Joe Roman Jr.
This Halloween, WWE had their annual show in Saudi Arabia called Crown Jewel, and boy was it...something. One of the many things I can’t stand about WWE’s product right now is the excessive need of outside talent. This show featured one of the all time greats in UFC legend Cain Velasquez, as well as current Heavyweight Boxing Champion Tyson Fury.
Unless these athletes from other companies and sports have interest in WWE and pro-wrestling then godspeed. If they are only in it for the money and the fame, just go and stay away from a pro-wrestling ring.
A perfect example is the Tyson Fury match against Braun Strowman. Fury needs to stick to boxing, and actually punching people. Some of the worst “striking” I have ever seen in my life. Not to mention the guy looked like a flopping dead fish in the ring. Yeah he got the win, but still got his ass kicked after the match and it was a complete waste of time.
Then comes the Velasquez match.
I appreciate WWE’s efforts. They brought Velasquez in to wrestle Brock Lesnar, and they have a history in the UFC. Velasquez won the belt from Lesnar and left him with a nasty scar on his face. I give WWE credit for tying that into their match. Now that it is a match under 5 minutes and the first match in the show is just a big middle finger to our faces. This match is hyped up and Velasquez is built to be this savior, and only he can beat Lesnar. But then he taps out within minutes. I would rather have seen former champion Kofi Kingston get his rematch and lose that fast, but that was just pitiful.
Overall, WWE’s show in Saudi Arabia was meh to say the least. There were some decent matches like the 5-on-5 tag match lead by WWE Hall of Famers Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair. Shows like Crown Jewel always find a way to include legends like the Undertaker. Shawn Michaels and Goldberg have been apart of past Saudi Arabia shows. Then the first women's wrestling match held in Saudi Arabia. Natalya defeated Lacey Evans in an emotional and historic match. Not to mention WWE pulled the trigger and listened to the fans’ outcry, making“The Fiend” Bray Wyatt the new Universal Champion. The character has taken the wrestling world by storm and it is something different and fresh to look forward to.
The biggest issue wasn't just the show, but what happened after the show. Multiple outlets and sources have said that after the show the members of WWE’s roster were left in Saudi Arabia after the plane experienced technical problems. This led to several wrestlers going to Twitter and other social media outlets showing their frustration. Karl Anderson a member of the WWE faction The O.C was one of the wrestlers tweeting about it.
Most reprehensible is that WWE continues working in Saudi Arabia when half of their roster refuses to include wrestlers like Daniel Bryan. There is also the issue of shutting up their employees who have every right to voice their opinion. They weren't bashing the government or the people, but the fact they were stuck there. Not to mention half the roster stuck had to be on Smackdown the next day. WWE needs to plan these shows much better, and have a set roster on who will go to these overseas shows.
It has been heavily reported that Saudi Arabia owed WWE millions of dollars. Since the event, it was also speculated that several wrestlers have lost respect for WWE CEO Vince McMahon. I would suggest reading all you can find and develop your opinion, but if you want mine…
WWE needs to drop these Saudi Arabia shows. They need to focus on what talent they have at their disposal create good storylines with the wrestlers they, and just focus on giving their fans the best product they can instead of focusing on the money. If they would just show more interest in what we would like to see then the WWE would not have lost millions as their stock dropped 15.65% according to Forbes.