Women Will be Allowed to Wrestle at WWE’s Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia

WWE women will once again make history when Lacey Evans and Natalya Neidhart step into the ring at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia. The match will be the first women’s match in the country, which has previously banned females from competing in the ring. 

The news was announced on the WWE’s Twitter page. 

Neidhart and Evans are in the midst of a heated rivalry, which has featured a Last Woman Standing match that ended with The Anvil’s daughter powerbombing the southern belle off the Raw stage. 

Both competitors were in disbelief over the announcement. Evans said she’ll get to show her daughter that hard work can “bring you to history-making heights.”

Neidhart, a former Muscle & Fitness Hers cover model, said she’s incredibly proud to represent the WWE’s women division. 

When the WWE announced a 10-year deal with Saudi Arabia to bring annual shows to the country, it came under fire for multiple reasons—the prohibition of women’s matches being one of them. 

Not only that, but the organizers were forced to apologize when a video package aired at last year’s Crown Jewel featured Carmella in her ring gear, which to some in Saudi Arabia was considered indecent. 

This will be the second history-making event for WWE women this year—2019’s WrestleMania was headlined for the first time by a women’s match featuring “The Man” Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, and Ronda Rousey.

WWE Crown Jewel will be streamed live on the WWE Network on Oct. 31. It will also feature lineal boxing champion Tyson Fury vs. Braun Strowman, and former UFC rivals Brock Lesnar and Cain Velazquez going one-on-one once again.