WWE wrestlers resonate in Saudi stadium, defying calls for boycott of Khashoggi massacre

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Mohammed shouted for his favorite wrestler in the WWE, a mountain of muscles named Rusev, who was being beaten in the ring.

"It's great!" Said Mohammed, 19, a student in the stands of the King Saud University football stadium with 25,000 other fans screaming, applauding and applauding. "It does not happen every week like in the US We can do it maybe once a year!"

At a time when international anger is directed against Saudi Arabia as a result of the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, World Wrestling Entertainment, this typically American blend of thriving athletics and dramatic theaters, stumbled upon Riyadh on Friday night. for Crown Jewel, an extravagance of two wrestlers, laser lights and percussive rock music.

After the Saudi and American national anthems, and the prayers of the Quran sounded under a desert night sky, Hulk Hogan, the host of the evening, approached the ring with yellow sunglasses and a feather boa at in the middle of a huge fireworks display.

While WWE wrestlers were amazed and stomping on the ring, there was nothing to indicate the controversy over Saudi Arabia since Khashoggi's murder on October 2 at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.

The Saudi government has acknowledged that Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist and frequent critic of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was killed by Saudi agents. Turkish officials said his body had been dismembered and eventually dissolved in acid.

Congress and European leaders condemned the killing, demanding responses and sanctions against Saudi Arabia. There is widespread suspicion that Prince Mohammed, the de facto leader of the country, was at the origin of the assassination – despite vehement denials by the Saudi government.

At the end of last month, many influential sponsors and speakers boycotted the Saudi Investment Conference in Riyadh to protest the murder of Khashoggi. And WWE has faced calls from members of Congress and its own fans to withdraw from the Riyadh event.

Hulk Hogan talks with Saudi fans at the Crown Jewel Friday tournament. (Faisal Al Nasser / Reuters)

WWE officials in Riyadh declined to comment on the controversy over Khashoggi and referred to a statement by the company claiming that it was "a difficult decision" to come to Saudi Arabia after the "heinous crime".

Shows like Crown Jewel are part of broader social and economic reforms led by Prince Mohammed, including the expansion of mixed entertainment like the WWE in this deeply conservative culture.

Prince Mohammed has also been widely criticized for imprisoning dozens of people who even criticize him for mild criticism – as Khashoggi often did. But the prince's social reforms are popular among many Saudis in Riyadh, especially among the young.

In the cheap $ 12 seats, accompanied by a buffet, the young men burst out laughing, shouting "You fear!" At full lungs. Mohammed and his friends were so excited that they were struggling to sit still.

They claimed that the allegations that MBS, as its name indicates, had something to do with Khashoggi's death were "lies". But in a country where the prince imprisons people for reasons that may not be clear, the young men also made sure their first names were used.

"MBS makes Arabia still terrific!" Said Mohammed, while Rusev was striving against the groin and the crowd, composed mostly of men, was moaning "ooooh." "He makes it really great, Donald Trump just says words, MBS speaks with actions."

Saudi fans watch the WWE tournament at King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh. (Faisal Al Nasser / Reuters)

Abdul Aziz, 16, said the controversy surrounding Khashoggi's killing was a ploy by US Democrats to win the mid-term elections next week in order to start a dismissal procedure against Trump.

"It's a policy issue," said the teenager, who said he was following the US television news policy closely.

Trump has become increasingly critical of Saudi Arabia's reaction to the Khashoggi case, although he also expressed a keen desire to maintain relations with a key ally and buyer of manufactured weapons. in the USA.

WWE and the McMahons have made love. Linda McMahon was the third funder of Trump's 2016 campaign, awarding $ 7.5 million to pro-Trump super-PACs, the Republican National Committee and her campaign, according to tax and fundraising statistics. campaign. Between 2007 and 2009, she and her husband also donated $ 5 million to the Trump charitable foundation.

Each year, WWE hosts approximately 40 live events overseas and travels to the Middle East from a show in Kuwait in 1996, featuring more than 40 events in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Oman, Bahrain and Qatar. The Friday show is the 10th edition of WWE in Saudi Arabia since 2014. It is part of a long-term partnership between WWE and Saudi Arabia.

A woman arrives at the crown jewels ceremony in Riyadh on Friday. (Ahmed Yosri / EPA-EFE / Shutterstock)

On Thursday, at a press conference, foolish Saudi journalists lined up to take pictures of three WWE wrestlers who were not eager to discuss Khashoggi's controversy at the behest. a reporter from the Post.

"The WWE has issued a statement on this," said Nicholas Nemeth, who set college records as a wrestler at Kent State University in Ohio and now performs for WWE under the stage name Dolph Ziggler.

"We like to travel around the world, represent the WWE and have a great show," he said. "The more we can come here and have this relationship with the fans, the better I think it's for all of us."

The boys in the stands have accepted.

"You should leave politics to politics and entertainment to entertainment," Mohammed said. "It helps the United States and Saudi Arabia, so everyone wins. We are helping the situation improve between the United States and Saudi Arabia. "

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