WWE finds itself between a rock and a Saud place

Can you smell what the Saud’s are cooking?

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In an effort to please the Sauds the WWE might double down, bringing back the Iron Sheik to dismember a journalist with his bare hands live in the ring.

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that character was Iranian, actually.

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Iranian, Saudi, Agrabah – no difference to the WWE audience.

kayfabe is halal.

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Well, since this is in Saudi Arabia, I think they might know the difference… and given that our government and the right wing media makes that distinction, I’m not sure that’s true.

And of course, not all wrestling fans are ignorant jackasses.

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I believe the guy who played him is Iranian by birth and the character originated in reaction to the Iranian revolution, so you’re right that he wouldn’t be welcome there. Still, the term “Sheik” and the headdress he wore are more associated with the Arab world than with Persia/Iran.

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Yeah, but we have all sorts of horrible, botched “medical” executions, and a bunch of different methods. I’m not sure that our methods of killing people really make us better when it comes to criminal justice. Not saying Saudis are not backwards and medieval, but we can’t assume we are better just because we don’t use swords to execute people.

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“You would like to cancel the contract? Ok, come to our Embassy in Turkey and we’ll sort out the details.”

Yeah, I’d be wary of cancelling a contract with them :open_mouth:

The character was Iranian, as far as I remember. I suppose I could be wrong about that. Wouldn’t be the first time.

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You’re not misremembering. The character was definitely identified as Iranian despite the Arab title and headdress, at least when it got started. Like Nikolai Volkoff (sp?) he was a vintage 1980s foreign baddie heel, during a period when the distinction between Iranian and Arab wasn’t being made in American lumpen culture.

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I live in a place that has no death penalty, hence my disdain.

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Linda McMahon:

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