Bengaluru, October 23: For the first time in the history of the global shows hosted in Saudi Arabia, The Undertaker will not be part of the match card.
As reported earlier, WWE creative team decided to leave him out of the show as there will be some marquee stars available to make up for his absence. However, the decision was not a popular one especially among the fanbase of the middle-east country.
A fan backlash has been seen ever since it was confirmed that The Deadman won’t be in action on October 31st at WWE Crown Jewel 2019 PPV in Saudi Arabia. WWE has enough reasons not to fly him this time around, but the fans don't agree.
Also, the match card will feature Cain Velasquez's WWE in-ring debut in a highly-anticipated rematch against Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship. All these are being considered as enough 'star power’ to pull off a successful show.
Hence, The Undertaker was pulled from the event as WWE want to save him for future shows. The fans in Saudi Arabia reacted negatively after the news broke and they have also started campaigning to pressurize the WWE to add the legend to the show set for next Thursday night.
تم اطلاق هاشتاق #مشاركة_اندرتيكر_في_الرياض لمطالبة معالي المستشار @Turki_alalshikh بحضور الظاهرة اندرتيكر لعرض الرياض كراون جول ! pic.twitter.com/IhbiB6Detu
— Wrestling Club (@WrestlinClub) October 19, 2019
A popular Twitter account, Wrestling Club noted that Saudi Arabia fans have started a hashtag “#WeWantUndertakerInRiyadh”. They also urged Turki Al-Sheikh to bring The Undertaker to Crown Jewel 2019.
Translation of the above tweet reads “Hashtag was launched #WeWantUndertakerInRiyadh To ask His Excellency the Chancellor @Turki_alalshikh In the presence of The Phenom Undertaker to show Riyadh Crown Jewel!”
Saudi Arabia sports authority seems to be always ready when it comes to paying lucrative deals and thereby securing legendary names for the PPV events.
However, this time around, they are very unlikely to get the Phenome on the match card as WWE has not got him involved in any recent storyline to set up a matchup. So unless a special appearance is reserved, the fans will have to wait till WWE visits Saudi next time around.