Some news coming out of the Sami Zayn camp.
Prior to the 'Greatest Royal Rumble' event taking place there were questions regarding if former NXT Champion Sami Zayn would be competing at the event seeing as how it was taking place in Saudi Arabia. Zayn was born to two Syrian parents and has made his efforts public to help those who were and are affected by the Syrian War with his 'Sami For Syria' campaign and mobile clinic. During a backstage segment following RAW this past Monday, Sami Zayn sat in the trainers room with Kevin Owens and stated that he did not feel well following the beat down from Braun Strowman and implied that his status for the 'Greatest Royal Rumble' was up in the air.
Saudi Arabia and Syria cut ties with one another six years ago which reportedly factored into the decision being made to not have Sami travel to Saudi Arabia. Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet has reported that Zayn did not make the decision to not travel with the company. The site notes that Zayn was simply not booked for the event to show respect to the local culture in Saudi Arabia.
The following statement was released by WWE concerning the topic:
“WWE is committed to embracing individuals from all backgrounds while respecting local customs and cultural differences around the world.”
Sami Zayn's running mate Kevin Owens did partake in the 'Greatest Royal Rumble' match. Head over to Fightful's coverage of the show to see how the former WWE Universal Champion faired in the 50-man Royal Rumble match.
