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So, this mental Saudi event coming up...


David

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I know that single event threads aren't usually the done thing, but this is definitely something a bit....different.

The card as I can tell at the moment is;

50 man Royal Rumble match (featuring the usual suspects plus some other names such as Kurt Angle, Jericho, Daniel Bryan etc)

Lesnar vs Reigns in a steel cage for the Universal title

Rollins vs Miz vs Finn Balor vs Samoa Joe in a ladder match for the IC title

The Bar vs TBD for the Raw tag titles

The Bludgeon Brothers vs The Usos for the Smackdown tag titles

Undertaker vs Rusev in a casket match

Triple H vs John Cena

There's been no announcement that I can see with regards to the WWE title, US title, Cruiserweight title etc, but we've been told that all of the mens titles would be on the line at the event.

Absolutely no women on the card, but considering where this event is being held that shouldn't come as a surprise.

As I mentioned elsewhere, for those who aren't sure where this event has come from or why there's so much being invested in it, this isn't your standard "WWE visit a country, throw on a few house shows and bugger off" type deals, this is a deal that's been struck between WWE and The Saudi General Sports Authority as part of a 10 year partnership in support of Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia’s social and economic reform program.

The move is part of a modernisation drive by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is seeking to balance unpopular subsidy cuts in an era of low oil prices with more entertainment options - despite opposition from religious hardliners.

The reform stems partly from an economic motive to boost domestic spending on entertainment as the kingdom reels from a protracted slump in oil prices.

Saudis currently splurge billions of dollars annually to see movie shows and visit amusement parks in neighbouring tourist hubs like Dubai.

I could be wrong, but I think this event may be why Undertaker was given a reduced gig at 'Mania, and I also think that this may be where Lesnar drops the title to Reigns. That would make sense actually, as the Saudi crowd would probably cheer for Roman.

But yeah, a weird as fuck event that has probably been dictated primarily by a shitload of cash from the Saudi Government.

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Just now, Snitsky's back acne said:

Have they said how often they are going to be performing in Saudi Arabia as part of this deal?

Not that I've seen, but a lot of the details seem sketchy. Again, that's not unusual when it comes to the Saudi establishment. It's insane that the Crown Prince of this place can simply throw some cash around in an attempt to smooth over the current political landscape and all of a sudden we have a wrestler who can usually manage one match a year due to injury issues performing twice within a month.

There must be some serious coin involved for Vince to be putting something like this together.

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So how does this work then? The Rumble is unique in WWE in that they do it once a year. Doing a bigger version of it, possibly on a yearly basis pisses all over the one PPV (Network Special, who knows what the fuck they are now) that they have kept in its original form. Surely no amount of money can make up for potentially losing that. 

 

I'm being naive aren't I. 

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6 minutes ago, Lion_of_the_Midlands said:

So how does this work then? The Rumble is unique in WWE in that they do it once a year. Doing a bigger version of it, possibly on a yearly basis pisses all over the one PPV (Network Special, who knows what the fuck they are now) that they have kept in its original form. Surely no amount of money can make up for potentially losing that. 

I'm being naive aren't I. 

There's a bit of me that agrees with you, and hopes that this Royal Rumble thing is just a one-off to kickstart this deal with the Saudi's in the right way, and that down the line they simply resort to holding some B-rated PPV's over there on a yearly basis.

There's another part of me though that thinks that by virtue of Undertaker being involved that part of the deal is that the Saudi's get a major-style event. Could we eventually see a Royal Rumble or Summerslam being held over there?

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I don't think we'll see a "proper" major PPV there - between the time difference, and the Saudi weekend being Friday-Saturday rather than Saturday-Sunday potentially affecting the timing of any such show, I don't think it's too likely. I assume we'll just get big shows like this one - hopefully not a Rumble every time, though, particularly as there doesn't seem to be any indication that the winner of the Rumble actually gets anything for it.

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A supershow the same month as Wrestlemania, which will bring WWE loads of coin and we can watch it live at 5pm with them pulling out all the stops in regards to match card.

 

What a horrible time to be a wrestling fan.

 

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I wouldn't even mind as much if they took advantage of this and had the girls do their own pay per view (in the states obviously) at around the same time. That way it could be set up as a 'This is our opportunity' and have good reason not so showcase any of the guys on it as they would be on the other side of the world.

Not sure I can buy into this show though, Royal Rumble devalues the main PPV for one, its close after Mania and doesn't seem to be tied into TV storylines. 

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