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WWE Roundtable: Examining the Saudi Arabia situation

By Joe Anthony Myrick

John Cena (C) celebrates defeating Triple H (R) during the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Greatest Royal Rumble event in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah on April 27, 2018. (Photo by STRINGER / AFP) (Photo credit should read STRINGER/AFP/Getty Images)
John Cena (C) celebrates defeating Triple H (R) during the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Greatest Royal Rumble event in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah on April 27, 2018. (Photo by STRINGER / AFP) (Photo credit should read STRINGER/AFP/Getty Images) /
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Tom: In any deal, both sides have to believe that they’re coming out as the winner. That means that Saudi Arabia had to believe that they were getting something out of this too. While some of the propaganda was literally just talking about how amazing the city of Jeddah was, they also managed to promote an actual change brought on by Saudi Arabia, which was the move for women to drive.

Also, the propaganda has thus far only happened at one event, so there is no evidence as of yet that it is the norm. I’d also like to counter the points raised about ratings. Ratings are down every year. The ratings are actually perfectly on trend at the moment, so I wouldn’t suggest that they’re actually as much of a shock as they’re being promoted as.

While WWE are clearly taking steps to try to remedy the situation, this is far from a new thing. If there is no plan in place, that’s on WWE, but by and large, the plan seems to be to go international. Not just from Saudi Arabia, but also from Australia and the like. So live ratings – some of which are entirely US based depending on what you track – are less important than ever. I’m also yet to see any factual correlation between the ratings drop and the Saudi Arabia deal.

Laura: Yeah, I don’t think it’s making a difference, realistically. How many casual fans really give a sh*t about it? Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s many. So I feel like we’re asking four broad questions here:

1) Is it morally right for WWE to run the Saudi Arabia shows with SA’s history of oppression & attitude to women?
2) Is it a moral victory for women to wrestle on the SA shows? Does it tip the scales in favor of ‘yes’ to running SA shows if women ARE allowed to wrestle?
3) On a more macro level, is it ethically sound for WWE to perform in a country where some of their roster will be actively unsafe (Sami Zayn, poss Mojo Rawley, who is Palestinian/Syrian), or could be made unsafe (the Daivari bros)
4) Can WWE be a force for good in SA? Can we trust that this is their intention and not $$$?

and I guess 5) Do WWE (& the US in general) have the right to try to instruct SA in morality and the right way’?

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