Last month, I wrote that several WWE stars had no plans to go to Saudi Arabia for the Super ShowDown event happening later this week
Several wrestlers that I spoke with said that they made their decision in November. I’m told that one WWE star initially refused to go but he has changed his mind and will be on the show this Thursday.
Another reason why the crew is much lighter this time is because WWE wants to avoid any issues getting wrestlers back to Boston for Friday Night SmackDown. A company source said that going forward they will not be flying in as many wrestlers to avoid the issues from November. No delays are expected this time but if anything happens then they will have a large group of wrestlers already in the United States for SmackDown.
Some of the notable names not booked for the trip are Ali, The Revival, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. In Anderson’s case, his wife was public about not wanting her husband to go back to Saudi Arabia.
The names that aren’t going for other reasons include Aleister Black (tattoos of a religions nature that may not go over well in Saudi Arabia), Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens.
The Miz was not on the last show in Saudi Arabia but he will be flying out this time. Randy Orton is also not booked but I am told that he doesn’t have any issues flying out to Saudi Arabia but he wrestles a limited schedule so he was given the time off.
