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It was previously reported that Daniel Bryan, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn & Aleister Black will not be appearing at WWE’s Super ShowDown Event on Friday, June 7th from The King Abdullah Sports City’s King Abdullah International Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Dave Meltzer reported on a recent edition of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Black being pulled from Super ShowDown was a company’s decision due to some of his tattoos having religious connotations. Black has generally kept quiet regarding what his tattoos mean, but he did reveal in an interview with The Daily Star in 2017 what the meaning of his back tattoo is.
Black said, “I don’t really talk about the meaning of my tattoos, but I will give you that one.” “The being on my back is Lilith, in some folklore she is the first woman to ever rebel against paradise. The reason she is there for equality, equality for every man and woman – which is the most important thing there is.”
Bryan will likely not be wrestling at the show for the same reasons he missed last November’s Crown Jewel Event in Riyadh. While he wrestled at The Greatest Royal Rumble Event in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Bryan had since learned about Saudi Arabia’s treatment of homosexuals as well as Sami Zayn not being allowed to step foot in the country and work those shows because of his Syrian ancestry, which Bryan felt was racist. Saudi Arabia even cut ties with Syria in 2012 and Zayn started a #SamiForSyria mobile clinic in Syria in 2017. At the time, the following statement was issued by WWE regarding Zayn’s absence from the show:
“WWE is committed to embracing individuals from all backgrounds while respecting local customs and cultural differences around the world.”
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter states that according to company sources Owens is declining to work Super ShowDown because his family asked him not to go. It was also noted that there may have been other reasons, including Zayn not being allowed to work the show. Owens was supposed to challenge WWE Champion Kofi Kingston for The WWE Title at the show, but Kingston will now be defending his WWE Title against Dolph Ziggler, who was pulled from appearing at The Oz Comic-Con in Australia prior to SmackDown LIVE this past Tuesday night.
Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter