouts in Saudi Arabia. The Daivari brothers entered with the Iranian flag, insulting the trainees and praising Iran. The trainees stood tall after sending both Daivaris out of the ring.
The Saudi General Sports Authority has apologized for an advertisement that aired during the Greatest Royal Rumble, saying that it showed women’s wrestlers in an “indecent” way.
“The General Sport Authority would like to apologize to the viewers and attendees of last night’s WWE event that took place in Jeddah, over the indecent scene involving women that appeared as an ad before a segment. It would like to confirm it’s total disapproval of this, in the shadow of its commitment to eliminate anything that goes against the communities values.
“The authority has made sure to ban showing of any segment that involves women wrestling or any scenes related to it, and stipulated that to the company (WWE). The authority also disapproved any promotional stuff with pictures or videos showing women in an indecent way, and emphasized on commitment of this rule. And it’s a commitment that the authority would still commit to forever in all of it’s events and programs”
It appears that the advertisement in question was WWE’s commercial about the company’s switch to all dual-brand pay-per-views. It features men and women from Raw and SmackDown lip-syncing about the PPV change while in their wrestling gear.
Friday’s Greatest Royal Rumble was the first event in WWE’s 10-year agreement with the Saudi General Sports Authority. Paul “Triple H” Levesque defended that partnership in an interview with The Independent ahead of the show, noting that they’ve had discussions about women not being able to wrestle in Saudi Arabia and WWE believes and hopes they’ll be allowed to within the next few years.
Braun Strowman was involved in 13 eliminations on his way to winning this afternoon’s Greatest Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia.
Strowman entered as the 41st person in the match and last eliminated Big Cass to win the Rumble. Cass had thrown Daniel Bryan out of the ring right before that, with Bryan lasting for over an hour and 16 minutes after entering first. That set the record for the longest anyone has ever spent in a single Royal Rumble match.
Strowman was awarded a trophy and celebratory championship belt for winning.
Sumo wrestler Hiroki Sumi, Hornswoggle, and Tucker Knight, Roderick Strong, Babatunde Aiyegbusi, and Dan Matha of NXT were the surprise entrants. Knight and Matha were in Saudi Arabia to help out with WWE’s tryouts in Jeddah.
The full list of entrants and eliminations are listed below
Entrants —
Daniel Bryan
Dolph Ziggler
Sin Cara
Curtis Axel
Mark Henry
Mike Kanellis
Hiroki Sumi
Viktor
Kofi Kingston
Tony Nese
Dash Wilder
Hornswoggle
Primo Colon
Xavier Woods
Bo Dallas
Kurt Angle
Scott Dawson
Goldust
Konnor
Elias
Luke Gallows
Rhyno
Drew Gulak
Tucker Knight
Bobby Roode
Fandango
Chad Gable
Rey Mysterio
Mojo Rawley
Tyler Breeze
Big E
Karl Anderson
Apollo Crews
Roderick Strong
Randy Orton
Heath Slater
Babatunde Aiyegbusi
Baron Corbin
Titus O’Neil
Dan Matha
Braun Strowman
Tye Dillinger
Curt Hawkins
Bobby Lashley
The Great Khali
Kevin Owens
Shane McMahon
Shelton Benjamin
Big Cass
Chris Jericho
Elimination order —
Sin Cara (by Dolph Ziggler)
Curtis Axel (by Mark Henry)
Mike Kanellis (by Mark Henry)
Hiroki Sumi (by Mark Henry)
Mark Henry (by Daniel Bryan and Dolph Ziggler)
Viktor (by Daniel Bryan)
Dash Wilder (by Daniel Bryan and Hornswoggle)
Hornswoggle (by Tony Nese)
Tony Nese (by Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods)
Bo Dallas (by Kurt Angle)
Primo Colon (by Kurt Angle)
Dolph Ziggler (by Kurt Angle)
Konnor (by Elias)
Kofi Kingston (by Elias)
Xavier Woods (by Elias)
Kurt Angle (by Elias)
Drew Gulak (by Tucker Knight)
Goldust (by Bobby Roode)
Scott Dawson (by Bobby Roode)
Luke Gallows (by Rey Mysterio)
Fandango (by Mojo Rawley)
Tyler Breeze (by Mojo Rawley)
Tucker Knight (by Big E)
Chad Gable (by Apollo Crews)
Rhyno (by Roderick Strong)
Karl Anderson (by Randy Orton)
Mojo Rawley (by Randy Orton)
Apollo Crews (by Randy Orton)
Bobby Roode (by Baron Corbin)
Roderick Strong (by Baron Corbin)
Babatunde Aiyegbusi (by Braun Strowman)
Dan Matha (by Braun Strowman)
Big E (by Braun Strowman)
Heath Slater (by Braun Strowman)
Titus O’Neil (by Braun Strowman)
Tye Dillinger (by Braun Strowman)
Rey Mysterio (by Baron Corbin)
Baron Corbin (by Randy Orton)
Randy Orton (by Elias)
Curt Hawkins (by Braun Strowman)
Elias (by Bobby Lashley)
The Great Khali (by Braun Strowman and Bobby Lashley)
With the addition of a Cruiserweight Championship match, the card for the Greatest Royal Rumble has been finalized.
