Author: Jeremy Botter / Source: Bleacher Report
World Wrestling Entertainment’s inaugural foray into Saudi Arabia happened Friday. It took place in Jeddah. It was called the Greatest Royal Rumble.
And it was weird.
It’s hard to know what to make of the event as a whole. It was the result of a 10-year deal between WWE and the Saudi Arabian government, part of a push by the government to change the perception of the kingdom worldwide.
WWE held up its end of the deal over the past week, with its Superstars glowing radiantly on social media about the beauty of the city and just how incredible everything is. It ran endless commercials for the event, which it does for every major event on its schedule. The difference, of course, was that the commercials were designed to promote the city and the country—not just the event.Live, from beautiful Jeddah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Even the show title was over the top. This wasn’t just your normal yearly Royal Rumble. No, this was the Greatest Royal Rumble. Better than all the other Royal Rumbles that came before it. And instead of 30 men entering the ring, it was 50.
When the show kicked off with a match between Triple H and John Cena, well, you wouldn’t have been far off to say it looked a lot like WrestleMania. The massive stadium. The huge stage. The lights. The giant tent-like structure high above the ring, adorned with video boards and hundreds of lights. It was every bit the production WrestleMania is and perhaps even larger; the pyrotechnics for the Greatest Royal Rumble blew away anything WWE has done at its hallmark event in quite some time.
And the fireworks? Talk about over the top. There were multiple fireworks shows exploding high above the stadium. And not just for the end of the show, the way WWE does. No, these fireworks happened during wrestler entrances, starting at the beginning and going until the end.
After Braun Strowman won the Greatest Royal Rumble match, he was presented with a…
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