As seen on last Friday, WWE superstar Sami Zayn was not present at the Greatest Royal Rumble mega event in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The reason most likely being his Syrian ethnicity.
According to reports from The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the whole Sami Zayn situation was kept a secret in the WWE, and Zayn himself wasn’t informed until a week before the Greatest Royal Rumble that he would be in an injury angle on the April 23rd episode of RAW. This was done to provide a reason behind Zayn’s absence from the Greatest Royal Rumble.
Reportedly Zayn is still not given a reason by the WWE as to why he was not bought to Jeddah for the event. A directive was even issued around the company to not mention Zayn’s absence in fear that it could cause controversy that a wrestler was not present due to his ethnicity.
WWE talents were issued a list of rules and customs that they had to adhere to during their time in Saudi Arabia. These included not avoiding a handshake, no mention of Sami Zayn’s absence, and no mention of women.