Greatest Royal Rumble?
This week WWE are doing something that I don't entirely agree with. They are going to Saudi Arabia to put on what is being titled the 'Greatest Royal Rumble'. I would argue that this event is not so great for a number of reasons, but especially because of the treatment of women.
Shock horror! I am a woman! I also really like professional wrestling and have followed it on and off ever since I was a kid. Right now I am REALLY into it and watch it religiously every week. I have a subscription to the WWE Network so I can watch all the original programming and every pay per view. I have a long list of favourite wrestlers but the ones I loved watching as a kid were The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Triple H and Chyna. Now my favourites are Seth Rollins, Nia Jax, Ember Moon, Cedric Alexander and Johnny Gargano. What has been awesome to watch as I have grown up is how women have gained more respect for their talent as performers and there is less emphasis on them as being just the 'totty'. Basically I just love everything to do with professional wrestling right now...ok...that's not totally true.
WWE have been making leaps and bounds to show case the true talent of the women on their roster. There are some amazing technical performances from the likes of Bayley, Ember Moon, Charlotte, Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks and so many more. We really are in the midst of the Women's Revolution where women are getting as much respect as men. Even last night's Monday Night RAW (broadcast 23 April 2018) show cased the women in the main event! The last 12 months have seen a bunch of first for the women's division as we saw the first Miss Money in the Bank (ok...that wasn't perfect as, weirdly, it was won by a man...but everyone is trying to forget that fact and move on from it), we also got the first women's match in Abu Dhabi between Sasha Banks and Alexa Bliss and in 2018 we have had the first Women's Royal Rumble (January); Elimination Chamber (February) and Battle Royal at Wrestlemania (April). The Women's Royal Rumble was also the main event at that PPV and proved what a draw this was and how the WWE Universe was crying out for this event. All of this means it makes very little sense that less than four weeks after another women's first at Wrestlemania, WWE should go and create an event exclusively for men!
The Greatest Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia will see 50 male wrestlers take part in what is the largest Royal Rumble ever! On top of that, all the men's titles are going to be contested: RAW/Smackdown Tag Team; WWE; Universal; Intercontinental; US and Cruiserweight. There is something very obvious missing from this wedged in PPV and that is the women!
Due to Saudi laws at the moment none of the very talent women can go to Saudi Arabia to take part in the show. Even women who want to watch the show have to be accompanied by a man or they won't get in the arena. Oh, and they can only watch the show because they have been given special permission to be there.
It doesn't matter how talented the women are, they are just not allowed to take part. Personally I don't see how something can be described as the 'Greatest' when women are not allowed to showcase their talent either. All I can say is that the Saudis are going to miss out on something spectacular as a result. What troubles me is that this is a PPV which is going to be shown around the globe and we are all going to miss out on the experience of seeing women in this event.
For a company that is currently selling itself as being at the forefront of women's equality this is a bad move. Why do this in the same year that you had the first Women's Royal Rumble, Elimination Chamber and Battle Royal? It is a giant leap back for the company and by all rights it should be damaging for them. The annoying thing is that WWE has been doing great work for women's equality as well as for the LGBTQ+ community and other things like Make a Wish and various cancer research charities. All of this has been achieved by the power of the global brand that WWE is. They have used their name, and that of their superstars, to raise awareness to some really important issues and that is a glorious thing. That is why it doesn't ring true when Triple H tries to defend this PPV and the reasoning for not including women this year.
For those who know the name 'Triple H' but are not aware, this man runs a massive chunk of WWE. He has been with the company for a long time and is well known as being one of the greatest 'heels' of all time. The man is in such fine shape he still wrestles on a fairly regular basis. Triple H is responsible for co-creating NXT (which replaced FCW, WWE's developmental programme), changing round the fortunes of the Cruiserweight programme 205 Live and co-creating the WWE UK championship which includes some of the best British wrestlers on the indie circuit. As such he is also partly responsible for the 'Greatest Royal Rumble'. In an interview with The Independent Triple H said that you have to accept that different countries have different cultures and you can't effect change by staying away from somewhere. He went on to say that although women are not competing this year it is hoped they will in the future as Saudi Arabia is going through a cultural shift.
