Tag: wwe saudi arabia

WWE officially announces ‘Crown Jewel’ event for Saudi Arabia

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE’s next show in Saudi Arabia is finally official.

During the opening segment of tonight’s Raw, it was announced that WWE will be returning to Saudi Arabia on Friday, November 2 for an event called “Crown Jewel.” The show will take place at King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh and will air live on the WWE Network.

Roman Reigns defending the Universal Championship against Brock Lesnar and Braun Strowman in a triple threat match was also confirmed for Crown Jewel.

November 2 had been the expected date for WWE’s return to Saudi Arabia, and it being made official means that the event will be held on the same week as Evolution. The Nassau Coliseum in Long Island, New York will host the all-woman’s PPV on Sunday, October 28 before Crown Jewel takes place on Friday.

Following April’s Greatest Royal Rumble, Crown Jewel will be the second event in WWE’s 10-year deal with The Saudi General Sports Authority.

Here’s what the updated WWE PPV schedule looks like through the end of the year:

  • October 6 — Super Show-Down (Melbourne, Australia)
  • October 28 — Evolution (Long Island, New York)
  • November 2 — Crown Jewel (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia)
  • November 18 — Survivor Series (Los Angeles, California)
  • December 16 — TLC (San Jose, California)

Saudi General Sports Authority apologizes for ‘indecent’ WWE ad

Posted on by Joseph Currier

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 apology was issued through the Saudi General Sport’s Authority’s Twitter account, and Reddit user “comproimse” posted a rough translation of it:

“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.

The Associated Press has also picked up on the apology being issued.

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.

Triple H defends WWE’s partnership with Saudi Arabia

Posted on by Joseph Currier

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 tryout attendee to take part in Greatest Royal Rumble

Posted on by Joseph Currier

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)

Undertaker-Rusev casket match set for WWE Greatest Royal Rumble

Posted on by Joseph Currier

After squashing John Cena at WrestleMania 34, The Undertaker already has his next match scheduled.

WWE announced today that Undertaker vs. Rusev in a casket match is set for the Greatest Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia on Friday, April 27th.. The show is taking place at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah and will air live on the WWE Network at noon Eastern time.

Despite seemingly retiring last year, The Undertaker pinned Cena in under three minutes on Sunday. Part of the story for the match was that it wasn’t officially announced in advance, with Cena repeatedly calling Undertaker out in the build to WrestleMania.

The Greatest Royal Rumble is the first event in WWE’s ten-year agreement with the Saudi General Sports Authority. The updated card is listed below:

  • 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

Cena vs. HHH, two more matches set for WWE Greatest Royal Rumble

Posted on by Joseph Currier

The card for WWE’s Greatest Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia is starting to take shape.

Three matches for the show were announced this morning: John Cena vs. Triple H in their first singles meeting since 2010, a four-way Intercontinental Championship ladder match that features The Miz, Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, and Samoa Joe, and Raw Tag Team Champions Cesaro & Sheamus defending their titles against The Hardys. Both Jeff Hardy and Joe have yet to return from their respective injuries, but that’s considered to be imminent.

The Miz vs. Rollins vs. Balor at WrestleMania 34 will decide who enters the Greatest Royal Rumble as IC Champion. Braun Strowman and a partner will also be challenging for Cesaro & Sheamus’ titles at WrestleMania.

The Greatest Royal Rumble takes place at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on April 27th (at noon Eastern time) and is the first event in WWE’s ten-year agreement with the Saudi General Sports Authority. A 50-man Royal Rumble match is the event’s marquee attraction, with all seven men’s titles also set to be defended. There will be no women’s wrestlers on the show, but female fans are allowed to attend.

WWE still notes that broadcast information will be made available in the coming weeks, but it’s been indicated that the Greatest Royal Rumble will be shown on the WWE Network. It’s already been announced to air live on Sky Box Office in the UK and Main Event in Australia.

WWE made the following announcement regarding tickets for the show: “Tickets for this historic event are available this Saturday, March 31, at 12 midnight AST via ticketingboxoffice.com. Tickets will also be available at 10 a.m. AST at Virgin stores throughout Saudi Arabia. Ticket prices start at 20 SAR.”

WWE announces 50-entrant ‘Greatest Royal Rumble’ for Saudi Arabia

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Additional notes added by Dave Meltzer

A 50-entrant Royal Rumble match will be taking place in Saudi Arabia later this year.

WWE and the Saudi General Sports Authority announced this morning that the “Greatest Royal Rumble” will take place at King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on April 27th. There will be 50 wrestlers in the match, with John Cena, Triple H, Roman Reigns, AJ Styles, Braun Strowman, The New Day, Randy Orton, Bray Wyatt, and Shinsuke Nakamura advertised for the show.

The event will be the first as part of a ten-year contract between the Saudi General Sports Authority and WWE that was signed last week with Vince McMahon and Paul Levesque both going to Saudi Arabia to close what was likely a very lucrative deal. WWE’s press release announcing the show noted that ticket and broadcast information will be made available in the coming weeks.

“The ‘Greatest Royal Rumble’ will be a spectacle of historic proportions,” Vince McMahon said in a statement. “Our partnership with the Saudi General Sports Authority reflects a long-term commitment to present WWE’s world-class entertainment to a global audience on a grander scale than ever before.”

The 50 participants in the match will be the largest field ever for a Royal Rumble, surpassing the 40 wrestlers who took part in 2011.