WWE has signed an athlete from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
WWE has signed Saudi Arabian powerlifter and arm wrestler Fahd Tuwaiq to a contract. The signing was announced by Turki Al‑Sheikh, chairman of the country’s General Entertainment Authority, who shared footage of Tuwaiq travelling to Orlando and training at the Performance Center.
“I want to change the world. And WWE will be my stage to do it,” Tuwaiq said in the video. “I want to make my country proud and I will do so in WWE.”
WWE had already taken steps toward the move last month by filing to trademark the name Fahd Tuwaiq for wrestling purposes. The first name, “Fahd”, has Arabic origins, meaning panther or leopard, while “Tuwaiq” is associated with the Tuwaiq mountain range in Saudi Arabia.
The announcement comes as the company prepares to return to Saudi Arabia for Friday’s SmackDown and Saturday’s Royal Rumble, which will mark the first Royal Rumble ever held in the country. The company is also scheduled to stage WrestleMania 43 in Saudi Arabia next year, continuing its expansion in the region.
WWE’s New Stadium In Saudi Arabia
A new stadium was constructed for the Royal Rumble in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and the construction was completed in record time, as the new stadium in the Abdullah Financial District was completed in less than a month.
Construction began on January 5 and was completed on January 25. It is an open-air arena, and the capacity of the venue has yet to be announced, but early estimates suggest that it could have a capacity of close to 50,000.