Only this is a cop out! WWE knows that people are uncomfortable with this decision and they are trying to explain the unexplainable. WWE have a lot of influence around the world. Triple H even states in his interview that it is amazing to him that wherever he goes in the world he is recognised as a WWE superstar. If the company has that much power and influence they could have insisted on at least one women's match. The Saudis asked for them to go over there and that is how this came about. WWE just saw $$$ and went with it! They could have insisted but they didn't. They pandered to them instead of standing up to them.
Aside from the treatment of women, Saudi Arabia has a shocking human rights history (including treatment of LGBTQ+ people) and is known for doing some very bad things with some very dodgy weapons in the Middle East. Does a huge company like WWE, which prides itself on being family friendly and for everyone, really want this association? Again, they saw $$$.
As a fan of WWE I would love to see this PPV to see a first for a Royal Rumble and see how it will work with 50 superstars instead of the usual 30. As a woman I am shocked and horrified that this is allowed to take place and want to avoid it. I am truly torn because the thing I love is making it hard to love.
This is also a PPV that makes no sense. At Wrestlemania the Universal title was up for grabs with Brock Lesnar fighting challenger Roman Reigns. For the last year people were convinced that Reigns would take the title that Lesnar had held all that time. Then he loses in what proved to be the most boring match of the night. The next day it was announced that he would get another shot at the GRR. This is obviously a case of the Saudis buying that match out to have at their event rather than at Wrestlemania. Then there are other things such as a ladder match for the IC Title, which Seth Rollins won at Wrestlemania and before the re-match at Backlash. The Bar have been moved to Smackdown Live in the Superstar Shakeup yet are still going to fight 'Woken' Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt at the GRR (so we all know who will be winning that title). Wedging this PPV in makes it both predictable and pointless as we have Backlash on 6 May.
Enjoy the Greatest Royal Rumble if you want. Just remember the unsavoury nature of this event as you watch.
Shock horror! I am a woman! I also really like professional wrestling and have followed it on and off ever since I was a kid. Right now I am REALLY into it and watch it religiously every week. I have a subscription to the WWE Network so I can watch all the original programming and every pay per view. I have a long list of favourite wrestlers but the ones I loved watching as a kid were The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Triple H and Chyna. Now my favourites are Seth Rollins, Nia Jax, Ember Moon, Cedric Alexander and Johnny Gargano. What has been awesome to watch as I have grown up is how women have gained more respect for their talent as performers and there is less emphasis on them as being just the 'totty'. Basically I just love everything to do with professional wrestling right now...ok...that's not totally true.
WWE have been making leaps and bounds to show case the true talent of the women on their roster. There are some amazing technical performances from the likes of Bayley, Ember Moon, Charlotte, Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks and so many more. We really are in the midst of the Women's Revolution where women are getting as much respect as men. Even last night's Monday Night RAW (broadcast 23 April 2018) show cased the women in the main event! The last 12 months have seen a bunch of first for the women's division as we saw the first Miss Money in the Bank (ok...that wasn't perfect as, weirdly, it was won by a man...but everyone is trying to forget that fact and move on from it), we also got the first women's match in Abu Dhabi between Sasha Banks and Alexa Bliss and in 2018 we have had the first Women's Royal Rumble (January); Elimination Chamber (February) and Battle Royal at Wrestlemania (April). The Women's Royal Rumble was also the main event at that PPV and proved what a draw this was and how the WWE Universe was crying out for this event. All of this means it makes very little sense that less than four weeks after another women's first at Wrestlemania, WWE should go and create an event exclusively for men!
The Greatest Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia will see 50 male wrestlers take part in what is the largest Royal Rumble ever! On top of that, all the men's titles are going to be contested: RAW/Smackdown Tag Team; WWE; Universal; Intercontinental; US and Cruiserweight. There is something very obvious missing from this wedged in PPV and that is the women!
