COMEDIAN John Oliver has performed a savage smackdown on the WWE and its long-term deal with Saudi Arabia.
In a week that saw the disappearance of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was a vocal critic of its government, Oliver roasted the WWE for its close relationship with the nation.
Saudi Arabia has denied any wrongdoing in the disappearance.
WWE recently signed a 10-year deal with the Saudi General Sports Authority and held its first event in the country, the Greatest Royal Rumble, in Jeddah in April, which attracted a crowd of 60,000.
A WWE statement said: “We are currently monitoring the situation.”
But Oliver doesn’t hold back and slammed the promotion for its stance on Saudi Arabia.
“MBS’ (Saudi Prince Mohammed Bin Salman) PR push isn’t just toward attracting businesses, it’s also toward changing the world’s perception of Saudi Arabia,” Oliver said.
“To that end, he struck a 10-year deal with one of the most popular and most American franchises there is — World Wresting Entertainment, or WWE.
“They held their first of many events there back in April, and audiences around the world were treated to wall-to-wall propaganda about the new Saudi Arabia, including video showing women happily driving, men dancing and tourist destination beauty shots as well as constant excited compliments throughout the broadcast.”
After showing some of April’s broadcast from the country in which the commentators praise the country and superstar John Cena thanks the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Oliver added the punchline.
“Wow. It seems the WWE is as overtly pro-Saudi Arabia as it is lately homoerotic, which is to say, intensely.”
It didn’t end there for WWE who later in the show latched on to the statement that the WWE were “monitoring the situation”.
“As for the WWE, while they say they are monitoring the situation, their gigantic Crown Jewel event is still scheduled for November, meaning John Cena could well be back there doing this, which I guess in this context means you don’t see these human rights abuses right here,” Oliver said as he waved his hand in front of his face.
WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels had accepted a lucrative offer to come out of retirement to compete at Crown Jewel and was set to team with DX partner Triple H to take on The Undertaker and Kane.
Brock Lesnar will also be in action as he attempts to regain the Universal Title from Roman Reigns in a triple threat that also includes Braun Strowman.
While the WWE has yet to announce its intentions, references to Saudi Arabia have been removed from the event listing.
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