The relationship between Saudi Arabia and WWE seems to continue in strength from a company standpoint, even though many fans are against the idea of the company working with the country.
Mansoor is the only wrestler that identifies as coming from the KSA and recently won the most recent battle royal taking place in the country at WWE’s Super Showdown. Mansoor sat down with Esquire Middle East for an interview, in that interview he discussed the possibility of women wrestling on a Saudi Arabia card, among other things.
If there is pressure being the first Saudi Arabian Superstar in WWE.
No, not really. I don’t really think about it much. I feel like the bigger the stage the more comfortable I feel. I enjoy the feeling of being in centre of the ring watched by tens of thousands of people. The first time that happened was at [the WWE live event] the Greatest Royal Rumble in Jeddah. I was not even part of the company and I was in the ring as part of the try-out in front of a packed stadium. I got on the microphone and spoke to the audience and, for some reason, it was the least amount of nerves I have ever had in wrestling. I’ve wrestled in front of crowds of fifty people in a school gym before, and that is always more nerve-racking.
Why he chose wrestling
I grew up in Saudi, and my older brother Talal introduced me to the WWE and I was a huge fan. All my friends were wresting friends, and we played so much No Mercy on the Nintendo 64, and Smackdown! Here Comes The Pain on Playstation. It was always something that was in my life. It’s what I feel I was born to do. Someone once said to me, “why do you like wrestling more than acting, it’s the same thing.” It’s not the same thing, because there are a million Romeos and a million Juliets, but there is only one Jeff Hardy.
If there is a wrestling scene in the Middle East
It’s very young. To my knowledge there are no real wrestling schools in the region, but I will say this, the more we can acclimate people in Saudi Arabia to the culture of professional wrestling, and integrate it to the culture of Saudi Arabia the more it’s going to be accepted and considered acceptable as a career. I believe that the WWE will build a performance centre [the company’s training facility] somewhere in the Middle East, most likely Saudi Arabia, for all Arab talent to develop and cultivate. It such an incredible market, it was always an underrated market.
If he believes women will wrestle in Saudi Arabia
People have a lot of opinions about the Saudi shows, in terms of cultural impact that can only happen when the culture is more familiar with what wrestling is. My nieces, who live in Riyadh, are big wrestling fans, and I want them to be able to go to wrestling shows and see the women wrestlers perform. We saw it in Abu Dhabi with Sasha Banks and Alexa Bliss, but progress is like a staircase, you can’t jump every step. When it comes to a country’s culture you have to slowly integrate. Personally, I truly do believe we will see women performing in Saudi Arabia in a WWE ring one day.
The agreement with WWE and KSA is said to be for ten years and we are only three years into the agreement. Abu Dhabi recently had the first women’s UFC fight and Renee Young made history as the first woman to commentate in Saudi Arabia at a WWE event. Women were flown to KSA during the last show but did not get the opportunity to wrestle. That being said, it seems like the idea of women participating in a WWE event is becoming more likely as the years go on.
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