WWE Is In Saudi Arabia

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wwe saudi arabia
Servicemembers from Walter Reed Army Medical Center watch from the stands while WWE hostess Lilian Garcia welcomes everyone to Monday Night Raw in Washington Dec. 18. WWE invited 30 troops to be their guests for the show in addition to a pre-event reception held in their honor. Defense Department photo by Carmen L. Burgess

I would like to congratulate WWE on hosting their first ever women-only Pay Per View last October. In addition, I would like to congratulate them on hosting their third ever men-only Pay Per View by putting on their third spectacle in Saudi Arabia.

WWE has a noble distinction. WWE Smackdown was the first American public gathering after the tragedy of September 11th. The show began with an emotional and heartfelt rendition of America’s national anthem by their announcer, Lilian Garcia, followed by a patriotic speech from WWE’s principal owner, Vince McMahon.

All as a response to 19 plane hijackers, 15 of whom were from Saudi Arabia.

The Financial Action Task Force has determined that the Saudi government is directly responsible for terrorist financing. There’s very little debate to be had; WWE in engaged in serious double-think.

WWE’s new women’s revolution extends to the point where women were the main event at WWE’s most popular show – Wrestlemania. If these women were raped in Saudi Arabia, the Saudis are so misogynistic that they would punish the victimized women instead of the perpetrators.

One of WWE’s most popular and talented wrestlers, Finn Balor, is homosexual. In Saudi Arabia, homosexuality is punishable by death. Sami Zayn is another talented wrestler, and he has been banned from Saudi Arabia due to his Syrian heritage.

This stands in contrast to the wrestlers they initially demanded: the Ultimate Warrior, Sgt. Slaughter, and Yokozuna. The only logistical difficulties to this are that the Ultimate Warrior and Yokozuna are dead and Sgt. Slaughter is 70 years old.

A few wrestlers have refused to perform for Saudi Arabia, notably John Cena and Daniel Bryan, citing ethical concerns.

From Saudi Arabia’s genocidal war campaign in Yemen to their punishing of women who were sexually assaulted, to their executing homosexuals, the country has much on the ledger for human rights abuses.

WWE is politically-aligned with the Trump administration. Donald Trump has been a major figure in WWE’s history, hosting Wrestlemania 4 and 5, participating in Wrestlemania 23’s Battle of the Billionaires match with Vince McMahon, and McMahon’s wife, Linda McMahon, is a member of the Trump cabinet.

As the Trump administration continues to offer logistical support and deals arms with Saudi Arabia, WWE strengthens its ties to the Saudi kingdom as well.

WWE has made questionable ethical decisions in the past. Now, as more ethical companies involved with professional wrestling emerge such as AEW, decisions such as their Saudi performances will be viewed with extreme skepticism by their fans.

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Brandon Kirby

Brandon Kirby has a philosophy degree from the University of New Brunswick and is a current MBA candidate finishing his thesis. He is an AML officer specializing in hedge funds in the Cayman Islands, owns a real estate company in Canada, and has been in the financial industry since 2004. He is the director of Being Libertarian - Canada and the president of the Libertarian Party of Canada.

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