Cedric Alexander defending his title against Kalisto became the last match to be announced for the show. Kalisto won a gauntlet match on this week’s 205 Live to earn the title shot, coming in as the final entrant and eliminating Drew Gulak. TJP, Mustafa Ali, and Tony Nese were the three other wrestlers who participated in the gauntlet.
WWE also officially confirmed Rey Mysterio, Mark Henry, The Great Khali, Shane McMahon, Randy Orton, and Kevin Owens for the 50-man Greatest Royal Rumble match. All of those names had been advertised for the show prior to this announcement.
Henry was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this year and hasn’t wrestled since the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 33. Khali’s last appearance for the company came when he helped Jinder Mahal defeat Randy Orton at Battleground 2017.
The Greatest Royal Rumble streams live on the WWE Network from King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia at noon Eastern time on Friday. There will also be a one-hour pre-show before the main card starts.
Here’s the full lineup for the event:
50-man Greatest Royal Rumble match
Universal Champion Brock Lesnar defending against Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
WWE Champion AJ Styles defending against Shinsuke Nakamura
John Cena vs. Triple H
The Undertaker vs. Rusev in a casket match
Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins defending against The Miz, Finn Balor, and Samoa Joe in a ladder match
United States Champion Jeff Hardy defending against Jinder Mahal
Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt vs. Cesaro & Sheamus for the vacant Raw Tag Team titles
SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Bludgeon Brothers defending against The Usos
WWE Cruiserweight Champion Cedric Alexander defending against Kalisto
While speaking with The Independent ahead of Friday’s Greatest Royal Rumble, Paul “Triple H” Levesque offered a defense of WWE’s partnership with Saudi Arabia.
“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,” Levesque said. “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 affect change anywhere by staying away from it.”
WWE has received criticism for entering into a 10-year business agreement with the Saudi General Sports Authority given how women are treated in the country and women’s wrestlers not being allowed to perform there.
But Levesque expressed optimism that women will be allowed to wrestle in Saudi Arabia in the future. “While, right now, women are not competing in the event, we have had discussions about that and we believe and hope that, in the next few years they will be. That is a significant cultural shift in Saudi Arabia,” he said.
“The country is in the middle of a shift in how it is dealing with that — the position is changing, and rights are changing, as are the way women are handled and treated in society. We think that’s a great thing and we’re excited to be at the forefront of that change.”
The relationship with WWE is part of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 economic and social reform program.
In addition to there being no women’s matches on the card, Byron Saxton will be hosting the Greatest Royal Rumble pre-show instead of Renee Young. Women are only allowed to attend the event if they’re accompanied by male family members, and even that is a recent development. The Saudi General Sports Authority announced late last year that they would be accommodating families and easing restrictions on women attending sporting events at stadiums in Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam.
