10 Most Disgusting Promotional Tactics For WWE In Saudi Arabia
9. Greatest Royal Rumble
As noted, Greatest Royal Rumble kicked off this run of Saudi shows, and while it featured a disappointing Triple H/John Cena match and a horrendously terrible finish to Brock Lesnar versus Roman Reigns, it was the eponymous match that garnered the most criticism.
The “Greatest Royal Rumble” was considered “great” solely because of its size: 50 men competed, far more than the usual 30 wrestlers, and 10 more than the widely panned 2011 Rumble. That meant that the match was long – the longest Rumble in WWE history, and a good 15-20 minutes longer than the average Rumble at that time.
To fill out the ranks, WWE pulled in such luminaries at NXT wrestlers Babatunde (better known as Dabba-Kato) and Dan Matha, a slew of lower-card superstars, and former sumo wrestler Hiroki Sumi in his first (and only) professional wrestling match. Sumi was possibly included because the crown prince reportedly requested that former superstar Yokozuna appear on the show. One problem: Yoko had passed away 18 years earlier.
The result was a dull, long, plodding Rumble with little star power. Braun Strowman would win the match and was awarded the Greatest Royal Rumble Championship belt… which was never seen or mentioned again (there’s a theme with that).
When WWE talks about the Rumble each year, they rarely discuss this one or any of the records set during it. That shows just how insignificant it was outside of the show.