Bengaluru, May 26: WWE is all set to host the next global pay-per-view event, Super ShowDown in Saudi Arabia. Despite lesser interest from the fans for this particular show hosted in the desert country, the company is hell-bent on putting up a Wrestlemania-caliber match card with a dream headliner of Goldberg vs. The Undertaker.

Strangely, this match has not received any buildup till date as WWE is focussed on the active roster from where they'll produce huge matchups like Roman Reigns vs. Shane McMahon and the WWE Championship match between Kofi Kingston and Dolph Ziggler. This title match came out of nowhere on Smackdown Live when the Show-Off suddenly returned to target the reigning champion.

Initially, plans for the WWE Championship was different as the storyline from Money in the Bank was supposed to be carried forward to Super ShowDown. So Kevin Owens was supposed to get another rematch for the most prestigious title present in sports entertainment. But it looks like he himself backed out of the opportunity.

As reported by Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Kevin Owens informed the WWE officials that he is not willing to visit Saudi Arabia as his family does not want him to go there. Most probably, his best friend Sami Zayn, a Syrian Muslim not going to the country had a lot to do with this denial. So Dolph Ziggler had to be called in to attend Smackdown at the very last minute.

Additionally, it was noted that Dolph Ziggler was already scheduled to visit Australia during Super ShowDown weekend representing WWE for a Comic Con. So his appearance was canceled, later, as WWE is now sending former Women's Champion, Carmella as his replacement. Check out more on this regard from the source carried by SportsKeeda.com,

"Ziggler was a late change from Kevin Owens, who refused to go to Saudi Arabia. The feeling is that they had nobody ready, since they didn’t want a Raw wrestler in the spot and since HHH vs. Randy Orton was already booked on the show, as was Finn Balor vs. Andrade, the only names were Owens, Elias, or Daniel Bryan (who has been moved into a tag team program and also isn’t going to Saudi Arabia). The decision was just made since Ziggler was booked by WWE to be in Australia that weekend. WWE just pulled him from that appearance and is sending Carmella to Australia in his place."

There will not be any backstage heat on Kevin Owens for skipping the show and is likely to get the rematch for the WWE Championship at Stomping Grounds PPV on June 23rd as per the advertisements of the host venue.



Aleister Black is another star from Smackdown who also pulled out of the Super ShowDown event due to religious issues. He has numerous tattoos on his body expressing views on the Satanist community that may not go down well with the strict Saudi Arabian fans. So the company did not want to have any controversies by inserting him into the 50-men battle royal.