Matt Hardy Reveals That WWE is Expanding its Operations in Saudi Arabia

WWE has expanded its agreement with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to host multiple premium live events in the country.

During the early planning stages, certain individuals involved with Saudi’s Ministry of Sports appeared to be somewhat out of touch with WWE’s current product compared to the one they grew up watching, leading them to request matches featuring talents who are no longer alive.

Matt Hardy, who was under contract with WWE at the time, confirmed this rumor on “The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy.”

“There were times where people who probably grew up as young children or teenagers in Saudi, and they had these people who were their favorite wrestlers when they were growing up, and now they’re working in this sports authority,” Hardy recalled.

“They said, ‘Hey, we want so-and-so guy. I was probably a big fan of him growing up or whatever.’ And they did ask for some people who were no longer with us. I know that did happen on a couple of occasions.”

Yokozuna was reportedly one of the deceased wrestlers mentioned during conversations between the Saudi prince and then-CEO Vince McMahon while planning The Greatest Royal Rumble, the first PLE under the 10-year agreement.

As a sort of consolation, Hiroki Sumi, a former sumo wrestler, was included as an entrant. He entered at #7 and had a brief confrontation with Mark Henry before being eliminated.

Despite these unusual requests, Saudi Arabia has paid top dollar for high-profile matchups, such as DX versus the Brothers of Destruction and The Undertaker versus Goldberg.

While both bouts were critically panned, Hardy noted that they were highly desired attractions.

“There were people that really wanted these specific dream matches, and they wanted them to go down in Saudi,” Hardy said. “They were super happy to get those.”