Vince McMahon believed WWE’s deal with Saudi Arabia was heavily dependent on this one match.
A few years ago, in 2018, WWE announced a 10-year-strategic partnership with Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Sport. It led to the country hosting PPVs and PLEs, which later expanded with the General Authority for Entertainment through 2027, under which it would hold two “large-scale events” annually.
Current AEW wrestler and former WWE star, Mansoor recently opened up about a situation when his 2019 match against Claudio Castagnoli at Crown Jewel mattered a lot. On the latest edition of Talk Is Jericho, the AEW star discussed his match against Castagnoli and why former CEO Vince McMahon believed the promotion’s fate was dependent on the Saudi-Arabia-born wrestler.
“I think he just didn’t want the Saudis to get hot. I honestly think that he believed if the Saudis saw me in a compromising position, that they would perhaps jeopardize the deal. I had a match with Claudio, it was Crown Jewel, I don’t remember the year. But, apparently the deal was in jeopardy.
Vince was telling our producer Shane Helms that this has to be a WrestleMania level match, the fate of this deal depends on it. Vince believed that if this match didn’t go well, it was going to ruin the whole thing. He needed the Saudi boy to have this amazing and spectacular performance and what a better wrestler to [face] than Claudio, 100%.”
He further opened up on the reaction he received from McMahon after the match.
“So, I came out and there’s like fireworks and pyro, and this pomp and circumstance. By the way, I’m like an 180 pound schlump, okay? I got in pretty good shape later in my career. I go out there with Claudio and he carries me to what was probably the best performance of my life and my career at the time. I get to the back and Vince gets up and he’s like, ‘Wow.’ Shakes my hand, gives me the hug and says, ‘Oh, you have tremendous facials.’ Thanks, Vince. [laughs] It went really well but once I got home, that was kind of it for me.”
H/t Fightful
The 2019 Crown Jewel in Riyadh featured one of the most criticized match cards of all time, with several poorly performing bouts. Based on the rest of the card, McMahon believed his company’s fate depended on the now-current AEW stars.
Vince McMahon Breaks Silence On His Undisclosed Hush Money Payments
Amid all the ongoing lawsuits and controversies against Vince McMahon, the former TKO Chairman has settled charges filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission [SEC] related to hush money payments totaling $10.5 million.
The Wall Street Journal previously reported that McMahon paid $12 million over 16 years to suppress allegations of sexual misconduct and infidelity. Following the latest press release, Vince McMahon broke his silence on the situation.
“The case is closed. Today ends nearly three years of investigation by different governmental agencies. There has been a great deal of speculation about what exactly the government was investigating and what the outcome would be. As today’s resolution shows, much of that speculation was misguided and misleading.
“In the end, there was never anything more to this than minor accounting errors with regard to some personal payments that I made several years ago while I was CEO of WWE. I’m thrilled that I can now put all this behind me.”
In other news: A former WWE Champion has detailed the opportunities that come with the Netflix partnership.