WWE announced today that Lawler, Ross, and Booker T will be pre-show panelists for the Greatest Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia. With no women from WWE on the event, Byron Saxton will be hosting the pre-show broadcast instead of Renee Young.
Lawler and Ross did make an appearance on commentary at WrestleMania 34 in New Orleans, calling the 2018 Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. Lawler later revealed that he suffered a stroke at his home on March 21st, but he felt better in the days after the stroke and was able to make WrestleMania weekend.
The hour-long Greatest Royal Rumble pre-show is scheduled to begin on the WWE Network at 11 a.m. Eastern time this Friday. The main card is listed as running for five hours.
At least one attendee from WWE’s tryouts in Saudi Arabia this week will be taking part in the Greatest Royal Rumble show.
WWE revealed eight winners from the tryouts, with them moving on to receive more intensive training over the next five days. One or more of them will be participating in Friday’s event in “some to-be-determined way,” though them entering the 50-man Greatest Royal Rumble match would appear to be a possibility.
The tryouts took place at King Abdullah Sports City Sports Hall in Jeddah and began this past Wednesday.
King Abdullah Sports City Stadium will be hosting the Greatest Royal Rumble on Friday, which is part of WWE’s 10-year agreement with the Saudi General Sports Authority. It’s airing live on the WWE Network and is listed as running from noon Eastern to 5 p.m. There will also be an hour-long pre-show starting at 11 a.m.
Here are the winners from the tryouts in Saudi Arabia, along with information that WWE has given about their backgrounds:
Hussain Aldagal (6-foot-3, 215-pounds, experience in volleyball and bodybuilding)
Mansoor Al-Shehail (6-foot, 175-pounds, has trained with Dory Funk Jr.)
Faisal Kurdi (5-foot-9, 180-pounds, has done MMA fighting, amateur grappling, and Muay Thai boxing)
Nasser Bawazir (6-foot-3, 250-pounds, background in boxing, MMA, and aikido)
Khalid Alhothali (has competed in bodybuilding, boxing, and jiu-jitsu)
Abdullah Almagrabi (225-pounds, has experience in karate and as a boxing trainer)
Faisal Allabboudy (23 years old, has done competitive swimming, boxing, and bodybuilding)
Asaad Alshareef (23 years old, has participated in Greco Roman and freestyle wrestling and trained in some martial arts)
A gauntlet match will decide Cedric Alexander’s challenger for the Greatest Royal Rumble.
The gauntlet will be taking place on next Tuesday’s episode of 205 Live. Drake Maverick announced the match last night, with the storyline being that Buddy Murphy was going to face Alexander for the Cruiserweight Championship in Saudi Arabia but failed to make weight.
Participants for the gauntlet match weren’t announced, but Mustafa Ali and Drew Gulak cut promos about it.
WWE’s last gauntlet match aired on Raw prior to Elimination Chamber in February, lasting for the first two hours of the show and proving to be a success in the ratings. Braun Strowman was the winner, but Seth Rollins defeated Roman Reigns and John Cena and was the star of the first hour.
All seven men’s titles will be on the line at the Greatest Royal Rumble on April 27th. The Cruiserweight Championship match is the only one that has yet to be confirmed.
The updated Greatest Royal Rumble card is listed below:
50-man Greatest Royal Rumble match
Universal Champion Brock Lesnar defending against Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
WWE Champion AJ Styles defending against Shinsuke Nakamura
John Cena vs. Triple H
The Undertaker vs. Rusev in a casket match
Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins defending against The Miz, Finn Balor, and Samoa Joe in a ladder match
United States Champion Jeff Hardy defending against Jinder Mahal
Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt vs. Cesaro & Sheamus for the vacant Raw Tag Team titles
SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Bludgeon Brothers defending against The Usos
WWE Cruiserweight Champion Cedric Alexander defending against whoever wins next Tuesday’s gauntlet match
The two biggest title matches at the Greatest Royal Rumble will both be rematches from WrestleMania 34.
WWE confirmed last night that Shinsuke Nakamura will be challenging for AJ Styles’ WWE Championship in Saudi Arabia. Styles retained in their match at WrestleMania, which was a prelude to Nakamura turning heel by low blowing him.
