JEDDAH: The Jeddah Superdome could not contain the pandemonium and excitement expressed by more than 13,000 WWE fans. The Night of Champions had fans hanging from the rafters and provided excitement from bell to bell.
The evening showcased superstars such as AJ Styles, Brock Lesnar, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Trish Stratus, and others who kept fans out of their seats throughout.
The premium live event showcased WWE’s commitment to its partnership with the General Entertainment Authority to provide sports entertainment. This was the ninth event of the partnership.
WWE has also taken its offering to the world and plans to visit more destinations to spread the word.
Stratus, who is in the WWE Hall of Fame, said: “(It’s) an absolute dream come true, honestly, coming back at this point in my career.
“I was excited to come back, to do my matches and interact with the different talents that I did not have a chance to interact with before, but to do special things like this and come over to the Kingdom, and be welcomed so warmly by the Kingdom, has been wonderful.
“I’ve had a great trip so far, and honestly, I look forward to coming back again, whenever.”
It was an evening of fireworks, indoors and outside, and thousands of people shouting and chanting the names of their favorite wrestlers.
People stood on their seats, holding up signs to cheer on their champions. Some were supportive; others mocking. There were even children in the front row.
Susan Bhatia, from England, who has been living in the Kingdom for over 30 years, went to the event with her daughter and said: “I have attended many WWE events in Philadelphia, Buffalo, and Orlando, but today it is my first time here in Jeddah.”
Dhari Al-Rashed, a 33-year-old journalist from Kuwait, told Arab News that he attended to see his favorite stars.
He said: “I am here to see my idol, Trish Stratus. She’s the female wrestler who was coming out of retirement for just one match today.”
He added that he had attended WWE showdowns for years and his first time was back in 2004 in Houston, Texas.
British fan Sam Waddington, a big fan of Triple H (Paul Michael Levesque) since the age of 10, told Arab News it was the first time he had attended a WWE event in Saudi Arabia.
He added: “I’m also a big fan of Trish Stratus.”
Yousif Al-Mizyan, a fan from the Kingdom who attended with his family, said: “I was so thrilled once I saw the event was coming to Saudi Arabia. I am a fan of Reigns.”
