WWE had published the initial superstars’ list for the Greatest Royal Rumble match, prior to April 27th. Most of the regular members of the Raw and Smackdown roster were seen competing in this match.
Amongst them, we have seen the names of Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, too. These two are the newest members of the WWE Raw division as a result of the Superstar Shakeup.
So, it was announced that as a duo they will be competing at the prestigious battle royal match in Saudi Arabia. But, at the last moment, the young superstar’s name was pulled off from the card.
Some of his fans were really surprised to see that he was not present there with his best friend, Kevin Owens.
On the Youtube page of the WWE, Sami Zayn featured in an interview giving the reasons. According to this, he was not feeling well at backstage after the beatdown that he digested during WWE Raw’s main event, last week.
Bobby Lashley and Braun Strowman ran over Owens and Zayn for the most part of the match. We need to remember that this is just a storyline perspective to keep him aside from the greatest Royal Rumble.
The real reason is quite sensitive. Brad Sheperd of Bodyslam.net gave some updates on this situation. He stated that Sami Zayn is a Syrian Muslim. The hosts of this show in Saudi Arabia does not favour this type Muslims which is why WWE kept him apart. They did not want to hurt the sentiment of the local fans and organizers.
WWE has always been respectful to the traditional Saudi Arabian custom. As a result, the women superstars were excluded from the show, as well.
Later, the company released an official statement to clarify the situation of Zayn’s absence,
“WWE is committed to embracing individuals from all backgrounds while respecting local customs and cultural differences around the world.”
Rather, the source supported the fact that WWE officials informed Zayn that he is not needed in this show just like the women’s division.
So, an additional backstage story was created and posted on Youtube to write him off the mega show of the Greatest Royal Rumble.
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