Details on how Vince McMahon fought for women to appear on WWE’s Saudi Arabia shows

Women’s Tag Team Champion Natalya has revealed how Vince McMahon played an integral role in WWE’s women performing at shows in Saudi Arabia.

Natalya defeated Lacey Evans at the Crown Jewel pay-per-view in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in October 2019. Prior to the event, female superstars were not allowed to perform at WWE’s previous three Saudi Arabia shows.

Speaking on Renee Paquette’s Oral Sessions podcast, Natalya discussed her recent Women’s Tag Team Championship victory with Tamina. She also spoke about Vince McMahon fighting for women to be involved when WWE visits Saudi Arabia:

“Yeah, Vince is a very complex and dynamic character, of course we all know the character of Mr. McMahon,” Natalya said. “But he’s somebody that’s made my dreams come true and Tamina’s dreams come true. Everything from me having that moment in Saudi Arabia, where people don’t know how hard Vince fought for the women to have a match in Saudi Arabia.”

Natalya defeated Lacey Evans via submission in a match lasting seven minutes. The history-making match marked the first time that female stars from Vince McMahon’s company competed in Saudi Arabia.

Vince McMahon has now booked two women’s matches in Saudi Arabia

Four months after Crown Jewel 2019, WWE held Super ShowDown in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in February 2020. The event saw Bayley retain the SmackDown Women’s Championship against Naomi in an 11-minute match.

WWE usually holds two shows per year in Saudi Arabia. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, only one event took place in 2020. It is currently unclear if WWE will return to the country in 2021.

Please credit Oral Sessions and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.