WWE in Saudi Arabia
| WWE in Saudi Arabia | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Created by | Vince McMahon Turki Al-Sheikh |
| Promotions | WWE General Sports Authority |
| Brands | Raw SmackDown 205 Live |
| First event | Greatest 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]
Dates and venues
| # | Event | Date | City | Venue | Main Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greatest Royal Rumble | April 27, 2018 | Jeddah, Saudi Arabia | King Abdullah International Stadium | 50-man Royal Rumble match for the Greatest Royal Rumble trophy. Brock Lesnar (c) (with Paul Heyman) defeated Roman Reigns in a Steel Cage match for the WWE Universal Championship[5] |
| 2 | Crown Jewel | November 2, 2018 | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | King Saud University Stadium | Shane McMahon defeated Dolph Ziggler in a WWE World Cup Tournament Final Match[6] D-Generation X (Triple H and Shawn Michaels) defeated The Brothers of Destruction (The Undertaker and Kane) in a tag team match[7] |
| 3 | TBD | May 3, 2019[8] | TBD | TBD | TBD}} |
References
- ^ http://english.alarabiya.net/en/sports/2018/03/01/Saudi-Arabia-signs-10-year-contract-with-WWE.html
- ^ Williams, Ian (October 16, 2018). "WWE's Saudi Arabia Nightmare". Vice. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ Melok, Bobby. "Brock Lesnar def. Roman Reigns in a Steel Cage Match to retain the Universal Championship". WWE. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
- ^ Clapp, John. "Shane McMahon def. Dolph Ziggler (WWE World Cup Finals)". WWE. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
- ^ Benigno, Anthony. "D-Generation X def. The Brothers of Destruction". WWE. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
- ^ https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2819504-wwe-rumors-1st-2019-trip-to-saudi-arabia-scheduled-for-may-3rd
