Natalya and Lacey Evans first women to wrestle in Saudi Arabia
WWE received a tonne of criticism when they first announced their Saudi deal, and rightly so, due to a number of reasons. One reason is due to the archaic stance on women’s rights in the country. For example, the women of Saudi Arabia have only been allowed to drive since 2018 and more recently the ban on women travelling alone was lifted in August of this year. However, Saudi women are still not allowed to, interact with men, try on clothes while shopping and compete freely in sports, which made the match as ground-breaking as it is unprecedented.
Despite the overwhelming criticism WWE received for the Saudi Arabia deal all shows have gone ahead and in regard to the archaic views toward women’s rights the company countered with the statement that they were aiming for change in the country and would persevere.
WWE made history in 2018 when Sasha Banks and Alexa Bliss would be the first women to wrestle in Abu Dabi and Renee Young was on commentary duty at last year’s Crown Jewel event in Riyadh making her the only women appear for WWE at the Saudi Arabia events until Evans and Natalya would face off.
There was no one better to take part in this match too. Natalya truly deserved this spot as she is one of WWE’s most loyal and accomplished wrestlers and Lacey Evans, as a former marine would be able to handle any high-pressure situation.
The match was everything it needed to be and was in very safe hands with Natalya at the helm. Both competitors performed very well as they had been wrestling each other on TV and WWE Live event for months so their in-ring chemistry was at its zenith.
After the match, emotions were running high as Natalya and Evans embraced each other as well as women close to ringside.