Due to Saudi laws at the moment none of the very talent women can go to Saudi Arabia to take part in the show. Even women who want to watch the show have to be accompanied by a man or they won't get in the arena. Oh, and they can only watch the show because they have been given special permission to be there.
It doesn't matter how talented the women are, they are just not allowed to take part. Personally I don't see how something can be described as the 'Greatest' when women are not allowed to showcase their talent either. All I can say is that the Saudis are going to miss out on something spectacular as a result. What troubles me is that this is a PPV which is going to be shown around the globe and we are all going to miss out on the experience of seeing women in this event.
For a company that is currently selling itself as being at the forefront of women's equality this is a bad move. Why do this in the same year that you had the first Women's Royal Rumble, Elimination Chamber and Battle Royal? It is a giant leap back for the company and by all rights it should be damaging for them. The annoying thing is that WWE has been doing great work for women's equality as well as for the LGBTQ+ community and other things like Make a Wish and various cancer research charities. All of this has been achieved by the power of the global brand that WWE is. They have used their name, and that of their superstars, to raise awareness to some really important issues and that is a glorious thing. That is why it doesn't ring true when Triple H tries to defend this PPV and the reasoning for not including women this year.
For those who know the name 'Triple H' but are not aware, this man runs a massive chunk of WWE. He has been with the company for a long time and is well known as being one of the greatest 'heels' of all time. The man is in such fine shape he still wrestles on a fairly regular basis. Triple H is responsible for co-creating NXT (which replaced FCW, WWE's developmental programme), changing round the fortunes of the Cruiserweight programme 205 Live and co-creating the WWE UK championship which includes some of the best British wrestlers on the indie circuit. As such he is also partly responsible for the 'Greatest Royal Rumble'. In an interview with The Independent Triple H said that you have to accept that different countries have different cultures and you can't effect change by staying away from somewhere. He went on to say that although women are not competing this year it is hoped they will in the future as Saudi Arabia is going through a cultural shift.
Only this is a cop out! WWE knows that people are uncomfortable with this decision and they are trying to explain the unexplainable. WWE have a lot of influence around the world. Triple H even states in his interview that it is amazing to him that wherever he goes in the world he is recognised as a WWE superstar. If the company has that much power and influence they could have insisted on at least one women's match. The Saudis asked for them to go over there and that is how this came about. WWE just saw $$$ and went with it! They could have insisted but they didn't. They pandered to them instead of standing up to them.
Aside from the treatment of women, Saudi Arabia has a shocking human rights history (including treatment of LGBTQ+ people) and is known for doing some very bad things with some very dodgy weapons in the Middle East. Does a huge company like WWE, which prides itself on being family friendly and for everyone, really want this association? Again, they saw $$$.
As a fan of WWE I would love to see this PPV to see a first for a Royal Rumble and see how it will work with 50 superstars instead of the usual 30. As a woman I am shocked and horrified that this is allowed to take place and want to avoid it. I am truly torn because the thing I love is making it hard to love.
This is also a PPV that makes no sense. At Wrestlemania the Universal title was up for grabs with Brock Lesnar fighting challenger Roman Reigns. For the last year people were convinced that Reigns would take the title that Lesnar had held all that time. Then he loses in what proved to be the most boring match of the night. The next day it was announced that he would get another shot at the GRR. This is obviously a case of the Saudis buying that match out to have at their event rather than at Wrestlemania. Then there are other things such as a ladder match for the IC Title, which Seth Rollins won at Wrestlemania and before the re-match at Backlash. The Bar have been moved to Smackdown Live in the Superstar Shakeup yet are still going to fight 'Woken' Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt at the GRR (so we all know who will be winning that title). Wedging this PPV in makes it both predictable and pointless as we have Backlash on 6 May.
Enjoy the Greatest Royal Rumble if you want. Just remember the unsavoury nature of this event as you watch.
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