Nakamura has gotten the better of Styles as their feud has continued since WrestleMania. He’s low blowed Styles again over the last two weeks on SmackDown, feigning that he can’t speak English when asked for an explanation.
In the Greatest Royal Rumble’s other rematch from WrestleMania, Brock Lesnar is set to defend his Universal Championship against Roman Reigns. Lesnar is returning to television on next Monday’s Raw ahead of their steel cage match in Saudi Arabia.
Here’s the updated card for the Greatest Royal Rumble, which will air live on the WWE Network on April 27th:
50-man Greatest Royal Rumble match
Universal Champion Brock Lesnar defending against Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
WWE Champion AJ Styles defending against Shinsuke Nakamura
John Cena vs. Triple H
The Undertaker vs. Rusev in a casket match
Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins defending against The Miz, Finn Balor, and Samoa Joe in a ladder match
United States Champion Jeff Hardy defending against Jinder Mahal
Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt vs. Cesaro & Sheamus for the vacant Raw Tag Team titles
SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Bludgeon Brothers defending against The Usos
A Cruiserweight Championship match that has yet to be announced
With WrestleMania 34 just barely in the rearview mirror, WWE’s second stadium show of the month is already under two weeks away.
The Greatest Royal Rumble will take place at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Friday, April 27th and air live on the WWE Network at noon Eastern time. The card already has seven matches confirmed: a 50-man Royal Rumble, Brock Lesnar defending the Universal Championship against Roman Reigns in a steel cage, John Cena vs. Triple H, The Undertaker vs. Chris Jericho in a casket match, Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins defending against The Miz, Finn Balor, and Samoa Joe in a ladder match, The Usos challenging for The Bludgeon Brothers’ SmackDown Tag Team titles, and a match to decide the new Raw Tag Team Champions. The WWE, United States, and Cruiserweight Championships will also be on the line.
After announcing the match last week and then removing him from it the next day, Rusev is once again scheduled to face The Undertaker at the Greatest Royal Rumble.
WWE added Rusev back into the casket match today, taking the place of Chris Jericho. Jericho was originally announced for the show’s 50-man Royal Rumble before briefly being slated to wrestle Undertaker.
The storyline explanation for Rusev being replaced was a tweet from Lana where she wrote about lobbying for the change, and WWE had her send out another tweet before revealing that he was back in the match: “After much thought, I have notified @WWE officials that I have changed my mind. @RusevBUL will celebrate #RusevDay by burying The Undertaker in the sands of Saudi [Arabia] and will win the Casket Match at #WWEGRR ! #RusevCrush ! Have a Happy Rusev Day!”
King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia will host the Greatest Royal Rumble on April 27th, with it airing live on the WWE Network at noon Eastern time. Here’s the updated card:
50-man Greatest Royal Rumble match
Universal Champion Brock Lesnar defending against Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
John Cena vs. Triple H
The Undertaker vs. Rusev in a casket match
Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins defending against The Miz, Finn Balor, and Samoa Joe in a ladder match
Cesaro & Sheamus vs. either Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt or The Revival for the vacant Raw Tag Team titles
SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Bludgeon Brothers defending against The Usos
WWE, United States, and Cruiserweight Championship matches that have yet to be revealed
Rey Mysterio may be making an appearance at The Greatest Royal Rumble, according to a report.
PWInsider put out a report today saying that Rey Mysterio will be heading to the Greatest Royal Rumble event in Saudi Arabia. WWE has not yet confirmed that he will participate in the event. It would be his first match back since competing at the Royal Rumble in January, his first appearance for WWE since leaving in 2015.
There has been speculation for a while now that Mysterio has been looking to return to the WWE. As of this writing, there has been no confirmation that the two sides have agreed to a new deal. Mysterio is currently a part of AroLucha and has said in the past that he is interested in competing in New Japan, going as far as saving Will Ospreay from a Marty Scurll attack at Strong Style Evolved.
The Greatest Royal Rumble will take place on April 27 at the King Abdullah International Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
